Following the launch of Japanese drama Song of the Samurai on HBO Max, star Yuki Yamada takes DQ inside this thrilling series that blends Japanese period dramas and samurai culture to tell a story about loyalty, brotherhood and betrayal.
All posts by Michael Pickard
Inside Danish police academy drama Uniformen (The Uniform) with actor Soheil Bavi and executive producer Jonas Allen
Uniformen (The Uniform) star Soheil Bavi and executive producer Jonas Allen discuss the success of this Danish police series, their plans for season two, taking a new approach to crime dramas and reuniting on upcoming series Fristelsen (Side Effects).
5 reaches Last Resort with Caroline Quentin murder-mystery drama
FIRST LOOK: Caroline Quentin, Niamh Cusack, Tessa Peake-Jones, Jason Watkins and John Hannah head the ensemble cast of Last Resort, a six-part murder-mystery that is currently in production and due to air on 5 in the UK in 2027.
Centring on a group of friends who are thrust into the murky underbelly of a quaint seaside village, this deceptively dark tale of village life introduces retired librarian Gail (Quentin); her sister Joy (Cusack), who suffers from early-stage dementia; and old friends Dee (Peake-Jones) and Charlie (Jason Watkins).
When they set off for a fun filled holiday meant to be Joy’s bucket list trip, tragedy strikes in the idyllic holiday town and the police are quick to call it an accident. However, the group are convinced it is murder and set out to prove it.
The friends dive into their own investigation with the help of Joy’s daughter Kate (Bronagh Waugh), and are soon crossing paths with DI Simon Lund (Hannah). As old crimes surface and dark patterns emerge, the group of friends finds that this seemingly idyllic resort town – with its beach walks, pub lunches, and good-natured bickering – hides something far more sinister. Together they must piece together one devastating mystery and track down a killer who has been hunting in this close–knit costal community and beyond.
Further cast includes Cathy Belton, Ella Dacres, Simon Coury, Chizzy Akudolu, Geff Francis, Tadhg Murphy, Jane Brennan, Conor Mullen, Jonathan Harden, Karyna Khymchuk, Nora Nagys and Robin Maher Kavanagh.
Last Resort is produced by Pernel Media in association with Peer Pressure and StudioCanal, which is handling international distribution.
It is co-created by Samuel Kissous and Matthew Thomas. Executive producers for the series are Samuel Kissous for Pernel Media and Richard Cook and Angela Squire for Peer Pressure. Writers for the series include lead writer Matthew Thomas (Missed Call, Marcella), David Turpin (The Ex-Wife, Girl Taken) and Rebbecca Wojciechowski (The Teacher, Silent Witness) with Sean Ellis (The Cut, Anthropoid) joining as series director.
tagged in: 5, Caroline Quentin, Jason Watkins, John Hannah, Last Resort, Niamh Cusack, Peer Pressure, Pernel Media, StudioCanal, Tessa Peake-Jones
Gugu Mbatha-Raw takes Possession of Sky’s supernatural thriller
TRAILER: Gugu Mbatha-Raw heads the cast of Possession, a supernatural thriller set between Bristol and Jamaica that is coming soon to Sky and NOWTV in the UK and Ireland.
Mbatha-Raw plays Claudia, an ambitious young bi‑racial lawyer who travels to Jamaica to challenge an inheritance claim made by a local man, Cudjoe East (Sheldon Shepherd), against Oliver Connaught (Jonny Lee Miller), a wealthy white aristocrat. But the case takes an unsettling turn when Claudia discovers that the disputed estate is the very place that has haunted her nightmares: Hope Hill, the Connaught family’s former plantation.
As Claudia and Oliver dig deeper, they uncover a disturbing link between the plantation’s brutal past and the injustices still shaping the present.
Bel Powley also stars in the five-part series (fka Inheritance), alongside Nadean Rawlins, Sean Gilder, Olunike Adeliyi, Richard Dillane, Jack Bandeira, Shantol Jackson, Jeff Crossley and Safina Simpson.
Created and written by Karla Crome (Something Very Bad is Going to Happen) and directed by Storm Saulter (Better Mus’ Come), Possession is produced by Snowed-In in association with Sky Studios. The series is based on an original story created by Jefferson Bannis.
Executive producers are Ruth Kenley-Letts, Jenny van der Lande, Neil Blair, Karla Crome, Storm Saulter, Sam Hoyle, Serena Thompson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jonny Lee Miller. The development producer is Roxanne Harvey and the series producer is Kate Ogborn.
NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution is handling international sales of the series.
tagged in: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Possession, Sky, Snowed-In Productions
Nicola Coughlan takes on toxic masculinity in Channel 4’s I Am Helen
FIRST LOOK: Nicola Coughlan stars in I Am Helen, the latest film in Dominic Savage’s Channel 4 anthology where each episode is created in partnership with its lead actor. It will debut later this year.
Developed by Coughlan and Savage, the story explores the experience of womanhood within a world shaped by masculine power, aggression and control. Told through a female lens, the two-parter examines the pressures and expectations placed on women while confronting the realities of toxic masculinity and the damage it can create in modern relationships
Joe Cole also stars, with Savage writing and directing. It is produced by Me+You Productions.
I Am Helen follows three previous I Am seasons, authentically exploring the personal experiences of women through provocative, emotionally raw storytelling. In 2023, Kate Winslet led the double BAFTA-winning I Am Ruth.
I Am debuted in August 2019 with Vicky McClure starring in I Am Nicola; Samantha Morton starring in I Am Kirsty; and Gemma Chan starring in I Am Hannah. Season two saw Suranne Jones in I Am Victoria, Letitia Wright in I Am Danielle and Lesley Manville in I Am Maria.
The series is produced by Krishnendu Majumdar and Dominic Savage. Executive producer is Richard Yee, with Gemma Boswell, commissioning editor from Channel 4 Drama. I Am is co-funded by Sky Studios and international sales are handled by NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution.
tagged in: Channel 4, Dominic Savage, I Am Helen, Me+You Productions, Nicola Coughlan
Cross words: How Aldis Hodge and Ben Watkins brought James Patterson’s gifted detective to television
As production continues on the third season of Prime Video crime thriller Cross, star Aldis Hodge and showrunner Ben Watkins reveal their ambitions for the series and title character Alex Cross, the show’s real-world relevance and how they work collaboratively on and off screen.
John Hannah discovers Benidorm is Murder for 5
FIRST LOOK: John Hannah and Carolina Bécquer team up in comedy drama Benidorm is Murder, which is set to debut in the UK on 5 later this year.
The six-part series sees Hannah play Dennis, a burned-out detective who has swapped the daily grind of the UK for a simpler life running a bar in Benidorm. When tourists start turning up dead, Dennis is reluctantly drawn back into detective work by his new barmaid, aspiring actress and crime drama superfan Rosa (Bécquer).
Benidorm’s actual policing team includes the formidable DS Maria Hernandez (Ariadna Cabrol) and her green new PC Jesús Ballesteros (Damian Schedler Cruz).
Brian Bovell plays Benidorm enigma Archie, a philosopher, a poet and a permanent fixture at Dennis’ bar, who once in a while removes his head from the clouds to casually spot something everyone has missed.
Using Dennis’ real-world experience and showcasing Rosa’s encyclopaedic TV knowledge, each episode sees the duo tackling a new murder, whilst trying to stay on the right side of the Spanish cops. Then as the bodies pile up, so do the guest stars, including Denise Welch, Alistair McGowan and Tamzin Outhwaite.
Led by Blackbox Multimedia (The Ex Wife, The Castaways) and Clapperboard
(The Teacher, The Madame Blanc Mysteries), ZDF Studios is the international distributor.
Chiara Cardoso and Camilla Hammer are executive producers for Blackbox Multimedia, with Mike Benson and Andy Morgan for Clapperboard and Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia and Viviane Richard for ZDF Studios.
Ian Jarvis (The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin) is writer and creator of the
series, with Simon Delaney (Death in Paradise, The Young Offenders) on board as lead
director, with Dermot Boyd (The Madame Blanc Mysteries) directing episode five.
Yasmin Akram (Flack), Claire Downes (The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, The Outlaws) and Tom Parry (Your Christmas or Mine, Your Christmas or Mine 2) are also writers.
Benidorm is Murder is set to air on 5 in 2026.
tagged in: Benidorm is Murder, BlackBox Multimedia, Carolina Bécquer, Clapperboard, John Hannah, ZDF Studios
BBC books appointment with Sally Phillips crime drama The Hairdresser Mysteries
FIRST LOOK: Sally Phillips heads the cast of The Hairdresser Mysteries, a “nostalgic” crime drama with a 1970s spirit that will debut this July on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.
Phillips stars as hairdresser Lily Petal, who opts out of the competitive city scene to buy a small village hairdressing salon at the top of a cobbled street – and she soon becomes the hub of her new village’s secrets and revelations. Using her own brand of uncannily developed hairdressing intuitive, empathy and understanding, Lily begins to solve the mysteries of the village.
Charlotte Jordan plays Clary Coombs, Lily’s bright and analytical assistant, with Ben Castle-Gibb as PC Adam Watson, an eager young copper in the local village who falls head-over-heels for salon assistant Clary.
Sunetra Sarker plays Wincey Evans, the village’s local gossip; Clive Rowe is Lonnie, the flamboyant manager of the local charity shop; and Guy Henry is Race Runard, the local village’s eccentric antiques dealer with a penchant for priceless teacup and saucer sets.
Guest stars will also appear through the series including Wendi Peters, who plays Gloria Crudd, another newcomer to the village hoping to make a fresh start with her ice cream parlour but soon finds her old life catching up with her.
The Hairdresser Mysteries is created by Jim Cartwright, who is also the lead writer. Will Trotter, Oliver Kent and Alex Coffey are executive producers for producer Mill Bay Media, with Herbert L Kloiber and James Copp for Night Train Media.
Mark Catley and David Semple are writers on the series with Paul Gibson, Jermain Julien and Tracey Larcombe directing. Grainne O’Boyle produces.
International distribution (excluding UK and Ireland) is handled by Sphere Abacus.
tagged in: BBC iPlayer, BBC One, Jim Cartwright, Mill Bay Media, Sally Phillips, Sphere Abacus, The Hairdresser Mysteries
Matthew Broome on breaking out with The Buccaneers, My Fault: London and Your Fault: London
Rising British star Matthew Broome tells DQ about his “addiction” to acting and his rapid rise to fame thanks to roles in Apple TV period drama The Buccaneers and Prime Video’s English-language adaptations of Mercedes Ron’s Culpables Saga.
Better Later than never for Ruth Jones and Steve Speirs’ new BBC comedy
FIRST LOOK: Ruth Jones and Steve Speirs co-star in Better Later, a new BBC Wales comedy now in production that has been written by the two stars.
Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie face Arctic mission in Vigil S3
TRAILER: Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie head to the Arctic for a third season of Vigil, which will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.
DCI Amy Silva (Jones) and DI Kirsten Longacre (Leslie) return for a new case that takes them to a remote Arctic research station, where a member of a covert British special forces mission has been shot dead.
Amy and Kirsten will need to catch the killer and defuse a potential international confrontation, driven by a land-grab for energy and resources in the changing polar climate, with both their careers and relationship on the line.
The cast also includes Gary Lewis (DS Robertson) and Dominic Mafham (Sir Ian Dowing), who reprise their roles. New cast includes Jeppe Beck Laursen, Steven Miller, Naomi Yang, Benjamin Wainwright, Tornike Gogrichiani, Danusia Samal, Artur Zai Barrera, Jordan Duvigneau, Kaisa Hammarlund, Adam Fidusiewicz, Eric Godon, Conor Berry, Amy Manson, Jason Tobin, Steven Cree, Killian Coyle, Derek Riddell, Alma Prelec, Dawn Sievewright and Shereen Cutkelvin.
The six-part series, made by World Productions (Line of Duty), filmed in Svalbard and Scotland. It is written and created by Tom Edge with additional writers Tom Mair and Eve Hedderwick Turner. The producer is Marcus Wilson, and associate producer is George Aza-Selinger.
Executive producers are Jake Lushington for World Productions, Gaynor Holmes for the BBC and Tom Edge. Stephanie Fyfe is the commissioning executive for the BBC. The series is directed by Gareth Bryn (Karen Pirie, The Gathering) and Faye Gilbert (The Bay, The Tower).
International distribution is handled by ITV Studios.
tagged in: BBC iPlayer, BBC One, ITV Studios, Rose Leslie, Suranne Jones, Vigil, World Productions
How producers and broadcasters are using BookTok to turn the page on book-to-TV adaptations
As the BookTok community on TikTok turns novels into worldwide sensations and their authors into stars, DQ hears from a panel of producers and broadcasters about how they are using this online space to discover titles ripe for television adaptation. With more than 80 million posts from around the world, BookTok has become a social phenomenon. Grown by content creators who share their love of reading on TikTok, it has made stars of authors such as Chloe Walsh (Boys of Tommen), Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean series) and Sarah J Maas (A Court of Thorns & Roses). Following a trial that started in Germany in 2023 and expanded to Austria and Switzerland in 2024, BookTok recently extended its monthly bestseller lists to the UK, Italy and Spain as a way to highlight the biggest titles in the online community. Ana Huang’s King of Gluttony, the sixth book in her Kings of Sin series, topped the UK chart for April 2026. Away from the platform, the impact of BookTok is clear to see. Analysis from NielsenIQ BookData and Media Control, which compile the charts, found that more than 50 million books recommended by BookTok were sold across Europe, generating €800m (US$920m) in revenue in 2025. In Germany, BookTok was the place to discover new titles for more than a third of 16- to 39-year-olds. The television industry is already taking note. Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry, Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and Maxton Hall: The World Between Us by Mona … Continue reading How producers and broadcasters are using BookTok to turn the page on book-to-TV adaptations
Make That Movie: Director Joe Pelling and producer William Kay on Sam Campbell’s Channel 4 comedy
Sam Campbell-fronted comedy Make That Movie brings to life movie pitches dreamed up by everyday people. Director Joe Pelling and producer William Kay recall the challenge of making a comedy mockumentary in which every episode introduces new characters, locations and a film-within-the-show.
Emmy Rossum leads Disney+ FBI drama Furious
FIRST LOOK: Emmy Rossum heads the cast of Furious, a crime drama about an FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer coming to Hulu and Disney+ around the world on July 27, 2026.
From creator and executive producer Elizabeth Meriwether, Furious follows an FBI agent Alice Black (Rossum) on the hunt for a mysterious and calculating female serial killer. Both walk their own paths toward justice, and as their lives start to intertwine, the line between right and wrong begins to blur.
The series also stars Lola Petticrew, Scoot McNairy, Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Jake Lacy.
Furious was created, written and executive produced by Meriwether. Rossum executive produces for Composition 8, along with Ronald Bass, Matt Olmstead and Sam Hoffman. Brian Kirk executive produced and directed episodes one and two.
The series is produced by 20th Television and Searchlight Television.
tagged in: Disney, Emmy Rossum, Furious, Hulu
Eve Myles and Katherine Kelly return to Paramount+ for The Crow Girl S2
FIRST LOOK: Eve Myles and Katherine Kelly return for the second season of The Crow Girl, which is set to debut on Paramount+ in the UK and Ireland on July 20, 2026.
Myles plays DCI Jeanette Kilburn and Kelly is Dr Sophia Craven in the thriller, which sees Jeanette’s hunt for the killers of young male asylum seekers take a shocking new turn when a mummified body discovered in a church wall and a body in a freezer reveal a chilling connection.
As Jeanette digs deeper, Sophia begins to suspect Victoria Burkeman, her mysterious and unstable former patient could be responsible. With the case growing darker, Sophia suspects Victoria is more familiar than she thought, and Jeanette must face the terrifying truth: the killer may be closer than she ever imagined.
The six-part series is produced by Buccaneer Media in association with ITV Studios, which handles international distribution.
tagged in: Buccaneer Media, Eve Myles, ITV Studios, Katherine Kelly, Paramount, The Crow Girl
Making up or breaking up with Nicola Walker and Jemaine Clement on the set of Disney+ comedy Alice & Steve
On the set of Alice & Steve, DQ meets writer Sophie Goodhart and stars Nicola Walker, Jemaine Clement and Yali Topol Margalith to find out how this ‘wrong-com’ examines the feud between two friends when one starts dating the other’s daughter.
Boho creator Abbie Boutkabout, director Olympia Allaert and producer Helen Perquy on Belgium’s feelgood Canneseries winner
In Belgian series Boho, three women stand at a crossroads in their lives while dealing with family, friendships and the pressure of living up to expectations. DQ chats to creator Abbie Boutkabout, director Olympia Allaert and producer Helen Perquy about this feelgood series filled with dreams and dancing.
Growing Harvest: How Martin Zandvliet seeded a Danish succession drama on a family farm
Høst (Harvest) is a new Danish drama about siblings, succession and the cost of leadership. Creator and director Martin Zandvliet takes DQ inside the making of the seven-part series, in which a family farm becomes the setting for a fight over money, power and legacy.
Finding The Flaws: Bastian Reiber and Arne Feldhusen on making satirical, absurdist German comedy Das Manko
From German creative collective Das Manko comes a self-titled, largely silent comedy about a group of hopeless government workers navigating a series of professional mishaps. Showrunners Bastian Reiber and Arne Feldhusen tell DQ why making the four-part series was a “dream come true.”
Trion director Anders Hazelius on building chemistry, intimacy and a love triangle for SkyShowtime
Swedish director Anders Hazelius tells DQ how he built the chemistry, intimacy and visual rhythm behind Trion, SkyShowtime’s passionate love-triangle drama based on the novel by Johanna Hedman.