Articles about BBC Studios
Treacherous waters
The cast and crew of The North Water reveal their perilous experience filming scenes in the Arctic for this story of an 1850s whaling expedition, written and directed by Andrew Haigh.
Serving Time
Bafta-winning writer Jimmy McGovern and executive producer Tom Sherry tell DQ about partnering with stars Sean Bean and Stephen Graham on Time, a prison-set drama in which an inmate and an officer contemplate guilt and forgiveness.
Making it in Mallorca
Executive producer Ben Donald and casting director Vicki Thomson tell DQ about making the truncated second season of BBC crime drama The Mallorca Files and bringing together the show’s international cast.
Keeping Watch
Actor Marama Corlett tells DQ about her transformative experience playing the mysterious Corporal Angua in BBC America’s cyberpunk thriller The Watch.
Watch out
The Watch lead writer Simon Allen and executive producer Richard Stokes discuss making the genre-busting BBC America series, which is inspired by characters from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels.
Inside man
Star Wars actor John Boyega discusses taking the lead in Red, White & Blue, the third film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, which tells the true story of a young black man who joins the police to combat racist attitudes from within.
Axe to grind
12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen comes to the small screen for the first time with Small Axe, a series of feature-length TV films focusing on London’s West Indian community. He reveals how the long-gestating project took shape and explains how these historical stories look to the future.
Music therapy
Creator Kristen Dunphy and executive producer Jason Burrows discuss overcoming the challenges of making Australian drama Wakefield, which explore the fine line between sanity and madness with a complex story set in a psychiatric hospital.
Kiss chase
Mary Poppins Returns star Emily Mortimer opens up about writing and directing The Pursuit of Love for the BBC and Amazon, adapting Nancy Mitford’s novel and why she wanted to fire herself.
Unhappy holidays
Us director Geoffrey Sax tells DQ how the BBC drama was filmed across Europe to tell the story of a family on the verge of splitting up as they embark on one final holiday together.
Return to Paradise
Crime drama Death in Paradise is back in production, celebrating its 10th anniversary while becoming one of the first British series to start filming after the coronavirus-enforced shutdown. Red Planet Pictures’ Tim Key and Alex Jones tell DQ how they have done it.
Heading East
Producer Kevin Loader and production designer Simon Bowles reveal how the empty sets of British soap EastEnders gave them the opportunity to film Alan Bennett’s acclaimed Talking Heads monologue series during the coronavirus lockdown.
On the Hunt
Cheat writer Gaby Hull talks about the inspiration and writing process behind six-part drama We Hunt Together, an unconventional police thriller in which two couples begin a cat-and-mouse chase.
Girl talk
Having started life as a one-off drama, Our Girl is now in its fourth full season. Creator Tony Grounds tells DQ about making the military series, being inspired by real-life stories and replacing star Michelle Keegan.
Making it in Manhattan
Richard Yee, co-creator, co-writer and director of Sky1 comedy drama Sick of It, discusses a scene from the season two finale that took the production to New York.
Winter sun
The Mallorca Files aims to be the bright and breezy antidote to the trend for dark, melancholic crime dramas. DQ visited the set on the Balearic isle.
Power struggle
Richard Gere returns to TV for the first time in 30 years to star alongside Helen McCrory and Billy Howle in BBC drama MotherFatherSon. DQ finds out how this story of an international businessman and his newspaper empire goes beyond the boardroom to examine a family in crisis.
Mays days
With starring roles in Guerrilla and Born to Kill, Daniel Mays has already had a busy year. He tells DQ about his next show, Against the Law, in which he plays a character who was instrumental in the UK’s decision to decriminalise homosexuality in the 1960s.
Everything old is new again
As UK networks continue to mine classic stories for new dramas, Stephen Arnell asks whether international coproductions are the key to unlocking creativity.