Doctor Who writer Inua Ellams gives DQ the inside track on penning The Story & The Engine, his first episode of the iconic sci-fi franchise, and discusses staging a story set in a single location and the craft work involved in building a puzzling denouement for the Doctor.
Finnish dramedy Supporting Actor explores society’s obsession with success through a frustrated actor striving to become a screen star. Producer Max Malka and writer-director Niklas Lindgren tell DQ about their partnership behind the scenes and what they wanted to say about the film and television business. Fresh from exploring the clash between the artistic and commercial demands of the dance industry in Dance Brothers, producer Endemol Shine Finland (ESF) has turned to the film and television industry for its latest project. Supporting Actor centres on Aki Kurki (Kari Ketonen), a talented but difficult actor who has been stuck in supporting roles, never landing the leading parts. When a fortune teller reveals this is due to a curse that has been placed on him, he must begin a process of self-reflection. However, his lifelong focus on fame has broken many relationships that he now has to mend to find out who is responsible, with the support of one of the only people he can truly trust – his manager (played by Antti Holma). Written and directed by Niklas Lindgren (Idiomatic), Supporting Actor is produced by ESF for broadcasters Nelonen and Ruutu, with ESF duo Max Malka and Unne Sormunen as executive producers. Here, Malka and Lindgren discuss skewering the film and television business, and how Lindgren balanced writing and directing a series that blends comedy and drama. Hi Max, please introduce us to the story of Supporting Actor. Malka: Our lead character is Aki Kurki, a well-known but overlooked actor who … Continue reading Playing second fiddle
Adorable Media’s Richelle Wilder breaks down The Trial, 5’s thought-provoking single drama set in a world where parents are directly legally accountable for their children’s actions, and reveals how it was produced in just four days.
Lisa Holdsworth, a writer, producer and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain regional representative for Yorkshire, writes for DQ about the importance of continuing drama on television and why the falling number of soap writing opportunities is bad news for the drama industry as a whole.
Spanish sci-fi series Santuario (Sanctuary) deals with contemporary themes in a futuristic world where pregnant women shelter from the planet’s pollution. Director and exec producer Rodrigo Ruiz Gallardón tells DQ how it was made. Set in a futuristic world where pregnant women are sheltered from the Earth’s pollution in massive protective domes, Santuario (Sanctuary) deals with no end of contemporary themes, from the dangers of technological advancement to climate change. It’s in one Sanctuary that viewers meet Pilar (Lucía Guerro), who arrives three months pregnant and soon finds herself coming to terms with the strange environment built to protect her and other expectant mothers following a global climate disaster. Meanwhile, AI engineer Valle (Aura Garrido) has very clear values, but when she’s offered a job at the Sanctuary, she must reconsider her ideals. An Atresmedia TV production in collaboration with Pokeepsie Films for Spanish streamer Atresplayer, the show is based on the podcast of the same name from writers Manuel Bartual and Carmen Pacheco. Montse García and Rodrigo Ruiz-Gallardón are the executive producers, with Álex de la Iglesia and Carolina Bang producing. Atresmedia Sales is the distributor. Here, Ruiz-Fallardón, who also directs with Zoe Berriatúa, tells DQ more about the series after it was among 17 shows selected for the Berlinale Series Market Selects at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. Introduce us to the series. Sanctuary is a science-fiction series consisting of eight episodes that address current issues such as the dangers of technological advancement, climate change … Continue reading Finding Sanctuary
DQ checks out the upcoming schedules to pick 10 new series to watch this May, from a Judy Blume adaptation and a British crime thriller to a tense friendship drama and the next projects from Lost’s JJ Abrams and Succession creator Jesse Armstrong.
Andri Ómarsson from Icelandic production company Glassriver and Pedro Lopes from Portugal’s SPI discuss six key locations from this crime thriller, which unfolds across both countries.
Set in Liverpool, the city that gave the world The Beatles, BBC crime drama This City is Ours makes music an integral part of its storytelling. Lead director and exec producer Saul Dibb picks out some key scenes from the series where music drives the story emotionally and rhythmically.
The stories of Swedish soldiers operating during the Bosnian War are dramatised in six-part drama A Life’s Worth. Writer Mona Masri and director Ahmed Abdullahi speak to DQ about creating this suspenseful and hopeful military series that finds its characters walking the line between duty and humanity.
Dying for Sex showrunners Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether join executive producer Nikki Boyer to discuss their adaptation of Boyer’s eponymous podcast, which charted her friend’s sexual adventure after learning she had terminal cancer.
Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright previews her upcoming BBC and BritBox music drama Riot Women, discusses how it was influenced by her personal experiences and explains why she now recommends singing as a way to build bonds between cast members.
Mad Men star Christina Hendricks discusses her latest role in Sky comedy Small Town, Big Story, why she likes ensemble dramas and her ambitions to appear in a romcom.
DQ checks out the upcoming schedules to pick 10 new series to watch this April, from a revenge thriller featuring British Sign Language and a new take on Sherlock Holmes to the return of The Last of Us and the story behind the world’s first celebrity chef.
In the first part of the DQ100 2025/26, we pick 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.
The Bay creator and writer Daragh Carville reflects on the fifth season of the ITV crime drama and a pivotal moment in the finale where “truths long unspoken” are finally brought out into the open.
Horror series Reencarne (Reincarnate) breaks new ground for Brazilian drama with the nightmarish story of a former cop who comes face to face with the spirit of his ex-partner. Star Welket Bungué, artistic director Bruno Safafi and writer Juan Jullian tell DQ more.
Rise of the Raven stars Gellért K Kádár and Vivien Rujder join showrunner Balázs Lengyel to tell DQ how they transported viewers to 15th century Europe for this epic series that sees a fearless army commander face down an Ottoman invasion.
Watson star Morris Chestnut reveals why he returned to medical drama to play the title character in this Sherlock Holmes spin-off, which sees Dr John Watson practising medicine at a clinic for rare disorders.
DQ checks out the upcoming schedules to pick 10 new series to watch this March, from an Italian historical drama and Spanish crime series to a White House murder mystery and a one-shot limited series from the team behind Boiling Point.
Unforgotten director Andy Wilson looks back on six seasons of ITV’s cold-case detective drama and picks out his favourite moments from each one, revealing how they were brought to the screen. Across six seasons of ITV’s cold-case detective drama Unforgotten, Andy Wilson has been behind the monitor for every single episode as the show’s sole director. It’s a rare feat, matched on the series only by creator Chris Lang as an ever-present writer. In that time, Wilson has overseen the rise of one of the best crime dramas on British television, with each season bringing together a seemingly disparate group of people, a dead body and two detectives determined to piece together the past to identify the killer. Season one introduced DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker) and DI Sunil ‘Sunny’ Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) as the leading police detectives working the case. Then when Walker’s Cassie tragically died at the end of season four, Sonny’s new partner arrived in S5 in the shape of Sinead Keenan’s DCI Jessica ‘Jess’ James. Now airing on ITV, season six of Unforgotten finds Jess and Sunny called to the scene of some suspected human remains on Whitney Marsh. Outspoken television commentator Melinda Ricci (MyAnna Buring), Martin ‘Marty’ Baines (Maximilian Fairley) and his mother Dot (Michele Dotrice), Asif Syed (Elham Ehsas) and Juliet Cooper (Victoria Hamilton) may all be linked to the cold case. The series is produced by Mainstreet Pictures and coproduced by Masterpiece PBS in the US. BBC Studios is the international distributor. Here, … Continue reading Gone but not Unforgotten
