Category: IN PRODUCTION
A lesson in murder
A teacher travels back in time to discover which of her students killed her in Japanese murder mystery The Greatest Teacher. Producer Tsutomu Sukuki reveals how the show drew on contemporary themes to turn viewers into armchair detectives.
Unlocking accessible programming
Writing for DQ, OUTtv chief operating officer Philip Webb reveals how research on accessibility for audiences translated into the making of the US-based streamer’s comedy-drama Womb Envy.
All Gone
Executive producers Katie Holly and Yvonne Donohoe look back on the making of Irish-New Zealand crime drama The Gone and discuss creating authentic coproductions and upending character stereotypes.
Unmasking Anonymous
NL Film producer Dennis Cornelisse introduces DQ to Anoniem (Anonymous), a Dutch crime drama imagined as ‘Batman of the Netherlands.’
Facing the facts
Sophie Lorain and Alexis Durand-Brault from Québec’s Also Productions take DQ inside their particular brand of storytelling, which they say changes the narrative when it comes to well-trodden genres, and discuss embracing factual drama with their latest series, Désobéir (Disobey) and Mégantic.
Numbers game
B-Reel Films’ Ulf Synnerholm introduces Swedish crime drama Detektiven från Beledweyne (Detective #24) and reveals how this story of two investigators searching for a missing girl feeds into the country’s immigration debate.
Winter (King) is coming
As epic Arthurian drama The Winter King nears completion, executive producers Julie Gardner and Lachlan MacKinnon tell DQ about adapting Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles for television, playing with magic and being inspired by The West Wing.
What’s up, docs?
Writing for DQ, Nutopia founder and CEO Jane Root and chief creative officer Simon Willgoss detail the production company’s approach to bringing together writers and historical experts to create the scripted elements for drama-documentaries like their recent Netflix series, Queen Cleopatra.
Making a Killing
As production wraps on upcoming Paramount+ UK drama The Killing Kind, executive producers Paula Cuddy and Eve Gutierrez discuss adapting the Jane Casey novel, changing endings and telling stories for a global audience.
Real steel
Severn Screen’s Ed Talfan tells DQ about the story behind BBC true crime drama Steeltown Murders, which explores the community impact of a decades-old murder case and the pioneering technology used to catch a killer.
Sam-thing to talk about
Sam – A Saxon, the first German original for Disney+, dramatises the true story of East Germany’s first black police officer. Producers Jörg Winger and Tyron Ricketts tell DQ about the project’s long journey to the screen and its topical themes of identity and belonging.
Enter the Para-verse
With long-running crime drama Death in Paradise now joined in the television schedules by sequel-spin-off Beyond Paradise, executive producers Tim Key and Alex Jones discuss expanding the world of the original series and the ‘franchisation’ of television.
From brushes to budgets
Making the move from make-up designer to producer, Jessica Taylor has completed an unusual career switch. She tells DQ how support from some high-profile TV stars led her to become the producer of the third season of acclaimed crime drama Happy Valley.
Inside the Dome
Norwegian drama Kuppel 16 (Dome 16) imagines a romance between two teenagers in a futuristic society divided by wealth and inequality. Tordenfilm producers Eric Vogel and Ingunn Sundelin tell DQ about building the world of the show, sustainable production and avoiding cliches.
Enter the Imaginarium
Actor-director Andy Serkis and producer Jonathan Cavendish discuss their partnership running British production company The Imaginarium, how technology can enhance storytelling and upcoming projects such as Madame Tussaud.
Safety in numbers
Juliette Howell, co-CEO of House Productions, tells DQ about the prodco’s creative ambitions on the back of hit BBC series Sherwood and previews forthcoming ITVX crime drama Six Four.
Meet The Invincibles
Moskito Television’s Mari Kinnunen and writer-director Matti Kinnunen preview upcoming Finnish financial thriller Rosvopankki (The Invincibles), which blends fact and fiction in a story about the country’s banking crisis in the early 1990s.
Being diplomatic
Writer Ben Richards and executive producer Simon Heath recall their decade-long journey to make The Diplomat, a series set in Barcelona that follows the work of a consul called upon to help British nationals in trouble in Catalonia.
Take con me
Sister execs Alice Tyler and Lydia Hampson take DQ inside the Chernobyl and Landscapers producer’s development process and preview upcoming BBC conman series The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies.
On Target
Kazakh YA drama Target found its leading actors in the shape of two popular TikTokers. DQ chats to the production team about the demand for mystery drama and creating stories for the social media generation.