Ones to Watch

Series to Watch: December 2023

DQ checks out the upcoming schedules to pick 10 new series to watch this December, from an Australian pop group drama and a dark Italian comedy to a slew of book adaptations including a reimagining of Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five.

Ones to Watch

DQ100 2023/24 – Part four

In the fourth and final part of the DQ100 2023/24, DQ picks out a range of shows to tune in for and the actors, directors and writers making them, as well as some of the trends and trailblazers worth catching up with.

Job Description

Running up that Hill

Chris Crow, the creator of the title sequence that accompanies Welsh drama Pren ar y Bryn (Tree on a Hill), discusses how he sought to capture the essence of this absurdist crime drama to draw viewers into the series.

IN FOCUS

Setting the Mood

Channel 4 comedy-drama Big Mood shines a light on mental health from the perspective of two best friends. Writer Camilla Whitehill joins stars Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West to reveal more.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT

Building their own

Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen are among the rising number of actors forging a path into series development and production through their own companies. They speak to DQ about establishing BYO Films, backing new voices and why they don’t want an easy ride to a green light.

The Director’s Chair

Meet the neighbours

Belgian director Dries Vos pulls back the curtain on the making of The Couple Next Door, Channel 4’s dark psychological thriller in which two couples living in the same suburban street become drawn to each other, with dramatic consequences.

ON LOCATION

Call me Cary

DQ says hello to Jason Isaacs on the set of his ITV drama Archie, where the actor reveals the lengths he has gone to transform himself into the man who would become Cary Grant, for a biopic about the British Hollywood star’s life on and off screen.

Job Description

Thrill seeker

From working on Netflix series Bodies to creating decomposing bodies in her garden, hair, make-up and prosthetics designer Melanie Lenihan speaks to DQ about her career in high-end television and how she’s helping others to overcome the barriers she has faced in the business.

In production

Absolutely Fabula

Nicola De Angelis, CEO of Italy’s Fabula Pictures, outlines the Zero and Baby producer’s approach to storytelling and discusses some of its forthcoming titles.

The Writers Room

Killer copy

To keep herself in work, a writer turns killer in Irish drama Obituary. Writer Ray Lawlor takes DQ into the evolution of the show and discusses the challenges of writing a series about a serial killer.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT

Divergent divulgence

Adam Welsh, the founder of the Divergent Talent Group, reveals how his own experiences led him to work towards improving accessibility in the television business and explains what the industry can do to support neurodivergent artists in front and behind the camera.

The Writers Room

A whole new World

The OA creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij tell DQ how they reunited for stylish murder mystery A Murder at the End of the World and discuss subverting whodunnits and making sense of the world through storytelling.

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