FIRST LOOK: Filming is underway in Glasgow on upcoming BBC series Counsels, a high-stakes legal drama set in the Scottish city featuring a cast including Brandon Grace, Ro Kumar, Eilidh Park, George Prentice, Alyth Ross and Rebecca Bell.
All posts by Michael Pickard
All hail King Eddie
One of Britain’s most prolific and varied actors, Eddie Marsan discusses his desire for diversity in the parts he chooses, why he doesn’t want to be a celebrity and how he got into character to play King Edward in BBC drama King & Conqueror.
Robin Hood arrows to MGM+
TRAILER: Jack Patten and Lauren McQueen join Sean Bean and Connie Nielsen in Robin Hood, an adventure drama reimagining the classic outlaw that will debut on MGM+ on November 2.
Harlan Coben’s Lazarus sets Prime Video debut
FIRST LOOK: Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy and Alexandra Roach star in Harlan Coben’s Lazarus, which will be released worldwide on Prime Video on October 22, 2025.
Helming Hostage
Isabelle Sieb tells DQ about taking on her first lead director role with Netflix’s Hostage, reuniting with star Suranne Jones and why she didn’t want the political thriller’s camerawork to go “full Blair Witch Project.”
Prime Video books stay at Hotel Costiera
TRAILER: Jesse Williams is checking into Hotel Costiera, a six-part English-language action drama produced in Italy for Prime Video and due to debut in September.
Battle ready
Stars James Norton and Emily Beecham, director Baltasar Kormákur and executive producer Kitty Kaletsky recall their epic effort to bring the Battle of Hastings to television in King & Conqueror – and reveal why there’s more to this historical story than its central protagonists. During the development of King & Conqueror, James Norton was waiting for his Armageddon moment. In 1998, Armageddon and Deep Impact were released in cinemas within weeks of each other, both imagining gigantic meteorites bound for Earth, with humanity racing against time to prevent destruction. King & Conqueror tells the story of Harold of Wessex, William of Normandy and the historical events building up to the feted Battle of Hastings in 1066 – and Norton couldn’t believe it had never been dramatised for television. Through planning and then production, he kept looking over his shoulder, anticipating that a rival project might emerge at any moment. “It was like, how are we the only ones having this idea right now?’” he tells DQ. “We did seem to be the only ones, and we followed it through.” Approximately seven years in the making, King & Conqueror now debuts on the BBC in the UK after an international coproduction led by Norton and Kitty Kaletsky’s Rabbit Track Pictures was pieced together to make the series. They had first been approached with the idea for the series by writer Michael Robert Johnson, and then built a coalition that included CBS Studios, RVK Studios, The Development Partnership and Shepherd Content. The … Continue reading Battle ready
BBC, HBO Max partner for Richard Gadd’s Half Man
FIRST LOOK: Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell play brothers in Half Man, Gadd’s follow-up to Baby Reindeer that is coming to the BBC and HBO Max in 2026.
Sky composes Amadeus drama
FIRST LOOK: Will Sharpe, Paul Bettany and Gabrielle Creevy star in Amadeus, a five-part drama that reimagines the meteoric rise and mythic downfall of one of history’s greatest composers. It is due to air later this year on Sky.
Hostage situation
DQ speaks to star Suranne Jones and showrunner Matt Charman about making Netflix political thriller Hostage, their actor-writer partnership and why peanut butter was an integral part of the show.
BBC, BritBox turn up the volume for Riot Women
TRAILER: Joanna Scanlan, Rosalie Craig, Tamsin Greig, Lorraine Ashbourne and Amelia Bullmore star in Riot Women, the new drama from Happy Valley’s Sally Wainwright that will launch on the BBC this October.
Acorn TV, 5 plot Murder Before Evensong
TRAILER: Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis takes the lead in Murder Before Evensong, a new murder mystery series launching on Acorn TV in the US and Canada on September 29 before its UK debut on 5 this autumn.
Fighting the Invasion
As Invasion returns to Apple TV+ for a third season, British actor India Brown opens up about making the epic sci-fi drama, how she has emerged as a key player in its story and the route she took to graduate from child star to adult roles.
Netflix opens doors to House of Guinness
FIRST LOOK: Anthony Boyle, Louis Partridge, Emily Fairn, Fionn O’Shea and James Norton lead the cast of House of Guinness, a period drama from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight coming to Netflix on September 25, 2025.
Robin Wright meets Prime Video’s The Girlfriend
TRAILER: Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke star in The Girlfriend, a drama based on Michelle Frances’ novel of the same name that will debut on Prime Video worldwide on September 10.
Highland flings
Stars Jamie Roy, Harriet Slater, Hermione Corfield and Jeremy Irvine lift the lift the lid on making Outlander: Blood of My Blood, as showrunner Matthew B Roberts discusses the challenges of plotting and producing the historical prequel.
Catching up with Karen
Three years after its debut, Karen Pirie continues to freshen up the crime genre with its unashamedly “normal” title character. Writer Emer Kenny and executive producer Emma Luffingham take DQ inside the series based on Val McDermid’s literary detective.
Alien queen
Australian star Essie Davis does her best to avoid spoilers as she speaks to DQ about her part in Alien: Earth, the ethical battles facing her character’s role in changing the face of humanity and why being on set was like visiting Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
In the spotlight
Shine Fiction CEO Dominique Farrugia discusses his latest project – French thriller Rien ne t’efface (Nothing Erases You) – the abundance of book-to-screen adaptations and why he’s stepping back behind the camera for crime comedy Enquête en Family (Family Detective).
Alien arrival
Alien: Earth showrunner Noah Hawley joins members of the cast to delve into the making of the first television series based on the iconic Alien film franchise, revealing why some of the sets look familiar and why the famed Xenomorphs aren’t the only things to be frightened of.