The UK Christmas Day to New Year’s Day tradition of great telly just gets better and better with every passing year. Besides the usual obligatory specials from Eastenders, Coronation Street and Doctor Who to look forward to, in recent years those lucky ones to receive the BBC and ITV signal have been treated to specials from Call the Midwife, […]
Read more
Former bar manager, Stuart Bixby, and over-the-hill actor, Freddie Thornhill, have had a love/hate relationship for almost 50 years…although I’m not sure who loves to hate the other more… Created by Gary Janetti and starring Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Frances de la Tour, Iwan Rheon, Marcia Warren and Phillip Voss, the Vicious Christmas Special returns […]
Read more
Text Santa 2014, ITV’s annual charity initiative set up to support UK charities during the Christmas season, kicked off earlier this week on Giving Tuesday and will culminate with a multiple-hour live telecast on Saturday, December 19. Much like its non-commercial counterpart, Red Nose Day, on BBC One, Text Santa is an on-air appeal that features a […]
Read more
It seems a bit out of character for anyone in America to look past Sunday, January 4, 2015 and the U.S. premiere of series 5 of Downton Abbey on PBS but we must spread the word and put all other period drama series currently in production on notice to be cognizant of the fact that […]
Read more
At this time every year, I lament my decision to not pack a bag and head to London for Christmas. Aside from the fact that it would be a magical time of year to walk down Regent Street spending hours inside Hamley’s Toy Store before heading over to Oxford Street for a stroll through Selfridges, […]
Read more
It continues to be Christmas on a daily basis when it comes to British drama whether it comes from the BBC or ITV. The most recent package under the tree to be unwrapped, Remember Me, began Sunday and continues for the next two Sundays and featured the return of the greatness of Michael Palin in […]
Read more
Fresh on the heels of the BBC announcement that there will be a 5th series of Call the Midwife comes the brilliant news from PBS and ITV that there will, indeed, be a 6th series of Downton Abbey. As the finale of series 5 is set for this Sunday on ITV in the UK (rest […]
Read more
Following a new Christmas Day special this coming December on PBS, Freddie Thornhill and Stuart Bixby are headed back to PBS in Summer 2015 for the second series of Vicious, the story of two aging partners who have lived together in their Covent Garden flat for 48 years. Vicious first premiered on PBS this past Summer bringing together two of the finest actors on Planet Earth, both very familiar to public television audiences, Sir’s Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi.
Read more
For PBS viewers, 2015 is already shaping up to be another brilliant year for British drama. You can now add Foyle’s War to the mix that already includes new seasons of Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, Mr. Selfridge, Endeavour, Scott and Bailey, DCI Banks, Case Histories, Father Brown, Death in Paradise and New Tricks not to mention the new series premieres of Grantchester and Wolf Hall. To be honest, you had me at Foyle’s War!
Read more
After binge-watching Sally Wainwright’s amazing series, Happy Valley, which starred Sarah Lancashire and Steve Pemberton, I began to see the haunting figure of Tommie Lee Royce on every street corner. Played brilliantly by James Norton, Royce was the stereotypical tormented soul/psychopathic killer (if there is such a thing). Thankfully, to get that image out of my head, all I had to do was quickly fast forward to the premiere of ITV’s Grantchester earlier this month.
Read more