Category: IN FOCUS
Under siege
Chaos, crime and paranoia abound in Baghdad Central. Stars Waleed Zuaiter and Corey Stoll and executive producer Kate Harwood tell DQ more about this crime series, set in the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the subsequent occupation.
Holding out for Hierro
The Canary Island of El Hierro lends its name to Spanish crime drama Hierro, a ‘southern noir’ story of the hunt for a killer. Executive producer Alfonso Blanco reveals all.
Repeat offenders
Producer Maria Feldman and writer Leora Kamenetzky reveal how they tackled the task of following up the first season of Israeli thriller False Flag, in which a group of ordinary people are thrust into the limelight when they are accused of a high-profile crime.
Taking Pride
The works of English author Jane Austen are the inspiration for Globo’s latest telenovela. Artistic director Fred Mayrink tells DQ about the drama and his approach to his craft.
Power struggle
Richard Gere returns to TV for the first time in 30 years to star alongside Helen McCrory and Billy Howle in BBC drama MotherFatherSon. DQ finds out how this story of an international businessman and his newspaper empire goes beyond the boardroom to examine a family in crisis.
Cheat thrills
Katherine Kelly and Molly Windsor star in a ‘cat and cat’ struggle triggered when a lecturer suspects a student of cheating. The actors, director Louise Hooper and writer Gaby Hull reveal how they keep viewers on edge in this four-part thriller.
Scent of a killer
Constantin Film producer Oliver Berben tells DQ about making Parfum (Perfume), an inventive German crime drama for ZDFneo and Netflix that uses both the book and film on which the show is based as plot points.
Final countdown
The world is ending. As an asteroid hurtles towards Earth, showrunner Rafael Parente and director Stefan Ruzowitzky tell DQ why Sky Deutschland original series Eight Days chose to explore the dilemmas and decisions ordinary people face in a society with no consequences.
Serial killer
Acorn TV’s London Kills will quench audience thirst for the kind of episodic, procedural storytelling that is now overshadowed by long-running serialised dramas, claim writers Paul Marquess and Sarah-Louise Hawkins plus Robert Franke of distributor ZDF Enterprises.
Matter of Flack
Anna Paquin stars in Flack, a comedy-infused drama set in the world of PR that follows an expert fixer who struggles to keep her own life together. The actor plus creator and writer Oliver Lansley and executive producer Jimmy Mulville tell DQ about the long journey to bring the series to the screen.
Disappearing dozen
As Dutch series De 12 van Oldenheim (The Oldenheim Twelve) drops on US streaming platform Acorn TV, producer Gerd-Jan van Dalen and writer Lex Passchier discuss building tension, blending genres and storytelling for global audiences.
Short trip home
Australian series Homecoming Queens is among the shortform dramas being screened at this week’s Berlinale event. Series producer Katia Nizic tells DQ about the origins of SBS On-demand’s first ever commission and the challenge of producing shortform content.
Good timing
For years, Neil Gaiman and Sir Terry Pratchett’s cult novel Good Omens was deemed unfilmmable – until now. Gaiman and director Douglas Mackinnon tell DQ how they turned this funny and fantastical story of the end of the world into a six-part TV spectacle.
Hidden meaning
GoldenEye star Izabella Scorupco tells DQ why her latest part in Swedish drama Eldmärkt (Hidden) is the role of her life and how there are more exciting characters for her to play now than ever before.
Diplomacy rules
The true story of a heroic diplomat’s actions in the face of General Pinochet’s Chilean revolution forms the bases for Finnish period drama Invisible Heroes. Writer Tarja Kylmä and YLE executive Liselott Forsman tell DQ about developing the series.
Fresh face
Grantchester has a new crime-fighting vicar. DQ speaks to executive producers Diederick Santer and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd about the challenge of replacing its leading character, while new star Tom Brittney discusses joining the series.
A taste of Delicious
Writing for DQ, Phillippa Giles, executive producer of Sky 1’s Delicious and MD of Endemol Shine UK prodco Bandit, discusses how the relationship series puts women front and centre – both in front and behind the camera.
For better or worse
With season four of Catastrophe set to be its last, creators, writers and stars Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney reveal the secrets of the partnership that drives the hit comedy-drama both in front of and behind the camera.
Keeping it clean
Cleaning Up stars Sheridan Smith as an office cleaner who attempts to clear her gambling debts by entering the murky world of insider trading. Smith, her fellow cast members, writer Mark Marlow and executive producer Jane Featherstone discuss making the six-part ITV drama.
Easy as ABC
The ABC Murders is the latest Agatha Christie novel to be reinvented for the BBC by writer Sarah Phelps and producer Mammoth Screen. The creative team behind the project gathered at Content London 2018 to discuss the adaptation process and casting John Malkovich as Poirot.