DQ checks out the upcoming schedules to pick 10 new series to watch this March, from a Swedish psychological thriller and an innovative Kafka biopic to a historical psychodrama and Kate Winslet’s return to HBO.
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Series to Watch: March 2024
Defying gravity
Showrunner Peter Harness and director Michelle MacLaren reveal how they conceived, planned and filmed spectacular zero-gravity sequences set aboard the International Space Station for the first episode of Apple TV+ series Constellation.
Lost and found
Bertrand Cohen, CEO of Terence Films, reveals the adaptation process behind French psychological thriller Rivière-Perdue, a series about the search for a missing girl that is based on Spanish drama La Caza: Monteperdido.
Sooner or later
The past confronts the present in South African crime drama Soon Comes Night. Executive producer Stan Joseph, writer Paul Rowlston and distribution exec Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia reveal the background to the series and why its story resonates today.
Icons of a movement
The stars of Genius: MLK/X – Kelvin Harrison Jr, Aaron Pierre, Weruche Opia and Jayme Lawson – reveal how they got into character to play icons of the US civil rights movement in this eight-part drama.
Baking Black Cake
Black Cake showrunner Marissa Jo Crear and author Charmaine Wilkerson tell DQ how they partnered to create a show that blends family drama and murder mystery with a story set over several decades and in numerous countries. A globe-trotting, decades-spanning murder mystery wrapped in a family drama, Black Cake begins in 1960s Jamaica where a runaway bride named Covey disappears into the water and is feared either drowned or a fugitive after her husband’s murder. Then, in present day California, a widow named Eleanor Bennett loses her battle with cancer, leaving her two estranged children, Byron and Benny, with a flash drive that holds recordings of previously untold stories of her journey from the Caribbean to America. Narrated by Eleanor, these stories shock her children and lead them to challenge everything they thought they knew about their family’s origin. Based on Charmaine Wilkerson’s novel of the same name, the series stars Mia Isaac (Covey), Adrienne Warren (Benny), Chipo Chung (Eleanor), Ashley Thomas (Byron), Lashay Anderson (Bunny), Faith Alabi and Glynn Turman, as well as recurring guest stars Ahmed Eljah, Simon Wan and Sonita Henry. Showrunner Marissa Jo Cerar executive produces with Oprah Winfrey, Aaron Kaplan, Carla Gardini, Brian Morewitz, Wilkerson and Michael Lohmann. The series is a Two Drifters, Harpo Films, ABC Signature and Kapital Entertainment production. Debuting on Hulu in the US in November last year, all eight episodes have now launched on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland. Here, Crear and Wilkerson discuss the themes of the novel, … Continue reading Baking Black Cake
Scandi best
As the winner of the Nordic TV Drama Screenplay Award is announced, read DQ’s interviews with all five nominees, whose work includes the series Descendants, Estonia, Painkiller, Power Play and Prisoner.
Taking the pain
Swedish writer and director Gabriela Pichler reflects on moving into television for the first time with Painkiller, which tells the story of a unique mother-and-daughter relationship, and her personal connection to the series.
Five Minutes With… Michał Rogalski
The director of Polish spy thriller The Bay of Spies discusses the real-life inspirations behind the 1940s-set series, his directorial approach and how he seeks to distinguish his work from other filmmakers. Second World War thriller The Bay of Spies opens in 1940s Gdynia, where young Nazi officer Franz Neumann discovers his real father was Polish. Using this information to his advantage, he becomes a spy for the Allies and is tasked to obtain information about the Germany navy, leading him to become embedded in the German elite. Debuting earlier this month on Polish broadcaster TVP, the nine-part series is produced by Akson Studio, with a screenplay co-written by Michał Godzic (Chasing Dreams) and Wojciech Lepianka (My Father’s Bike). DQ caught up with director Michał Rogalski to discuss the inspiration behind Franz’s story and the challenges of creating an authentic period drama. What inspired you to make The Bay of Spies? Franz Neumann is a fictional character. We didn’t have any real characters that led us to tell this story, but one important thing to know is the history of [Polish city] Gdansk, and then the character of Franz Neumann becomes clearer. Gdansk and the Pomeranian region was always contested between Poland and Germany. Until 1793, it was Polish land, then it became German land until 1920 and then a free city. The population of the city was very mixed, and so the identity of the people there was extremely mixed. Franz Neumann didn’t exist exactly, but there were tens … Continue reading Five Minutes With… Michał Rogalski
Back in the room
As the dust settles on the US writers strike, Jeff Melvoin, Anna Winger and Suzie Miller debate the challenges and opportunities for writers and writers room models and discuss why they should be trusted to make creative decisions. As the US television industry gets back to work following actors and writers strikes that took place last year, a trio of leading writers sat down to discuss the implications of the deal won by the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Writers went out on strike in May after clashing with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) over issues including pay and residuals, and the use of emerging artificial intelligence with the potential to write scripts. They also looked to secure minimum staffing agreements, with a designated number of writers on every series, and an end to ‘mini rooms’ that would see fewer writers than usual tasked with creating a show and a number of episodes before production had been greenlit – separating the role of writers and producers and removing the chance of writers progressing to higher positions such as that of showrunner. When the strike ended in September, writers won concessions on pay, greater transparency around viewing figures on streaming platforms, guidelines for the use of AI and a minimum number of writers for both pre-development and in-production writers rooms. At Content London, showrunner Jeff Melvoin (Northern Exposure, Alias, Designated Survivor, Killing Eve), writer and producer Anna Winger (Deutschland 83, Unorthodox) and playwright Suzie Miller (Prima Facie) … Continue reading Back in the room
Series to Watch: February 2024
DQ checks out the upcoming schedules to pick 10 new series to watch this February, from the latest entry in the Genius anthology and a Mr & Mrs Smith reboot to a Spanish suspense thriller and an epic Japanese historical drama. Genius: MLK/X From: US Original broadcaster: National Geographic Producer: Imagine Television, Undisputed Cinema, 20th Television Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr, Aaron Pierre, Weruche Opia, Jayme Lawson and Ron Cephas Jones Launch date: February 1 (US), February 3 (UK) This fourth instalment of the Genius franchise is the first to focus on two subjects – Dr Martin Luther King (Harrison Jr) and Malcolm X (Pierre) – rather than just one, simultaneously exploring their formative years, pioneering accomplishments, duelling philosophies and key personal relationships. While King advanced racial equality through non-violent activism, X advocated for black empowerment, identity and self-determination. Though they only met once and often challenged each other’s views, they ultimately rose to pioneer a movement that lives on today. Watch trailer Mr & Mrs Smith From: US Original broadcaster: Prime Video Producers: Amazon Studios, New Regency and Wells Street Films Starring: Donald Glover and Maya Erskine Launch date: February 2 In a reworking of the 2005 film of the same name, two lonely strangers land a job working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, travel and a dream home in Manhattan. The catch is they have new identities and an arranged marriage as Mr & Mrs John and Jane Smith. But … Continue reading Series to Watch: February 2024
Uncharted waters
Finland’s Miikko Oikkonnen offers DQ an insight into his career and his writing process before discussing his approach to dramatising a real-life ferry disaster in factual drama Estonia. Finnish writer Miikko Oikkonnen has created series such as crime drama Bordertown and thriller Heksinki Syndrome. But there is no doubt that Estonia, which dramatises the real-life sinking of the titular ferry in 1994 and the subsequent investigation into the tragedy, is the most significant and challenging project of his career so far. Filmed in Finland, Sweden and Estonia, with numerous scenes also shot on water stages in Brussels, the eight-part series shines a light what happened to the MS Estonia in September 1994 and the international inquiry that followed, all through the eyes of survivors, rescuers, family members, politicians, investigators and journalists. It is produced by Finland’s Fisher King in coproduction with Sweden’s Kärnfilm, Panache Production Belgium and Estonia’s Amrion Oü for C More Finland, Sweden’s TV4, MTV Finland and Telia Estonia. Beta Film is the distributor. Here, Oikkonnen discusses how he began writing for television, the challenges of making Estonia and the role drama can play in retelling real stories. How did you start out as a television writer? I studied directing at Aalto University, but alongside directing, I often found myself involved in writing and producing student productions. This eventually led me to a job at [Finnish broadcaster] YLE as an assistant producer, and through that, I was also commissioned for my first scripts. So instead of film, television … Continue reading Uncharted waters
To Hull with it
Fable Pictures creative director Hannah Farrell outlines how Channel 4 series Hullraisers balances the portrayal of real-life problems facing its three central protagonists with moments of outlandish, heightened comedy. Season one of Hullraisers follows the lives of trio Toni, Paula and Rana as they juggle life, love and kids in a north-eastern corner of God’s own country, Yorkshire. Struggling actor Toni (Leah Brotherhead) is in denial about how much fun a mum in her 30s can have and is determined to live life like her 20s never ended, which is hard to do when you’ve got a seven-year-old daughter and a (very patient) long-term partner. Rana (Taj Atwal) has the life Toni would die for – she’s a determinedly single super-cop with a revolving door of Hull’s hotties and every week she has a new man, though they don’t come without drama. Toni’s sister Paula (Sinead Matthews), on the other hand, is content where she is: namely, happily married in Hull; more specifically, on the sofa eating squirty cream. Hullraisers is the first comedy we’ve produced at Fable, but like our previous works – films Stan & Ollie, Wild Rose and Rocks and miniseries Anne Boleyn – it has all of the values that we as a company hold and thread through everything we put on screen. The ethos at Fable centrally focuses on mainly (but not always!) female, distinctive stories told through a new perspective. Our projects always have some form of aspirational quality, and hopefully a little something … Continue reading To Hull with it
Tracing Descendants
Icelandic series Descendants marks the showrunning debut of actor, writer and director Tinna Hrafnsdóttir. She tells DQ about the dysfunctional family drama and why she wants to create connections with the audience.
Six of the Best: Olivier Wotling
The former head of drama at French-German network Arte, who is now a producer at Asacha Media-backed Mintee Studio, picks half-a-dozen shows that represent the best of global drama.
Behind the mask
As Zorro returns to the screen after nearly two decades, DQ dives into the making of this swashbuckling Spanish-language adventure, which sees Élite’s Miguel Bernardeau don the famous mask and cape of the iconic vigilante.
Killing the mood
BlackBox Multimedia’s Giuliano Papadia and Clapperboard’s Andy Morgan reveal how a key scene in which the protagonist watches on while her husband is arrested for murder sets up the world of Paramount+ thriller The Serial Killer’s Wife.
Six of the Best: Steve Matthews
The former HBO Europe exec, who is now Banijay Group’s content partnerships executive, picks six shows he has worked on across his career, including an Enid Blyton adaptation and a recent Spanish ‘horror mash-up.’
Series to Watch: January 2024
DQ checks out the upcoming schedules to pick 10 new series to watch this January, from a new Harlan Coben thriller and a Spanish fashion biopic to the latest instalment of True Detective and a military series from the makers of Band of Brothers.
Building The Buccaneers
Jacquetta Levon, hair and make-up designer on The Buccaneers, tells DQ about creating the styles for the Apple TV+ period drama, working with the cast and why she has a 3D printer as part of her toolbox.