Category: THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR
Staging a Reunion
Six-part mystery thriller The Reunion sees old friendships pushed to extremes by 25-year-old revelations. Director Bill Eagles tells DQ about helming this European production, working with two sets of actors and why he doesn’t want to be typecast.
Soul searching
Souls creator Alex Eslam and co-director Hanna Maria Heidrich introduce this mind-bending German drama which questions the phenomenon of past lives through three interweaving stories.
The London look
Known for its balletic action sequences, Gangs of London is back for a second season. Director Corin Hardy tells DQ about helming the series and breaks down a key scene from the first episode.
Western promise
As anticipation builds for the launch of Sky and Canal+ original series Django, director Francesca Comencini outlines her approach to reimagining Sergio Corbucci’s influential film and discusses her love of westerns.
Joy and Sorrow
Finnish director Jani Volanen tells DQ how an unmade film script formed the basis of coming-of-age mystery drama Munkkivuori (Summer of Sorrow), about one boy’s summer in a town where a young child has gone missing.
Boys will be boys
Rising Danish director Jonas Risvig speaks to DQ about steering his biggest project to date, Viaplay drama Drenge (Boys), and how he drew on his own life for this story about a group of friends finding their way in life.
Dark times
US director Dennie Gordon illuminates DQ on how she brought her taste for action drama to Last Light, a globetrotting family drama set at the start of an energy crisis that threatens to disrupt every corner of society.
Hooper’s dream job
Director Louise Hooper tells DQ about her rise from arts documentaries to epic fantasy dramas, shooting Netflix’s secret The Sandman episode and creating series to suit her own surrealist imagination.
Bad blood
Bad Sisters lead director Dearbhla Walsh lifts the lid on making Apple TV+’s dark comedic thriller, teaming with creator Sharon Horgan and filming in a popular Irish bathing spot.
Visiting Maryland
Co-director Brian Hill lifts the lid on how Maryland, Lucy Kirkwood’s stage play about the culture of violence against women, was transformed into a compelling piece of television starring Hayley Squires and Zawe Ashton.
Shooting Sherwood
Sherwood lead director Lewis Arnold talks to DQ about the success of the James Graham-scripted crime drama, working with the starry British cast and why he almost left the show.
Bringing up The Baby
Lead director Nicole Kassell discusses making Sky and HBO comedy horror The Baby, the show’s mash-up of genres and why it gave her the hardest challenge of her career.
Glutton for Punishment
Downfall director Oliver Hirschbiegel is one of six directors to contribute episodes to German series Strafe (Punishment). He tells DQ about his love of anthologies, stepping into writing and why television needs unique filmmakers.
Shooting a Scandal
Director SJ Clarkson opens up about helming Netflix’s suspenseful thriller Anatomy of a Scandal, bringing drama to a courtroom and how her start in theatre influences her cinematic style.
King maker
Italian star Luca Zingaretti plays tough prison boss Bruno Testori in Sky Italia drama Il Re (The King). Director Giuseppe Gagliardi talks about filming the series inside real prisons and why he won’t judge his morally ambiguous protagonist.
Spy flier
Director James Watkins speaks to DQ about bringing Len Deighton’s iconic spy Harry Palmer to television in six-part drama The Ipcress File and casting Joe Cole in the role made famous by Michael Caine.
Coming to America
In his television pilot Chiqui, director Carlos Cardona charts his parents’ first experiences in the US after arriving from Colombia. He tells DQ about dramatising this very personal story and upending misconceptions about the immigrant experience.
Road less travelled
Award-winning director Auli Mantila reveals how she made Finnish drama Transport, set within the world of Europe’s illicit horse trade, and explains why there needs to be more bravery in television.
Taking the Wheel
Director Ciarán Donnelly discusses directing episodes of epic fantasy adventure The Wheel of Time, which took him to fictional locations such as the Eye of the World and brought him face to face with beastly Trollocs.
Date of the week
Lina Åström speaks to DQ about writing and directing Swedish comedy-drama Ligga and how the series tackles themes of representation, grief and self-acceptance with the story of a newly single woman trying to get over her ex.