FIRST LOOK: Filming has wrapped on Gomorrah – Origins, a new prequel to the Italian mafia series that will debut on Sky and NOW in January 2026.
All posts by Michael Pickard
Karen Pirie sets ITV, BritBox return
FIRST LOOK: Lauren Lyle returns as Karen Pirie in the second season of the ITV and BritBox crime series, which is set to return to screens this summer.
Totally Outrageous
Executive producer Elizabeth Kilgarriff and writer Sarah Williams reflect on Outrageous, a six-part series that dramatises the lives of the aristocratic Mitford sisters in 1930s Britain, revealing why the title perfectly describes both its protagonists and the way their story is told.
Reflecting on rehab
Spanish writer and director Javier Giner speaks to DQ about drawing on his life experiences for Yo, Adicto (I, Addict), the compelling and poignant story of a man who vows to turn his life around after spiralling into addiction.
BBC opens The Cage
FIRST LOOK: Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha are pictured in The Cage, an upcoming BBC crime drama set in a Liverpool casino and written by The Responder’s Tony Schumacher.
Parent trap
Minu Kallis Ema (My Dear Mother) writer Raoul Suvi and director Doris Tääker speak to DQ about this Estonian drama, which uses a murder mystery to tell a story about addiction and abuse after a woman is accused of killing her mother.
Disney+ lands on Alien: Earth
TRAILER: Here’s the trailer for Alien: Earth, the upcoming sci-fi drama based on the film franchise that will debut on Hulu and Disney+ in August.
Hulu, Disney explore The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox
FIRST LOOK: Grace Van Patten stars as the title character in The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, a limited series coming to Hulu in the US and Disney+ worldwide this August.
MGM+ enters The Institute
FIRST LOOK: Mary-Louise Parker, Ben Barnes and Joe Freeman star in The Institute, an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name that will launch on MGM+ on July 13.
Night to remember
Nos vies en l’air (A Night to Live) writer Margaux Bonhomme discusses the challenging themes and format at the heart of this French coming-of-age drama, which centres on two desperate teens who find solace in strangers as they face a decision between life and death.
McCredie’s juggling act
Australian screenwriter Elise McCredie reveals how she manages multiple projects, from topical dramas like Stateless to airport-set development project The Chaplain, and discusses her passion for telling bold, character-driven stories that explore the depths of humanity.
David Harewood steps out as Channel 4’s Pierre
FIRST LOOK: David Harewood stars alongside Michele Austin and Jason Flemyng in Pierre, a Channel 4 legal drama now filming in West London.
Peak TV
Jesse Armstrong trades media moguls for tech titans in Mountainhead. The Succession creator tells DQ about this timely, dystopian feature-length drama, reuniting with some familiar faces and directing his first major project. Award-winning film and television writer Jesse Armstrong is best known as the man behind HBO’s hugely acclaimed darkly satirical drama Succession, while he also wrote The Entire History of You, one of the standout episodes of dystopian anthology series Black Mirror. Now, with Mountainhead, the influence of both projects can be found in this story of four tech billionaires postulating about taking over the world while civil unrest spreads across the globe thanks to the rampant rise of AI-generated videos. Written by Armstrong, the HBO film also marks his first major directing credit. It opens as Randall (Steve Carrell), Venis (Cory Michael Smith) and Jeff (Ramy Youssef) gather at a mountain retreat belonging to Hugo, aka Souper (Jason Schwartzman). But as the ‘Brewsters’ reunite for a boys weekend, they can’t take their eyes off their phones. That’s because they’re sharing constant updates from social media while countries around the world become engulfed by political turmoil, panic buying, stock market crashes and outbreaks of violence – events attributed to new “content tools” released by Venis’s own platform, Traam, that have been used to spread misinformation through generative AI and deepfake videos. As it happens, Jeff has developed software that can identify AI-generated content – but will he sell his “filter for nightmares” to Venis? A blend of satirical comedy … Continue reading Peak TV
Face value
As Natasha Lyonne’s human lie detector Charlie returns to solve more mysteries in season two of Poker Face, creator and director Rian Johnson reflects on the success of the ‘how catch ’em’ series and discusses working with many versions of Cynthia Erivo.
Making the Call
On Call executive producers Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf take DQ inside the making of this Prime Video crime procedural, which uses bodycam-style footage to put viewers in the centre of a story about the daily challenges faced by Long Beach police officers.
The talented Ms Ritchie
Ghosts star Charlotte Ritchie tells DQ about playing a detective for the first time in ITV drama Code of Silence, why leaving Ghosts was “a big loss” and the lessons she learned making Netflix thriller You.
Planning for Disasters
Jo Joyner, Shelley Conn and Emily Taaffe reflect on the moral dilemma at the heart of Paramount+ emotional thriller Little Disasters and discuss how they came together to create the drama’s central characters, whose friendships are torn apart by secrets and revelations.
HBO previews IT: Welcome to Derry
TRAILER: HBO is entering the world of Stephen King with IT: Welcome to Derry, a series based on the author’s novel IT that is due to air this autumn.
The Bear reopens for season four
TRAILER: Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are reopening The Bear for season four, as the series returns to Hulu in the US on June 25 and Disney+ on June 26.
Killer style
Director Simon Hynd, costume designer Hayley Nebauer and hair and make-up designer James Spinks tell DQ about the “unique” prospect of making BBC comedy-drama Death Valley, which centres on an unlikely crime-solving partnership who must unravel a series of bizarre murders.