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Filming has begun on Outrageous, a six-part series about the Mitford sisters, with a cast including Bessie Carter, Joanna Vanderham, Anna Chancellor, and James Purefoy.

The brand-new drama, created and written by Sarah Williams and based on Mary Lovell’s definitive biography The Mitford Girls, is made by Firebird Pictures and co-commissioned by BritBox International (for North America) and UKTV.

Photo courtesy of BritBox; Credit: Kevin Baker

Outrageous is the story of six aristocratic sisters who refused to play by the rules, their often scandalous lives making headlines worldwide. Set against the gathering storm clouds of the 1930s, masked by the decadence, frivolity, and lavishness of British high society, Outrageous will bring the full, uncensored story of the Mitford sisters to the screen for the first time – a story of family bonds and betrayals, public scandal, political extremism, love, heartache, and even imprisonment.

The show explores how and why these women,...

Jodie Whittaker has gone from playing a Time Lord to doing Time. The former Doctor Who star joins The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey and The Long Song’s Tamara Lawrance for Season 2 of the British prison drama, now set in a women’s correctional facility in Northern England. Whittaker’s character, Orla, is a single, working-class mother of three, struggling financially, whose world crumbles when she’s sentenced to six months behind bars. Her crime: “fiddling the leccy,” slang for tinkering with the electricity meter to lower her bill. That nonviolent offense lands Orla in the middle of an unfathomable world—confinement with prisoners like Kelsey (Ramsey), a heroin addict, and Abi (Lawrance), a convicted killer—and plunges her even further into an abyss as she tries to hold her family together, with only her alcoholic mother to depend on. Still, it wasn’t hard for Whittaker to connect to Orla,...

Earlier this year, we heard that the apocalyptic thriller The End We Start From, an adaptation of author Megan Hunter’s 2017 debut novel (you can pick up a copy of Hunter’s novel at This Link), had secured North American distribution through Paramount’s Republic Pictures label. A release date for the film still hasn’t been announced, but today a full trailer has arrived online, and you can check it out in the embed above.

The End We Start From stars Jodie Comer of Killing Eve and Free Guy, Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Mark Strong (1917), Joel Fry (Yesterday), Gina McKee (My Policeman), Nina Sosanya (His Dark Materials), and Katherine Waterston (Alien: Covenant).

The film was directed by Mahalia Belo (The Long Song), who was working from a screenplay by Alice Birch, a writer and story editor on the HBO series Succession. Birch also served...

As the year comes to a close, studios are getting into the mix, still releasing some last-minute titles into the fray (see Michel Franco’s “Memory” with Jessica Chastain). Another late entry in the 2023 films sweepstakes is “The End From Where We Start,” a new ecological disaster drama starring Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”) and the directorial debut from director Mahalia Belo, a BAFTA TV Award winner for the 2017 TV film, “Ellen” and a 2019 BAFTA TV Award nominee for 2019’s mini-series “The Long Song.”

Read More: ‘The End We Start From’ Review: Jodie Comer Stars In A Refreshingly Grounded Disaster Drama [TIFF]

“The End From Where We Start” is based on the best-selling novel by Megan Hunter and adapted for screen by “Succession” writer Alice Birch.

Continue reading ‘The End From Where We Start’ Trailer: Jodie Comer’s New Disaster Drama Opens December 8 in Limited Release at The Playlist.

It begins as a spatter of heavy rainfall — nothing out of the ordinary for acclimatized Brits, for whom an actual storm can even be cozily welcome after days of noncommittal drear and drizzle. But then it doesn’t stop, deep-set wet turns to invasive flooding, and what seemed a mere bout of inclement weather has swept you — and countless others like you — out of house and home. Megan Hunter’s speculative novel “The End We Start From” was a neat metaphor for the larger threat in seemingly minor signifiers of climate crisis; briskly adapted by screenwriter Alice Birch, Mahalia Belo’s fine film version matches its pragmatic, coolly urgent vision of a world coming apart slowly, gradually, and then all at once.

Tight in budget and focus, this isn’t disaster cinema of the lurid Hollywood school, revelling in the grand spectacle of destruction. For much of the film’s running time,...

It’s a good time to be a Jodie Comer fan. While the beloved Liverpudlian has been away from our screens for a little while – in the meantime hovering up awards for her astonishing performance in one-woman stage play Prima Facie – she’s back in a big way. As well as appearing in Jeff Nichols’ upcoming biker drama :a[The Bikeriders, Comer]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/austin-butler-jodie-comer-tom-hardy-the-bikeriders-trailer/' target='blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'} is front and centre in survival drama _The End We Start From – playing a mother forced to flee London with her young baby in tow once an ecological crisis unfolds in the capital. As well as starring in the lead role, Comer is a producer on this one, adapted from Alice Birch’s acclaimed novel, and directed by Mahalia Belo (behind the BBC’s The Long Song miniseries). Set to unfold a character-focused story...

Signature Entertainment is dipping its toe into the apocalypse with today’s The End We Start From teaser trailer, featuring Jodie Comer engaged in a battle to survive a world overrun by rushing water and the erosion of humanity. Mahalia Belo directs the film from a script by Alice Birch, inspired by Megan Hunter’s novel.

Here’s a synopsis courtesy of the Toronto International Film Festival:

A new mother (Jodie Comer), her partner (Joel Fry), and their infant are driven out of London into the English countryside by cataclysmic flooding in this adaptation of Megan Hunter’s prophetic bestseller.

England, tomorrow: Forced out of London by cataclysmic flooding, a new mother (Jodie Comer), her partner (Joel Fry), and their infant make their way to his parents’ home in the countryside, only to find the situation growing increasingly desperate there, as well.

Adapting Megan Hunter’s prophetic 2017 novel, director Mahalia...

Exclusive: Here’s your first teaser trailer for anticipated Toronto Film Festival world premiere The End We Start From, starring Emmy and BAFTA winner Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) as a woman trying to get home with her baby amid an environmental disaster.

We can also reveal a U.S. release date for the movie of December 8th, 2023. Number of screens is currently under discussion with expectation that it will fall somewhere between wide and limited.

As we previously revealed, Paramount’s Republic Pictures acquired North American rights to the dystopian drama during Cannes. Below you can also see a first poster for the movie.

Comer stars as a woman who, along with her newborn child, must try to find her way home amid an environmental crisis that submerges London in flood waters and sees their young family torn apart in the chaos. The film debuts at TIFF tomorrow [Sunday 10th].

Mahalia Belo...

Exclusive: Paramount’s Republic Pictures label has acquired North American rights to dystopian drama-thriller The End We Start From, starring BAFTA and Emmy winner Jodie Comer (Killing Eve).

The mid seven-figure pact marks the biggest announced deal for a project on sale at this year’s Cannes market so far. Anton and UTA are handling world sales here on the Riviera.

Comer stars as a woman who, along with her newborn child, must try to find her way home amid an environmental crisis that submerges London in flood waters and sees their young family torn apart in the chaos.

Mahalia Belo (The Long Song) directs the movie, which also stars Joel Fry (Cruella), Mark Strong (Kingsman), Gina McKee (My Policeman), Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts) and Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game).

Based on the novel by Megan Hunter and adapted to screen by Alice Birch (Normal People), pic is produced by...

Signature Entertainment has acquired the U.K. and Irish rights to The End We Start From, starring Jodie Comer, from Anton.

The feature is directed by BAFTA winner Mahalia Belo (The Long Song) from a script written by Alice Birch (Normal People, Dead Ringers) and based on the novel by Megan Hunter. The film is led by BAFTA and Olivier award winner Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts), Joel Fry (Cruella), Gina McKee (Notting Hill), Nina Sosanya (Love Actually), Mark Strong (Kingsman) and Benedict Cumberbatch (The Mauritanian). Cumberbatch also produces.

When an environmental crisis sees London submerged by flood waters, a young family is torn apart in the chaos. As a woman and her newborn try and find their way home, the profound novelty of motherhood is brought into sharp focus in this intimate and poetic portrayal of family survival.

The film is produced by Leah Clarke (The...

Neil Forsyth’s The Gold is a true crime drama with a distinctive perspective. As much as it’s about the cat-and-mouse chase between the robbers of £26 million’s worth of gold bullion in November 1983, and the special task force trying to catch them, it’s also about the British class system. Over six episodes (airing weekly on BBC One and available as a box-set on BBC iPlayer), Forsyth tells a story about villains on both sides of the social divide and the entrenched systems protecting those at the top. His London is just as veined with establishment corruption, freemasonry and snobbery as it is with armed robbers, hooky fences and locals who keep their mouths shut for fear of reprisal.

The ensemble drama covers the period from the 1983 robbery, then the largest gold heist in British history, to the investigation and sentencing of select ring leaders. The story, as the newspapers show,...

Jodie Comer of Killing Eve and Free Guy stars in the apocalyptic thriller The End We Start From, an adaptation of author Megan Hunter’s 2017 debut novel (you can pick up a copy of Hunter’s novel at This Link), and now that filming is underway in London Deadline has announced that Comer is being joined in the cast by Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Mark Strong (1917), Joel Fry (Yesterday), Gina McKee (My Policeman), and Nina Sosanya (His Dark Materials). The previously announced Katherine Waterston (Alien: Covenant) is also in the cast.

In addition to the casting news, Deadline got their hands on a first look image of Comer in the film, and you can check that out at the bottom of this article.

Mahalia Belo (The Long Song) is directing The End We Start From, working from a screenplay by Alice Birch, who is a...

Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve,” Free Guy) will next be starring in an upcoming apocalyptic thriller titled The End We Start From, and Deadline shares a first-look image this afternoon.

Additionally, Deadline reports that Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) and Mark Strong (1917, Kingsman) have signed on to co-star in the film.

Joel Fry, Gina McKee and Nina Sosanya have also joined the cast of The End We Start From.

Mahalia Belo (The Long Song) will direct from a script by Alice Birch (“Succession”).

Here’s the plot synopsis for the film: “Set amid an environmental crisis that sees London submerged by flood waters, the feminist survival story focuses on a young family torn apart in the chaos. Jodie Comer will play a mother who with her new-born child tries to find a way home, navigating the most challenging and apocalyptic start to motherhood.”

The End We Start From...

With principal photography underway on ‘The End We Start from’, starring BAFTA and Emmy award-winning actor Jodie Comer and directed by BAFTA award-winning director Mahalia Belo a first look image has been released.

Based on the heart-wrenching novel by Megan Hunter and adapted for the screen by BAFTA nominated Alice Birch, the film is a powerful hopeful story about the trials and joys of new motherhood in the midst of devastating floods that swallow up the city of London.

When an environmental crisis sees London submerged by flood waters, a young family is torn apart in the chaos. As a woman and her newborn try to find their way home, the profound novelty of motherhood is brought into sharp focus in this dystopian portrayal of family survival and hope.

Also in news – Edgar Wright teams up with BBC Maestro to teach Filmmaking

‘My character is ordinary and extraordinary, both her...

Click here to read the full article.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong and Katherine Waterston have joined survival film The End We Start From, starring Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) and directed by BAFTA-winning director Mahalia Belo (Ellen,

Requiem, The Long Song).

Based on the heart-wrenching novel by Megan Hunter and adapted for the screen by BAFTA-nominated Alice Birch (Normal People, Succession), the film tells a hopeful story about the trials and joys of new motherhood in the midst of devastating floods that swallow up the city of London. “When an environmental crisis sees London submerged by flood waters, a young family is torn apart in the chaos,” according to a plot description. “As a woman and her new-born try to find their way home, the profound novelty of motherhood is brought into sharp focus in this dystopian portrayal of family survival and hope.”

Comer said: “My character is ordinary and extraordinary,...

Comer plays a new mother trying to get back home as environmental disaster submerges London in floods.

Principal photography has begun on UK director Mahalia Belo’s dystopian drama The End We Start From, starring Jodie Comer, Joel Fry, Mark Strong, Gina McKee, Katherine Waterston, Nina Sosanya and Benedict Cumberbatch.

The Emmy award-winning Comer is also an executive producer on the feature, which is produced by Benedict Cumberbatch’s SunnyMarch, Liza Marshall’s Hera Pictures, Anton and BBC Film.

A first image has been released from the film, above, in which Comer plays a new mother trying to get back...

A few months ago, it was announced that Jodie Comer of Killing Eve and Free Guy will be starring in the apocalyptic thriller The End We Start From, an adaptation of author Megan Hunter’s 2017 debut novel. You can pick up a copy of Hunter’s novel at This Link. Now Deadline reports that Katherine Waterston of Alien: Covenant and the Fantastic Beasts franchise is joining Comer in the film. Waterston is taking on the role of a character called O.

The End We Start From is set to be directed by Mahalia Belo (The Long Song) from a screenplay by Alice Birch, who is a writer and story editor on the HBO series Succession. Birch is also showrunner on the upcoming Dead Ringers series based on the 1988 David Cronenberg film. Described as a “feminist survival story”, The End We Start From will tell the following story:

As London is submerged below floodwaters,...

British actress Jodie Comer (“The Last Duel“) is set to lead a new London-set apocalypse thriller from director Mahalia Belo (“The Long Song“) and Benedict Cumberbatch’s SunnyMarch that is based on the Megan Hunter novel “The End We Start From.” The pic’s script is also being adapted by “Succession” writer Alice Birch and sees characters navigating a mysterious environmental crisis in London as the city becomes submerged by flood waters.

Continue reading ‘The End We Start From’: Katherine Waterston To Co-Star With Jodie Comer In Apocalyptic Thriller at The Playlist.

Exclusive: That hot package Deadline first told you about at Cannes, the feature thriller The End We Start From from Benedict Cumberbatch’s SunnyMarch, is adding Katherine Waterston. She will star opposite BAFTA and Emmy winner Jodie Comer in the London-set environmental crisis movie about a mother who with her newborn child tries to find a way home amid chaotic floods. Waterston we hear will play the character of ‘O’.

BAFTA winner Mahalia Belo (The Long Song) is helming off Alice Birch’s (Succession) screenplay based on the Megan Hunter novel. Producers are SunnyMarch’s Leah Clarke and Adam Ackland (The Mauritanian) and Hera Pictures’ Liza Marshall (Temple) alongside Sophie Hunter and Amy Jackson (The Nest). Executive producers are Cumberbatch, Anton’s Sébastien Raybaud, Comer, Raybaud and Cecile Gaget (Greenland), and BBC Film’s Eva Yates (After Love).

Anton and BBC Film are co-financing. Gaget launched global sales on the...

‘The Last Duel’ and ‘Killing Eve’ star, Jodie Comer, has been set to star in the upcoming apocalyptic thriller ‘The End We Start From.’

Adapted from the acclaimed novel by Megan Hunter, the story is set amid an environmental crisis that sees London submerged by floodwaters, the feminist survival story focuses on a young family torn apart in the chaos. Comer will play a mother who with her newborn child tries to find a way home, navigating the most challenging and apocalyptic start to motherhood.

BAFTA winner Mahalia Belo (The Long Song) will direct from a script by Alice Birch, the playwright and screenwriter who also is a writer and story editor on HBO smash ‘Succession.’

Also in news – Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu set for thriller ‘Last Breath’

Producers are SunnyMarch’s Leah Clarke and Adam Ackland (The Mauritanian) and Hera Pictures’ Liza Marshall (Temple) alongside Sophie Hunter and Amy Jackson (The Nest).

Producers Clarke,...

Jodie Comer has set up her next project, with Deadline reporting that Comer will be starring in an upcoming apocalyptic thriller titled The End We Start From. Mahalia Belo (The Long Song) will direct from a script by Alice Birch (“Succession”). Here’s the plot synopsis for the film: “Set amid an […]

The post ‘The End We Start From’ – Jodie Comer Starring in Apocalyptic Thriller appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Exclusive: Fresh off her second BAFTA win last night for British drama Help, Killing Eve and The Last Duel star Jodie Comer has found her next project in the shape of feature thriller The End We Start From, which will be a hot package at next week’s Cannes market.

Set amid an environmental crisis that sees London submerged by flood waters, the feminist survival story focuses on a young family torn apart in the chaos. Comer will play a mother who with her new-born child tries to find a way home, navigating the most challenging and apocalyptic start to motherhood.

Adapted from the critically acclaimed novel by Megan Hunter (the 2017 book was described by the Ft as reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road), the female-fronted project boasts an exciting combination of rising and established creatives and producers.

BAFTA winner Mahalia Belo (The Long Song) will direct from a script by Alice Birch,...

Exclusive: Upcoming HBO and Channel 4 drama Get Millie Black has set The Long Song’s Tamara Lawrance as lead. With shooting beginning this week in Jamaica, the six-part detective drama has also rounded out its cast with Game of Thrones star Joe Dempsie joining and Tanya Hamilton set to direct.

Production on the Marlon James-created show began on Monday, with additional shooting to come in London further down the line. Also starring are Gershwyn Eustache Jr and Chyna McQueen.

Lawrance, who has starred in BBC drama The Long Song and has National Theatre credits to her name, will play ex-Scotland Yard detective Millie Black, who returns to Kingston to work missing persons cases for the Jamaican Police Force and soon finds herself on a quest to save a sister who won’t be saved, to find a boy who can’t be found, to solve a case...

On April 13 the Peabody Board of Jurors announced the 60 nominees for the 82nd Annual Peabody Awards honoring the best and most impactful work in media in 2021, including everything from news to entertainment to podcasts. A jury of 19 unanimously selected these nominees from more than 1,200 entries. Out of these nominees, 30 will eventually be selected as winners, to be announced during virtual events from June 6 through June 9. Scroll down for the complete list.

SEEWill ‘Yellowjackets’ finally bring Showtime back to the drama series Emmy race?

Peabody executive director Jeffrey Jones said in a statement, “Following yet another turbulent year, Peabody is proud to honor an array of stories that poignantly and powerfully help us make sense of the challenges we face as a nation and world. Demonstrating the immense power of stories, these nominees exposed our societal failures and celebrated the best of the human spirit. They are all worthy of recognition,...

Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn are once again on the search for the next great fashion designer: Their competition series Making the Cut has been renewed for a third season, premiering this summer on Prime Video.

Actress/designer Nicole Richie and Moschino creative director Jeremy Scott will return as judges, with additional guest judges to be announced. Klum and Gunn serve as hosts and executive producers on the program, which seeks to find the next great global fashion brand among 10 competitors.

More from TVLineTVLine Items: Hulu's Sammy Davis, Jr. Series, Ziwe Season 2 Trailer and MoreTVLine Items: Breeders Return Date at FX,...

Exclusive: A former Skins star, a Criminal Defense Solicitor and a TV writer have been selected for training body ScreenSkills third New Writers Programme delivered by The Responder producer Dancing Ledge Productions.

Larissa Hope, Abigail Rolling and Jess Jackson will be paired with New Girl writer Camilla Blackett, Unforgotten scribe Chris Lang and The Long Song’s Sarah Williams respectively, with a fourth unannounced awardee set to link up with Giri/Haji’s Joe Barton.

The scheme, which is carried out in association with ITV, has been running for three years and the 2022 edition will be fully funded by ScreenSkills’ High-end TV Skills Fund.

The budding writers are given a non-refundable bursary to write a pilot episode for their own original TV series. The mentor will give feedback through the writing process, provide the benefit of their expertise, offer encouragement and help place the project with a production company and/or broadcaster.

This article contains book spoilers for Island Queen and a trigger warning for racism and sexual assault.

Caribbean history is often ignored in US discussions of the era, despite myself and many other Americans having ancestry from this part of the world. Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park has extended references to Caribbean slavery but many adaptations sidestep these implications or briefly address them before moving back to the white main characters. In addition, the focus is often on male leaders of rebellions such as Toussaint L’Overture leading the Haitian rebellion, or on women with island ancestry such as Dido Elizabeth from the movie Belle living in England. All are written by white novelists and screenwriters who miss cultural nuances and are unaware of subconscious bias. Island Queen, Vanessa Riley’s latest foray into Black historical fiction reveals a hidden figure of Caribbean history. Dorothy Kirwan was born into slavery in Montserrat,...

The series will be produced by Element Pictures.

UK filmmaker Shane Meadows is to make his first-ever BBC television drama with The Gallows Pole, produced with UK-Irish producers Element Pictures.

The series, based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Benjamin Myers, fictionalises the true story of 18th-century ironworker David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners.

Scheduled to shoot later this year, The Gallows Pole will be produced by Element Pictures, and executive produced by the BBC’s director of drama Piers Wenger and head of development and drama commissioning Tom Lazenby.

Set against the backdrop of the coming industrial revolution in 18th-century Yorkshire,...

Focus Features has acquired the worldwide rights to “Silent Twins,” a film starring “Black Panther” actress Letitia Wright.

“Silent Twins” is the English-language debut of “The Lure” director Agnieszka Smoczynska and stars Wright and Tamara Lawrance as twin sisters in Wales who are mute to everyone but themselves.

The film recently wrapped production in Poland. Focus plans to distribute the film in the U.S., while Universal Pictures International will distribute internationally.

“Silent Twins” is based on the book “The Silent Twins” by Marjorie Wallace. It tells the haunting story of June and Jennifer Gibbons, twins from the only Black family in a small town in Wales in the 1970s and ’80s.

Feeling isolated from that unwelcoming community, the pair turn inward and reject communication with everyone but each other, retreating into their own fantasy world of artistic inspiration and adolescent desires. After a spree of vandalism inspired by an American boy they both idolize,...

This weekly feature is in addition to TVLine’s daily What to Watch listings and monthly guide to What’s on Streaming.

With nearly 500 scripted shows now airing across broadcast, cable and streaming, it’s easy to forget that a favorite comedy is returning, or that the new “prestige drama” you anticipated is about to debut. So consider this our reminder to set your DVR, order a Season Pass, pop a fresh Memorex into the Vcr… however it is you roll.

More from TVLineWhat's New on NetflixBlack History Month Specials, Movies and DocumentariesThe Crew Premiere: Kevin James Teases Potential Romance in NASCAR Comedy

This week,...

CBS didn’t get the game — or the ratings — it wanted on Sunday, but the Super Bowl Lv will still be 2021’s most-watched TV show. The second most-watched channel in primetime on Super Bowl Sunday was PBS, which aired its “Masterpiece” dramas. PBS averaged 1.848 million total viewers, according to Nielsen, airing Week 4 of “Miss Scarlet & the Duke” (1.916 million at 8 p.m.), Week 5 of “All Creatures Great and Small” (2.367 million at 9) and Week 2 of “The Long Song” (1.259 million at 10). That lineup beat all the other Super Bowl Lv counterprogramming on both broadcast and cable TV. Also Read: Super Bowl Lv Draws 96.4 Million Multiplatform Viewers, Lowest Since 2007 Super Bowl Lv drew 96.4 million total multiplatform viewers on Sunday, when 2021’s big game aired on CBS. That all-in tally was the lowest since 2007. It includes a ton of platforms: the CBS Television Network (which brought in 91.629 million of those viewers), CBS Sports and NFL digital properties,...

Public broadcaster PBS is looking to get involved in British dramas at an earlier stage to deal with the increasing competition from the streamers.

President and CEO Paula Kerger, speaking at PBS’ virtual press tour, told Deadline that it is eyeing new ways to keep the pipeline open that brought shows such as Downton Abbey, All Creatures Great and Small and Call The Midwife to the States.

“There’s more competition clearly for British drama. I actually think it’s a good thing that there is a deepening appetite for British drama and and we’re very much a part of why that that exists. We’re getting involved a little earlier, upstream in some productions and bringing those to our audience. We have a big audience because we’re a broadcaster. I think for many properties that’s appealing. It’s a dynamic environment and we look always to...

“The Long Song” knows what an audience might expect from a period drama airing on the BBC, as it did in the UK in 2018, or under the PBS Masterpiece banner, as it will in the US starting on January 31. The camera, helmed with a steady hand by director Mahalia Belo, pans across still life scenes of porcelain curios and rumpled silks in a manse surrounded by gently swaying palm trees. “The life of a white missus on a Jamaican plantation,” a narrator (Doña Croll) intones, “be surely full of tribulation — from the scarcity of beef to the want of a fashionable hat.” Within seconds, the piercing screech of that “white missus” shatters the idyllic scene, and the acidic streak of sarcasm laden in the narrator’s words comes more clearly into focus. “If that be the story you want to hear, then be on your way. Go,” she says, voice snapping with brittle anger.

When Tamara Lawrance starred in and was first promoting “The Long Song,” the Black Lives Matter movement and organization had already been in existence for half a decade. But now the limited series in which she plays a slave in 19th Century colonial Jamaica is debuting on PBS as a part of its “Masterpiece” slate, just months after the movement made global headlines amid the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others.

“We are very clearly living in the ramifications of the psychosis of enslaving a body of people and on some level psychological warfare on a body of people and on some level a genocide as well. That is the reason why Black and brown bodies can be killed with video evidence and nobody cares,” Lawrance tells Variety. “Even in the filming of it I was struck by the parallel of walking off set into a world — it...

This article contains spoilers for The Long Song.

The Long Song is the first miniseries featured in PBS Masterpiece’s 50th Anniversary season, and it’s U.S. arrival nearly three years after airing on BBC One is highlighting themes that some viewers may not be ready to process but that remain incredibly important.

The show is an adaptation of Andrea Levy’s 2010 novel recounting the story of how Jamaican slaves gained their freedom in the 1830’s. Levy worked with white screenwriter Sarah Williams on the script for The Long Song before her death in 2019. Although some may want to criticize Williams’ involvement for removing the Own Voices status from the series, it is important to note she successfully worked with Levy to adapt Small Island into a TV miniseries which aired on Masterpiece in 2009. Critics and the Black British community alike praised the miniseries for featuring the Windrush Generation.

PBS’ Masterpiece, which has been home to classic British dramas including Downton Abbey, Upstairs, Downstairs, Prime Suspect and the original House of Cards, turns 50 on January 10.

The venerable drama strand is celebrating with a slew of period dramas and mystery thrillers. But it is also using the anniversary as an opportunity to shift its programming strategy to allow it to hunt down the next breakout hit from the other side of the pond, amid aggressive competition from streamers such as Amazon, AppleTV+, HBO Max and Netflix.

Susanne Simpson, an exec producer on series including Downton Abbey, took over running Masterpiece in November 2019, replacing Rebecca Eaton.

She told Deadline that the success of the regal ITV drama, which ran for six seasons and ending in 2015, was a turning point for British dramas in the U.S. and it has now pivoted to ensure that it still has a pipeline of shows.

BAFTA has named its BAFTA Breakthrough participants for 2020, with the 34-strong list consisting of rising talent in film, games and television from both the USA and UK.

Selected are the UK directors behind After Love, Limbo, and White Riot, and the producers behind Bait and Blue Story. From the U.S., participants include Eternals actress Lauren Ridloff and the co-director of Netflix doc Crip Camp. The full list is below.

As previously reported, the org’s Breakthrough showcase was expanded earlier this year to take talent from the U.S., India and China. Applications for India open at the end of this month and China will open in 2021.

The selected talent will receive mentorship and career guidance, plus access to BAFTA networking opportunities. They will be showcased together in 2021.

The selection jury this year included Paapa Essiedu, Fiona Shaw, Edward Enninful and Amma Asante.

“We are thrilled to be announcing...

Bukky Bakray, star of Brussels, Dublin and San Sebastian-winning film “Rocks,” Aleem Khan, director of Cannes Critics’ Week Label title “After Love,” and Kate Byers and Linn Waite, producers of British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) debut award-winner “Bait,” are among 34 participants of the 2020 BAFTA Breakthrough initiative.

Supported by Netflix, the new talent initiative supports emerging talent across film, games and television. In this round, 23 participants have been announced from the U.K. and 11 from the U.S., with applications opening this month in India and in 2021 in China.

The talent was selected through cross-industry global juries comprising leading industry professionals, including actors Paapa Essiedu (“I May Destroy You”) and Fiona Shaw (“Killing Eve”), filmmaker Amma Asante (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue.

The participants will receive one-to-one mentoring and career guidance, full voting membership of BAFTA, and access to BAFTA events and networking opportunities,...

‘If you are the big tree, we are the small axe’

Made famous by Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 1973 song ‘Small Axe’, that’s the traditional proverb behind the title for a five-film series by Oscar-winning British director Steve McQueen.

Two of McQueen’s Small Axe films were selected for this year’s Cannes Film Festival and in October, one opened the 64th London Film Festival. Now, all five are coming straight to BBC One and iPlayer in the UK, and Amazon Prime Video around the world. The home release has nothing to do with the pandemic; it was always the plan for these feature-length films with a cast including Star Wars’ John Boyega and Black Panther’s Letitia Wright, to air for a mainstream audience on prime time UK television.

11 years in the making, the five films were funded by BBC Studios and made to celebrate key figures in...

Long-time NBCUniversal executive Jeff Wachtel has left the company, Variety has confirmed. He most recently served as president of NBCUniversal International Studios.

Variety understands that Wachtel’s departure follows some issues pertaining to respect in the workplace, after which it was agreed that Wachtel would leave the company. It’s believed a search for his replacement is underway.

Wachtel served for nearly two decades at NBCUniversal, crossing the pond to London in 2018 to oversee NBCU International’s portfolio of production companies and manage the development of formats and content partnerships for the Peacock. Replacing Michael Edelstein as head of the business’s international TV strategy, Wachtel’s arrival in the U.K. was met with much fanfare, and he became a regular face at local conferences like the Royal Television Society events.

His production bona fides won him the respect of the local production community, and his passion for scripted...

Programming for the 50th anniversary of PBS’s Masterpiece will now include performances by Martin Freeman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kyle MacLachlan and Tom Hollander.

The full lineup was announced exclusively to Variety on Thursday morning. The anthology drama series, produced by GBH Boston, will mark five decades on Jan. 10, 2021.

While “Elizabeth Is Missing,” “All Creatures Great and Small” and “Miss Scarlet & the Duke” were announced earlier this year, “The Long Song,” a three part mini-series about the end of slavery in Jamaica starring Tamara Lawrance, Hayley Atwell and Jack Lowden, has been added to the schedule for Jan. 31.

The rest of the year’s lineup is below. Premieres dates have not been announced.

Spring 2021

“Atlantic Crossing”: Eight-part series about Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s (Kyle MacLachlan) relationship with Norwegian Crown Princess Martha during WWII (Sofia Helin).

“Talking Heads: The Hand of God”: The first of two performances of...

IFC Films has debuted a new trailer for thriller ‘Kindred’ starring Tamara Lawrance, Jack Lowden and Fiona Shaw.

When her boyfriend Ben suddenly dies in an accident, mother-to-be Charlotte collapses upon receiving the news. She wakes up in Ben’s family home, a crumbling old manor house in the middle of nowhere with Ben’s overbearing mother, Margaret, and his controlling stepbrother, Thomas. They are determined to care for her, at least until the baby arrives. Grief-stricken and increasingly haunted by visions possibly brought on by the pregnancy, Charlotte accepts their help. But as the days go by and her visions intensify, she begins to doubt the family’s intentions and her suspicions grow that they may be trying to control her and her unborn baby.

Directed by Joe Marcantonio, the film stars Tamara Lawrance (The Long Song, Small Axe), BAFTA Award nominee Jack Lowden (Dunkirk, Fighting With My Family...

Arriving in select theaters, digital and VOD on November 6th, here's a look at the official trailer for Kindred from IFC Midnight:

"When her boyfriend Ben suddenly dies in an accident, mother-to-be Charlotte collapses upon receiving the news. She wakes up in Ben’s family home, a crumbling old manor house in the middle of nowhere with Ben’s overbearing mother, Margaret, and his controlling stepbrother, Thomas. They are determined to care for her, at least until the baby arrives. Grief stricken and increasingly haunted by visions possibly brought on by the pregnancy, Charlotte accepts their help. But as the days go by and her visions intensify, she begins to doubt the family's intentions and her suspicions grow that they may be trying to control her and her unborn baby."

"Kindred is led by exquisite performances from break-out star Tamara Lawrance (The Long Song), BAFTA Award nominee Jack Lowden, BAFTA...

With Lovers Rock, the first part of Steve McQueen’s forthcoming anthology Small Axe, having premiered at the 58th New York Film Festival, many have wondered how to classify this project. Well, the director gave a definitive answer. “These are five features,” McQueen said in his recent NYFF press conference.”In a perfect world, I would love people to see these films in the cinema, absolutely, but we are living in these times [with] TVs and how people can use this equipment in high quality ways. But there is nothing for me that can beat going to the cinema and viewing with a community of people.”

Now, Amazon Studios has solidified his intention by announcing the release plans for the Small Axe features, and rather than all arriving at once as has become the norm in this new age of streaming, they will rollout weekly beginning this November.

Deadline reports that on November 20, Mangrove,...

Executive produced by Ridley Scott (who also directed the first two episodes), the sci-fi series Raised by Wolves (which follows two androids raising human children) has been renewed for a second season by HBO Max:

From the Press Release: Los Angeles – September 17, 2020 – After a striking debut on the streamer as the #1 performing Max original since the platform’s launch, HBO Max has ordered a second season of Raised by Wolves, a serialized sci-fi series from master storyteller and filmmaker Ridley Scott, which has immersed fans into the rich, intricate world of Kepler 22-b. The series, which debuted with three episodes on Sept. 3, has continued to be a strong performer in its second week on the platform, growing its audience by nearly 50% week over week.

“When I think of Raised by Wolves, I think of artistry; artistry in crafting a compelling storyline, artistry in the out-of-this-world production design, special effects and cinematography,...

The sun will not be setting on HBO Max's Raised by Wolves.

The streamer has handed out an early Season 2 renewal to the Ridley Scott-produced sci-fi drama, which premiered earlier this month.

Raised by Wolves had a long road to the screen, initially being picked up by TNT straight-to-series in 2018.

But with WarnerMedia owned cable networks scaling back scripted series and focusing on the world of streaming, the series was announced as a HBO Max original earlier this year.

The streamer, however, notes that the series has been a resounding success and has grown its audience nearly 50 percent week-over-week since it bowed on September 3.

If you're looking for raw viewership stats, then you're out of luck:

HBO Max does not release those type of statistics for its shows.

That being said, HBO Max states that the series is their #1 performing original since the streamer launched in May.

"When I think of Raised by Wolves,...

The first teaser for HBO Max’s Ridley Scott-directed sci-fi series Raised By Wolves was nothing if not enigmatic.

The nearly two-minute first look revealed the stunning visuals of Scott and creator Aaron Guzikowski’s concept. There were cities on fire, androids blowing stuff up, and a parable of the Three Little Pigs. It was awesome. But was it awesome because it was so enigmatic? The teaser didn’t have to shoulder the burden of revealing the plot to viewers or giving a sense of how all these cool concepts and visuals would meld into a coherent series.

Now a second trailer has arrived for Raised By Wolves. And unlike the first it does delve further into the plot of the show, and move away from shock and awe splendor from the first. But wouldn’t you know it – it’s still awesome all the same. Give it a gander below.

“Mangrove,” directed by BAFTA and Oscar winner Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”), will open the 64th edition of the British Film Institute London Film Festival.

Written by McQueen and Alastair Siddons, “Mangrove” is one of five films that make up the “Small Axe” anthology. Set from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, the films each tell a different story involving London’s West Indian community. Other films in the “Small Axe” anthology are “Lovers Rock,” “Education,” “Alex Wheatle” and “Red, White and Blue.”

Marking 50 years since the events depicted in the film, “Mangrove” tells the true story of the Mangrove 9, the group of Black activists who clashed with London police during a protest march in 1970 and their highly publicized trial that followed.

The cast includes Letitia Wright (“Black Panther”), Shaun Parkes (“Lost in Space”), Malachi Kirby (“Curfew”), Rochenda Sandall (“Line of Duty”), Jack Lowden (“The Long Song”), Sam Spruell...

When it comes to the world of filmmaking this year, Steve McQueen is returning 2020’s most ambitious project. The filmmaker has crafted an anthology series titled Small Axe made up of five feature films. Produced by BBC and Amazon Prime Video, each one is directed and co-written by the 12 Years a Slave helmer. With two films part of the Cannes Film Festival 2020 selections, three of them will make their world premieres at the 58th New York Film Festival and now we have the first trailer for the project, featuring one of the films, Mangrove.

Mangrove is the true story of the Mangrove 9, a group of Black activists who clashed with London police during a protest march in 1970, and the highly publicized trial that followed. The trial was the first judicial acknowledgment of behavior motivated by racial hatred within the Metropolitan Police. Letitia Wright (Black Panther), Shaun Parkes (Lost in Space...

U.K. broadcaster BBC One has released a punchy trailer for “Mangrove,” one of five films from the “Small Axe” anthology by Oscar and BAFTA winner Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”).

Aug. 9 marks the 50th anniversary of the day in 1970 when 150 protesters of West Indian, African and South Asian heritage in Notting Hill, West London, marched to local police stations in protest of police harassment in their communities, including the Mangrove restaurant. Nine protest leaders were arrested and charged with incitement to riot: Frank Crichlow, Darcus Howe, Altheia Jones-LeCointe, Barbara Beese, Rupert Boyce, Rhodan Gordon, Anthony Innis, Rothwell Kentish and Godfrey Millett. The group later became known as the ‘Mangrove 9.’

“It was a march necessitated by relentless police brutality in Notting Hill,” said McQueen. “To commemorate the bravery of these community activists and the nine who went on to be acquitted of incitement to riot with the judge citing ‘evidence of racial hatred,...