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Screenwriter and executive producer Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Dracula, Sherlock) had much insight to share about his work on Sherlock, Doctor Who and beyond, as well as his frustrations with elements of the entertainment industry during an appearance in Toronto on Friday.

The creative appeared during a “Visionaries” session at the industry conference section at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival where he was interviewed by THR‘s European bureau chief Scott Roxborough about such topics as how to reimagine known and beloved characters, how not to adapt British series for the U.S. and the challenges of window and release strategies in the digital age.

Moffat drew laughs throughout the session. That was also the case when he explained the brilliance of Doctor Who and its format. “You think it’s that cheesy old BBC adventure series,” he said. “Actually, it is the single smartest television format ever devised. By...

Steven Moffat has penned cancel culture comedy drama Douglas Is Cancelled. Here’s the trailer for the new programme.

Before Steven Moffat became known for writing some of the greatest episodes of Doctor Who, like The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl In The Fireplace, Blink, Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead and then showrunning the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi eras, he was a prolific comedy writer.

His first series, Press Gang, was a huge success and he followed it up by drawing on his own divorce for the fantastic, farcical Joking Apart. Though school sitcom Chalk was a misfire, his greatest sitcom success was Coupling, a tightly plotted ensemble sitcom that included one episode with half the dialogue in Hebrew and another in split screen, with several plots taking place simultaneously.

Moffat’s next series is comedy drama Douglas Is Cancelled. The synopsis reads as...

[This story contains major spoilers from the May 17 episode of Doctor Who, “Boom.”]

During Russell T Davies’ first time in charge of BBC behemoth Doctor Who, one of its regular writers often wrote some of its more memorable and popular stories.

Scottish writer, Steven Moffat, had made a sizable name for himself in the U.K. with television shows such as Press Gang and Coupling, and would bring new terrors to young Whovians in the form of Gask Mask Zombies and the Weeping Angels. When Davies came to leave the show, Moffat was the natural choice to replace him.

He cast Matt Smith (The Crown, House of the Dragon) as the youngest ever actor to play the role and made huge strides in the U.S. cementing Doctor Who’s popularity. Moffat would leave the role of showrunner after seven years (and after casting Peter Capaldi to play Smith’s successor).

During his time on Who, the writer also very...

American TV bosses obviously didn’t learn many lessons from “Episodes,” the Showtime/BBC co-production which brilliantly skewered the habit of adapting British sitcoms, and removing all nuances, subtleties, and idiosyncrasies in the process. In the 13 years since its premiere, there’s been numerous failed pilots (“Spy”), ratings disasters (“Free Agents”), and entire series considered unfit for public consumption (“Us and Them”) which originated across the pond. Now the most singular UK comedy of the 2010s is going transatlantic.

The BAFTA-nominated “Friday Night Dinner” — which served up 37 episodes from 2011-2020 —stemmed from creator Robert Popper’s real-life secular Jewish family and their weekly Shabbat meals, explaining why everything from its suburban London home to its lovable oddballs feels so wonderfully specific. Disappointingly, Amazon Freevee’s “Dinner with the Parents” is as generic as its title.

The 10-part series on Freevee does attempt to retain some of the original’s quirks.

Steven Moffat has penned Douglas Is Cancelled, his first comedy series in two decades. More details within:

Before Steven Moffat became known for writing some of the greatest episodes of Doctor Who, like The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl In The Fireplace, Blink, Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead and then showrunning the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi eras, he was a prolific comedy writer.

His first series, Press Gang, was a huge success and he followed it up by drawing on his own divorce for the fantastic, farcical Joking Apart. Though school sitcom Chalk was a misfire, he quickly went on to his his greatest sitcom success when he wrote Coupling, a tightly plotted ensemble sitcom that included one episode with half the dialogue in Hebrew and another in split screen, with several plots taking place simultaneously.

Since then, Doctor Who aside, he wrote a brilliant,...

Exclusive: Amazon Studios has rounded out its cast for the actioner Heads of State with the addition of Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon), Stephen Root (Barry), Carla Gugino (Leopard Skin), Jack Quaid (The Boys), Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso), Richard Coyle (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore), Clare Foster (Sherlock), Katrina Durden (Doctor Strange) and Aleksandr Kuznetsov (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore).

The actors join an ensemble that John Cena, Idris Elba and Priyanka Chopra Jonas lead, as previously announced. No details as to their roles have been disclosed.

While plot details are also being kept under wraps, the film is being described as Air Force One meets Midnight Run. Ilya Naishuller (Nobody) is directing from a script by Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec, who were themselves working from an initial draft by Harrison Query. The Safran Company’s Peter Safran and John Rickard are producing, with Cena, Elba and...

Gina Bellman is a British actress. She is best known for her roles in Leverage and Leverage: Redemption.

Gina Bellman Biography: Age, Early Life, Family, Education

Gina Bellman was born in 1966 (Gina Bellman: Age 57) in Auckland, New Zealand. Her parents emigrated to New Zealand from England in the 1950s but returned to England when Bellman was 11. Bellman went to school at Rosh Pinah Primary School and Jfs.

In an exclusive interview with uInterview, Bellman revealed how she got started with acting.

“Well for me it was more of a cultural thing,” she explained. “I was born and raised in New Zealand and when I came to the UK I had a different accent. So I started having lessons and my teacher was a really inspirational teacher. She used to give us little bits of plays to recite and I just got the bug really really young. Then when I was...

Accused Season 1 Episode 3, “Danny’s Story,” has arrived on Fox. The newest episode of the crime anthology follows a teenager who suspects foul play from his late mother’s former hospice nurse. However, it’s the teen who is on trial. Find out who stars in the cast of Accused Episode 3 and where you might have seen them before.

‘Accused’ Episode 3 cast members Rachel Bilson as Alison and Jack Davenport as John | Fox Rachel Bilson as Alison

One of the big stars of this episode is Rachel Bilson, who plays Alison. After the death of Danny’s mother, Alison begins dating Danny’s father.

Viewers might recognize Bilson from her starring role as Summer Roberts in the early 2000s teen drama The O.C. Additionally, Bilson starred in films like Jumper, The Last Kiss, and The To Do List. She also guest-starred in several other TV hits like How I Met Your Mother,...

Richard Roat, a character actor whose career stretched nearly 50 years and included a plethora of notable TV credits, has died. He was 89.

His passing, which occurred Aug. 5, was confirmed in an obituary in the Los Angeles Times. According to his IMDb page, Roat accrued 136 acting credits throughout his career, including roles on hit series such as “Seinfeld,” “Friends” and “24.” Roat also appeared in the famous episode of “The Golden Girls” as Betty White’s boyfriend who turns up dead in her bed one morning.

Also Read:

Lisa Kudrow Says Her Son’s Reaction to ‘Friends’ Was Pretty ‘Demeaning': ‘I Wanted to Tell My Own Kid, Like, F– You!’ (Video)

“As an individual, Richard was a true Renaissance Man. He loved music, playing the violin, the theatre, movies, literature, provocative conversation, and a good whiskey. Richard loved sports and would have been ecstatic that the Angels won on the Friday night he passed.

At this point, it’s pretty well understood that developing American TV adaptations of British comedies is essentially playing with fire. There’s an approach to comedy across the pond that often gets lost in translation — not just in colloquialisms but also in execution and rhythms. It’s why a U.K. to U.S. adaptation like “Coupling” (which was adapted by NBC in 2003) was such a colossal failure, despite certain episodes being a near word-for-word remake of the original British series. And why the American version of “The Office” took a full season to find its footing.

Fox’s new comedy “Welcome to Flatch,” an American adaptation of the British mockumentary “This Country,” is nowhere near the misfire that a show like NBC’s “Coupling” was, but it’s also definitely nowhere near the success that the American version of “The Office” came to be.

Developed by executive producer Jenny Bicks,...

Beryl Vertue, the acclaimed UK TV exec behind Sherlock and Men Behaving Badly, has died aged 90.

Vertue’s daughters Sue Vertue and Debbie Vertue said in a joint statement: “It’s with the heaviest of hearts that we have to share the sad news that mum passed away peacefully last night. It wasn’t Covid, it was just her nearly 91-year-old body saying enough is enough.”

They described her as “our best friend, our mentor, our adviser, our role model, our holiday companion, our giggle-maker and our boss,” adding: “She was more than a mother to us – she was also a friend. To many in the industry she was more than a friend – she was often a mother.”

Multiple UK TV figures paid tribute to Vertue, who set up and steered successful independent drama company Hartswood Films in 1979. Both Sue Vertue and Debbie Vertue now work for Hartswood and Sue...

Ahead of its nationwide launch next month, Peacock released trailers for all of its original series that debut with the newest streaming service.

This first wave of Peacock originals includes the streamer’s “Brave New World” adaptation, the “Psych” movie sequel “Psych 2: Lassie Come Home,” new drama “The Capture,” David Schwimmer workplace comedy “Intelligence,” the documentary film “In Deep with Ryan Lochte,” unscripted series “Lost Speedways,” and kids’ shows “Cleopatra in Space,” “Where’s Waldo?” and “Curious George.”

Premiere dates for future Peacock originals, including a new “Saved By the Bell,” will be announced later this year.

Also Read: NBCU's Peacock Streaming Service Will Be Free for 3 Months for Android Users

Peacock became available to Comcast — NBCU’s parent company — subscribers on April 15. When it launches nationally July 15, Peacock will have two separate tiers of service, both of which will be free to Comcast, as well as Cox, subscribers. The paid tier,...

It seems like every other week brings a new streaming service with it, but the May 27 launch of HBO Max is, indeed, a potential watershed moment. While presented as a branch of the existing HBO brand, it’s more accurately a WarnerMedia behemoth effort that unites the conglomerates many properties (plus a few original efforts) in one convenient place — that is, if you can figure out how to get it, let alone whether or not you already have access to it.

On its debut day, Variety’s chief TV critics Caroline Framke and Daniel D’Addario took a look through the new service to discuss its library, interface, and overall potential.

Caroline Framke: The first thing I did this morning was figure out how, exactly, to access HBO Max at all. In the months, weeks, days leading to this moment, the seemingly simple question of “how do you get HBO Max?...

When Peacock opens to consumers, it will have a wealth of original content.

NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, today announced its original content that will be available to stream on July 15, 2020, when the service launches nationally.

Peacock Premium customers can stream all first season episodes of Brave New World, The Capture, Intelligence and Lost Speedways; sports documentary In Deep with Ryan Lochte; and the entire full-length film Psych 2: Lassie Come Home on July 15.

Additionally, Peacock Kids is home to new episodes of Curious George and two original series from DreamWorks Animation: Cleopatra in Space and Where’s Waldo?.

Premiere dates for future Peacock Originals and exclusive content will be announced later this year.

“Our variety of Peacock Originals at launch demonstrates how we deliver timely and timeless content – no matter the genre or format,” said Bill McGoldrick, President of Original Content, Peacock.

“We’re proud to establish our voice...

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, has set its opening slate of original content that will be available on its July 15 launch. It includes all first season episodes of Brave New World, The Capture, Intelligence and Lost Speedways; sports documentary In Deep with Ryan Lochte; and feature-length film Psych 2: Lassie Come Home. Additionally, Peacock Kids will feature new episodes of Curious George and two original series from DreamWorks Animation: Cleopatra in Space and Where’s Waldo?. Premiere dates for future Peacock Originals and exclusive content will be announced later this year.

“Our variety of Peacock Originals at launch demonstrates how we deliver timely and timeless content – no matter the genre or format,” said Bill McGoldrick, President of Original Content, Peacock. “We’re proud to establish our voice and are excited to build on our strategy to attract a wide audience to Peacock.”

The full slate follows below.

Drama

Brave...

With the coronavirus pandemic forcing production on many scripted and un-scripted series to shutter, there were plenty wondering precisely how many original feathers NBCU’s Peacock would be able to launch with, especially after chairman Matt Strauss said the bulk of the streaming service’s originals slate had been pushed to 2021.

The service has now answered that question, announcing which originals will be available upon its July 15 launch. Headlining the list is the series adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” which is set to star “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and “Hail, Caesar!” vet Alden Ehrenreich, “Downton Abbey” alum Jessica Brown Findlay, and Harry Lloyd.

In addition, subscribers to the new service will be able to watch the first seasons of international thriller “The Capture,” David Schwimmer comedy “Intelligence,” sports documentary “In Deep with Ryan Lochte,” and the feature “Psych 2: Lassie Come Home” when the streamer launches.

Get ready, horror fans! The first promo trailer for the up and coming Dracula TV show has just been released by the BBC.

The video teases us with the tagline “from the makers of Sherlock” and in case you didn’t know, Steven Moffat – who we all remember from the early days of the Doctor Who reboot – is on board as the show’s co-creator along with fellow Who writer, Mark Gatiss (our British readers will also remember Moffat from his time as the writer of the early 2000 sitcom Coupling).

Don’t let the video’s length put you off, though. It might only be 46-seconds long, but we can already tell that the series is going to be dripping with that classic Dracula-esque vibe; that gothic gloom mixed in with Moffat’s trademark TV writing. Oh, you can bet it’s going to be one hell of a ride.

A good situation comedy — or sitcom — can make viewers forget their troubles for 22 minutes. Or it can be “2 Broke Girls.”

Long before that lame CBS series somehow made it six seasons, there was “Mama’s Family,” “Joanie Loves Chachi,” “The Ropers” and even something called “Homeboys in Outer Space.”

TheWrap dumpster-dove deep to find these, the 31 worst sitcoms of all time.

Also Read: People v Oj Simpson: 11 TV Personalities Who Got Their Big Break Covering the Case (Photos)

Here are some examples:

“Harry & the Hendersons”

Let’s just say this one was a little before the “War for the Planet of the Apes” technology.

“Ferris Bueller”

“Ferris Bueller” the movie covered one awesome day. “Ferris Bueller” the TV show wasn’t even good for that long.

Also Read: 'Game of Thrones' Star John Bradley Exclusive StudioWrap Portraits (Photos)

And:

“My Mother the Car”

One has to wonder...

Robin Bell Feb 6, 2017

A salute to some of the brilliant and hard-hitting episodes in Steven Moffat's first TV series, the evergreen Press Gang...

Before River Song, Trenzalore and his take on The Doctor, before Sherlock fell off a building and provided multiple explanations, before James Nesbitt flipped out in a zoo in Jekyll, before Coupling, Joking Apart and Chalk, maybe even before he was known as The Moff, before all that came the quite brilliant Press Gang. Steven Moffat's first TV series, which he wrote all 42 episodes of, was based on an idea by his father, Bill Moffat. At its centre it had a brilliant will they/won't they relationship, and the epitome of a strong female character in Lynda Day. After 5 series it ended, but left behind so many quality episodes, which in trying to choose the stand out mind-blowers has been nigh on impossible. But for jolting,...

Beryl Vertue, Amanda Nevill and Nina Gold were among winners at the annual London event.

Hartswood Films founder and Sherlock executive producer Beryl Vertue, Cbe, has won the Eon Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th annual Women In Film & TV awards in London.

Vertue’s career has spanned almost 50 years during which time she has worked on shows including Up Pompeii, Steptoe and Son, Men Behaving Badly and Coupling as well as recent BBC hit Sherlock. She was presented with the award by the show’s star Benedict Cumberbatch.

Cumberbatch said: “It is an absolute honour to be able to present The Eon Lifetime Achievement Award to the wonderful Beryl Vertue. We have known each other a long time and not only have I had the pleasure of working with her but I’m very lucky to know her and call such a brilliant woman, my friend.”

Casting director Nina Gold, actress [link=nm...

Beryl Vertue, Amanda Nevill and Nina Gold were among winners at the annual London event.

Hartswood Films founder and Sherlock executive producer Beryl Vertue, Cbe, has won the Eon Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th annual Women In Film & TV awards in London.

Vertue’s career has spanned almost 50 years during which time she has worked on shows including Up Pompeii, Steptoe and Son, Men Behaving Badly and Coupling as well as recent BBC hit Sherlock. She was presented with the award by the show’s star Benedict Cumberbatch.

Cumberbatch said: “It is an absolute honour to be able to present The Eon Lifetime Achievement Award to the wonderful Beryl Vertue. We have known each other a long time and not only have I had the pleasure of working with her but I’m very lucky to know her and call such a brilliant woman, my friend.”

Casting director Nina Gold, actress [link=nm...

Beryl Vertue, Amanda Nevill and Nina Gold were among winners at the annual London event.

Hartswood Films founder and Sherlock executive producer Beryl Vertue, Cbe, has won the Eon Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th annual Women In Film & TV awards in London.

Vertue’s career has spanned almost 50 years during which time she has worked on shows including Up Pompeii, Steptoe and Son, Men Behaving Badly and Coupling as well as recent BBC hit Sherlock. She was presented with the award by the show’s star Benedict Cumberbatch.

Cumberbatch said: “It is an absolute honour to be able to present The Eon Lifetime Achievement Award to the wonderful Beryl Vertue. We have known each other a long time and not only have I had the pleasure of working with her but I’m very lucky to know her and call such a brilliant woman, my friend.”

Casting director Nina Gold, actress [link=nm...

The fourth season of the popular BBC series “Sherlock,” about the continuing adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his trusty assistant Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman), is set to premiere in January. But before that, Screen Junkies has released another Honest Trailer about the series that pokes fun at Cumberbatch’s portrayal, the series’ reliance on “Law & Order” rules and other visual and narrative tropes. Watch it below.

Read More: ‘Sherlock’ Season 4 Trailer: Benedict Cumberbatch’s Demons Are Waiting

“The world’s most famous detective returns to the screen, for like the 200th time,” drones the humorous voiceover performed by Jon Bailey. “But this show is more than a rehash of public domain stories from the 1890’s. Now, they blog!”

The voiceover goes on to comment on how Sherlock calls himself a “high-functioning sociopath,” which basically means he gets away with being...

Mindy Lahiri is about to get Smash-ed by a new love interest.

Jack Davenport has signed on to guest star on The Mindy Project, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Davenport’s appearance will air during the Hulu rom-com’s upcoming fifth season, premiering Oct. 4.

An alum of NBC’s Smash and the original (and superior) UK version of Coupling, Davenport will play the deliciously named Leland Breakfast, an English theater actor who catches Mindy’s eye while starring in a one-man show on Broadway. Davenport’s Smash character was a surly theater director, too, so there must be something...

Six years ago, British television hadn't made much of a dent in America, but six years ago Steven Moffat hadn't yet become the showrunner for two of the biggest crossover franchises in international television. Read More: Exclusive: 'Doctor Who' Meets American Tourism in 'The Tribunal of Minos' In 2010, Moffat and co-creator Mark Gatiss launched "Sherlock," a modern take on Sherlock Holmes. He also inherited the awesome responsibility of running "Doctor Who" — one of Britain's most famous and long-running series of all time — from producer Russell T. Davies. In the ensuing years, his shows have launched major stars while finding a foothold in America unlike anything we've seen before. And he couldn't do it without "Sherlock" producer Sue Vertue, whose other credits include "Coupling" and "Mr. Bean." In Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton's words (during last summer's TCA Press Tour), Vertue "keeps the show...

The centenary of Orson Welles occurred on May 6 this year, but tributes and celebrations for the legendary filmmaker continue throughout 2015.

One such project is Austin Pendleton's play Orson's Shadow, which focuses on the relationship between Welles and actor Laurence Olivier.

The critically-acclaimed production stars Coupling actress Gina Bellman as Vivien Leigh, John Hodgkinson as Welles and Adrian Lukis as Olivier.

The play will continue to run at London's Southwark Playhouse until Saturday (July 25).

Elsewhere, the BFI continues to run its own Orson Welles series, including screenings of his classics and forgotten gems such as Citizen Kane, F for Fake and the recently-discovered Too Much Johnson.

His 1949 masterpiece The Third Man was re-released in a new 4K resolution at cinemas on June 26, while a DVD and Blu-ray release comes out today (July 20).

New documentary Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles was also released at selected UK cinemas...

On March 24, 2005, America met Michael Scott (and Dwight Schrute). NBC's The Office, an adaptation of the U.K. series created by Ricky Gervais, grew into a network staple for nine seasons. The Hollywood Reporter's original review is below:

Come to think of it, maybe Dan Rather's last word as a news anchor was intended for NBC. After the peacock network's failure last season to adapt British comedy Coupling for an American audience, it certainly took courage to try again with exec producer Ben Silverman and Golden Globe winner The Office. 

For some, any attempt to replicate ...

We asked Den Of Geek’s writers to recommend brilliant comedy shows that deserve to have more of a fuss made about them. Here they are...

Banging a drum about stuff we love is more or less our remit on Den Of Geek - hence what many readers have started referring to as the ‘inexplicably regular' appearance of Statham, squirrels and Harold Bishop from Neighbours on these pages.

To that end then, we asked our writers which comedy shows (past and present, UK or otherwise, on TV, radio, or online…) deserved more praise, and here are the ones they chose. You might already like them too, or you might discover something new to dig out and enjoy. That’s the fun of it.

Please note that this list isn’t ranked in any order, nor is it exhaustive. It’s compiled from the opinions of a group of different people,...

It’s the premise of a classic short novel by a Shakespearian scholar and at least a half dozen EC Comics. What happens when beings based in a differing number of dimensions interact? Usually it’s the higher dimensions assaulting us, but if the invasion comes from the ground up, one would hope your defensive wall could be a…

Flatline

By Jamie Mathieson

Directed by Douglas Mackinnon

A mysterious force is causing the dimensions in a council estate near Bristol to collapse, resulting in people vanishing, with only distended and partial projections left behind. The Tardis is affected by the distortion, and when it lands, the connection between the interior and exterior of the ship is…oddly affected. Reduced to half-size, and then smaller, The Doctor is trapped within the ship, leaving Clara as the one with boots on the ground to discover the source of the attack, save everyone,...

BBC

And that is the trouble with hype, ladies and gentleman. Ever since the script and rough cut were leaked, Listen has been quietly talked up in fan circles (and more recently in the press) as one of Steven Moffat’s best episodes and also one of his scariest. A pair of accolades that it in no way lives up to.

While there’s nothing that makes Listen a noticeably bad episode, there’s also nothing that really takes it above being average. And the thing that really holds it back from having the chance of living up to its hype is that it’s far too scattershot

Although the plotlines intersect most of the time and advance alongside each other, the choice of including the bootstrap paradoxes concerning the main characters takes away too much attention from the monsters when the only one that’s really important to the...

Comparisons between Crossbones, NBC’s umpteenth attempt at launching a successful series this season, and Black Sails, another pirate-themed show over on Starz, are inevitable. And Black Sails has Crossbones beat in every respect. It’s sharper, grittier, more compelling and certainly sexier (you won’t be seeing any steamy, R-rated hookups on NBC, that’s for sure). Still, there are worse ways to spend a Friday night than watching John Malkovich bite into the role of Blackbeard with theatrical, bizarrely-accented gusto on Crossbones. Make no mistake – Malkovich is the main attraction, and in many ways the sole attraction, of Crossbones.

So, is he enough? Is Crossbones worth tuning in for? The answer is that it’s still too early to tell – but early signs in “The Devil’s Dominion” aren’t promising. Though Malkovich is clearly relishing his part, and he’s hamming it up in a way that...

Argh you ready for a new swashbuckling pirate series? NBC certainly thinks so and they have pressed John Malkovich to portray the legendary Blackbeard (Edward Teach if you prefer). The series, “Crossbones,” premieres at the end of May, and now we have gotten a new trailer for it. Setting up the characters and basic outline of the plot, the video offers up much discussion about a mysterious logbook that harbors information about a secret device. Actually, it’s not really a secret, the official description of the show refers to the device in question as “the world’s first longitude chronometer,” but unless we missed it, the trailer doesn’t seem to say that. Instead, it pits an already infamous Blackbeard against one Tom Lowe (Richard Coyle of “Coupling” fame), and makes us wonder just how bloody it will all get. This “Crossbones” trailer really operates as a showcase for the regularly compelling Malkovich,...

NBC suffered a number of setbacks this year, with its original series Ironside, Welcome to the Family, The Michael J. Fox Show, Sean Saves the World, Dracula, Crisis and Believe all proving dead on arrival, and Revolution shedding viewers at an alarming rate in its second (and likely last) season. Only James Spader drama The Blacklist arrived as a modest hit, while perennial underdogs Community and Parks and Recreation have been holding their own in the comedy department. To put it simply, the Peacock network really needs a hit, and execs are now pinning their hopes and dreams on pirate drama Crossbones, which arrives next month.

Unfortunately, though Crossbones has been in development for a few years, the fact that Starz got their pirate drama Black Sails to air before Crossbones paints NBC in an unsavory light (not exactly a new position for the network behind ill-fated Revenge clone Deception,...

Feature Mark Harrison 7 Apr 2014 - 07:00

Now that it's left our screens, Mark details what How I Met Your Mother did right...

This article contains major spoilers for How I Met Your Mother, especially the finale - if you're watching at E4 pace, you'll probably want to come back later in the year.

Last year, we made the case for CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother's geek credentials, and came to the conclusion that while the leads are all cool, good-looking people in that sitcom way, they also have geeky interests in common as they grow into their thirties together.

For people who don't watch the series, or have maybe seen an episode or a clip while channel-hopping past E4, this show is essentially Friends warmed up. Whenever you hear that comparison, it never seems to come across in a flattering way, but that's reductive to both Friends,...

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

The BBC Worldwide Showcase event took place in Liverpool this week, and among the shows being promoted for sale overseas was, of course, Doctor Who. Steven Moffat was on hand, and spoke to BBC News about the show (and Sherlock and Coupling too). Among the many questions he was asked was a topic which we discussed in

The post Foreign Doctor Who Remake Would Be “Dreadful” Says Steven Moffat appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

A quick review of last night's "New Girl" coming up just as soon as a lot of ladies feel like Don Corleone... This review's been delayed by snow and power outages, so let's get to it quickly before another act of God befalls my neighborhood. "The Exes" weirdly reminded me of Steven Moffat's brilliant Britcom "Coupling," not because the plot was similar to anything Moffat did, but because it felt like the episode spent 2/3 of its running time patiently laying the groundwork for an uproarious final 10 minutes. There were some amusing things in the opening installments, like Schmidt and...

Writing for a pop culture institution like long-running British sci-fi series "Doctor Who," you're bound to feel a certain degree of pressure. Generations of children (of any age) have grown up on the series, it's now bigger than ever, with a growing audience in the U.S, and capable of making headlines at home and abroad. But to write a special episode to mark the 50th anniversary of the series (making it by far the longest running science fiction show in the world)—one that would be broadcast simultaneously around the globe (including special 3D screenings in movie theaters), one that would satisfy fans both new and old, casual and hardcore, and one that would justify the acres of hype that have led up to the screening last night—requires even more delicacy. Well, round of applause for Steven Moffat. The writer, also responsible—at least in part—for "Coupling,...

Review Simon Brew 23 Nov 2013 - 22:39

Spoilers! John Hurt, David Tennant, Matt Smith and more, in our thoughts on the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, The Day Of The Doctor.

This article contains spoilers. Lots of them.

The Day Of The Doctor

The last time a special anniversary episode of Doctor Who was screened on the show's birthday, we got the Sylvester McCoy-headlined Silver Nemesis. With no disrespect to the Seventh Doctor's battle with the Cyberman - nor to Ace and her catapult - The Day Of The Doctor was in a different class. Back in 1988, the show was struggling, suffering in plain sight despite one or two excellent stories. In 2013, Steven Moffat promised us a story that would change the Doctor forever. And that's pretty much what we got.

"This Has All The Makings Of Your Lucky Day"

From the off, it was clear that this had labour of love stamped throughout it,...

It's pretty hard to fathom now that BBC One is on the verge of celebrating the show's 50th anniversary in spectacular fashion, but there was a time when (whisper it) Doctor Who wasn't on television.

If you ignore that one night in May 1996 when Paul McGann lit up our screens, Who was in absentia for 16 years, but that doesn't mean that the BBC weren't looking for another sci-fi or fantasy hit to replicate the show's success...

This week's Friday Fiver takes a look at a few such attempts - not programmes like The Tomorrow People inspired by the show's original run, or series like Primeval and Merlin which launched in the wake of the new show's success.

These are the shows that tried - with varying degrees of success - to fill that Doctor Who-shaped hole in our hearts between 1989 and 2005.

> Doctor Who: 11 golden moments from 50 years of...

The good news? If you’re planning on traveling during Thanksgiving week, you won’t be missing any of the amazing Doctor Who programming that BBC America has announced for the 50th anniversary, including several new specials. The bad news? You’re going to need to take an extra week of vacation the week before Thanksgiving, in order to watch it all. Or maybe you feel some illness coming on?

We’ll have all of this on the SciFiMafia.com calendar, but here it all is in one convenient place, along with descriptions of everything. Also included is a confirmation of the Dw:datd simulcast time: 2:50pm Eastern, November 23.

If you’re new to Doctor Who, Now Is The Time to join us. BBC America has included an excellent catch-up summary of the entire show, under “About Doctor Who” in the press release below, so you’ll be ready. You won’t really know,...

The incredible horror comedy Grabbers (review) is finally on its way home Stateside so grab a brew and drink in the details. Look for it in stores on November 12th!

From the Press Release

On Erin Island, an idyllic fishing village off the coast of Ireland, charming inebriate Ciaran O'Shea (Richard Coyle; Pusher, "Coupling") is tasked with showing strait-laced police officer Lisa Nolan (Ruth Bradley; "Primeval," In Her Skin) her new beat. Not that there's much to police, as most of the community's troubles are caused by O'Shea himself. But strange doings are afoot: The crew of a fishing boat disappears, dead whales wash up on the shore, and a local lobsterman catches a mysterious tentacled creature in his trap.

Soon it becomes clear to O'Shea and Nolan that some unnatural creatures are out there, and they're hungry. But it turns out the alien monsters terrorizing the town are allergic...

BBC One has confirmed the broadcast date of Ripper Street's second series premiere.

The period drama returns for its second run on Monday, October 28 at 9pm.

Taking place in the East End of London, the second series moves forward to 1890, and will feature the return of Matthew MacFadyen, Jerome Flynn and Adam Rothenberg as crime-solving trio Reid, Drake and Jackson.

Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones) is among the guest stars of series two, along with Gina Bellman (Coupling) and Neve McIntosh (Doctor Who).

Breaking Bad star David Costabile, Being Human's Damien Molony and Game of Thrones actor Joseph Mawle are also among the new cast members.

The Elephant Man has also been confirmed to be making an appearance in the first two episodes of the series.

Speaking about series two, MacFadyen recently said: "It's fantastic to be reunited with much of the wonderful cast and crew from last year.

Interview Louisa Mellor 4 Oct 2013 - 07:00

On the eve of What Remains’ DVD release, we spoke to David Bamber about the BBC drama, working with Steven Moffat on Chalk, and more…

There’s something about talking to old-school Rada-trained actors - you know the ones, glossy-vowelled stalwarts of the stage and screen from whose necks you can always hear the rustle of tissue paper from the backstage make-up chair - that brings out my inner Frasier Crane. French vocab and sycophancy belch out in equal measure. Words like habitué and soupçon have to be swallowed down and replaced by less ostentatious fellows. I say things like ostentatious. And fellows.

There was every chance when speaking to David Bamber - a proper English actor if ever there was one - about his role in recent BBC Two drama What Remains that my sherry-swilling Mr Hyde would emerge to call him ‘my...

News

NBC’s upcoming pirate drama Crossbones has mostly existed on my peripheral radar, but Coupling and Covert Affairs hottie Richard Coyle has been cast in the lead role, according to Deadline. He’ll play an assassin who infiltrates a pirate haven in order to kill Blackbeard.

I swear, Richard Coyle was having a competition with Christopher Gorham for shirtless scenes

when he was on Covert Affairs. Not that I minded.

I was lucky enough to see Ken Jeong‘s comedy act before he hit it big. Back then, he went by Dr. Ken and a lot of his comedy focused on his patients and the transition from medicine to comedy. I enjoy him on Community, but the Dr. Ken routine was a different side of Jeong and one I miss sometimes because it was also entertaining. That’s the long way of saying that I was pretty excited to...

Though Netflix and an increased cable presence have allowed for British comedies to cross the Atlantic, find new audiences, and vice-versa, that exchange still hasn't stopped the practice of ungodly U.S. remakes from happening. “Coupling” turned into a ghastly form in 2003, while the McG-produced remake of “Spaced” never even made it past an embarrassingly botched pilot. The latest case sits with “The Inbetweeners,” an E4 comedy that gained a massive U.K. following and a successful film adaptation. And while a 2012 MTV remake only ran stateside for one season, but that hasn't stopped the forces that be from attempting another version. Deadline reports director Jim Field Smith has been tapped by Paramount to front the remake, promisingly titled “Virgins America,” after directing mid-level comedies such as 2011's “Butter” and “She's Out of My League.” A cast is yet to be attached, but—so as not to draw associations to the failed MTV.

Us remakes of British sitcoms have been a mixed bag. For every award-scooping Office, there's been a shocking Spaced, an ill-advised It Crowd or a cruddy Coupling that have transplanted the original idea with all the skill of a local butcher conducting an organ surgery. So how will that quartet of secondary school scamps The Inbetweeners fare when they’re transformed into Virgins America, Paramount’s big-screen redo of The Inbetweeners Movie? Director Jim Field Smith is the man charged with making sure it’s the former rather than the latter.The She’s Out Of My League and Episodes director is the man in charge, according to Deadline’s scoop. The ungainly growing pains of that 2010 rom-com no doubt played into the studio’s thinking, even if Jay Baruchel’s shy twenty-something does eventually wow Alice Eve’s hottie in a way that Will, Simon, Neil and Jay would...

The Wire and Breaking Bad star David Costabile, Being Human's Damien Molony and Game of Thrones actor Joseph Mawle are among the new cast members for series two of BBC One period drama Ripper Street.

Filming has started in Dublin on the show's second run, which will feature the return of Matthew MacFadyen, Jerome Flynn and Adam Rothenberg as crime-solving trio Reid, Drake and Jackson.

Costabile joins as Daniel Judge, the older brother of Jackson (Rothenberg), and will appear in the two-part finale.

Molony joins as new H Division constable Albert Flight, while Mawle is cast as the corrupt Inspector Jedidiah Shine. Newcomer Leanne Best will appear as Jane Cobden, the first woman elected to the London County Council.

Meanwhile, Paul Kaye (Dennis Pennis, Game of Thrones) is among the guest stars in series two, alongside Gina Bellman (Coupling), Neve McIntosh (Doctor Who and James Wilby (Maurice).

Based around the East End of London,...

Trailer Louisa Mellor 24 Jul 2013 - 07:42

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is Dracula in NBC's new sex 'n' blood retelling of Bram Stoker's classic novel...

Meet Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Dracula, a shagging, arm-ripping-off, bloody-toothed monster with stage illusionist facial hair. Marvel at his horrific exploits in Victorian London, as he stalks about meeting reincarnations of his past love and irking Van Helsing to the sound of Depeche Mode. New Depeche Mode, not the good stuff.

Dracula comes to NBC this October adapted by comic book and screenwriter Cole Haddon (The Strange Cases of Mr Hyde, Space Gladiator). Coupling's Ben Miles, Arrow's Jessica De Gouw, Mr Selfridge's Oliver Jackson-Cohen and more star alongside Rhys Meyers. Take a look at the music video trailer below:

Dracula premieres on NBC on the 25th of October.

Coming Soon

Please, if you can, buy our charity horror stories ebook, Den Of Eek!

Feature Simon Brew 28 Jun 2013 - 07:11

Ever watched a big movie, and stopped with a jolt when a star of a British sitcom pops up? Us too...

This feature is all the fault of the late Richard Marner. As the incompetent Colonel in 'Allo 'Allo, he built a performance that was indelible in our eyes. Thus, when he turned up in a big Hollywood thriller as the President of Russia, we unsuccessfully stifled a guffaw. A big guffaw.

And it got us thinking: what other times has a British sitcom star appeared out of the blue in a big movie, causing a sedentary double take from the comfort of our local Odeon? Glad you asked.

Two things. Firstly, this isn't designed to be a complete list, and also, we've covered films made after the actor or actress confirmed rose to prominence in a sitcom. Oh, and another thing: none of...