Articles about BBC2
Special Kay
Doctor-turned-comedian Adam Kay is adapting his best-selling memoir about life on the wards for the BBC and AMC. He tells DQ about translating his diaries for television.
Welcome to Windermere
The previously untold story of how hundreds of children came to the UK from concentration camps at the end of the Second World War is dramatised in The Windermere Children, a stark and poignant film commissioned to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Driving Mr Jones
Award-winning playwright Tim Crouch has teamed up with actor and longtime friend Toby Jones to write Don’t Forget the Driver, a dark comedy-drama starring Jones as a coach driver whose mundane life is thrown into chaos.
Palace life
As Versailles concludes after three seasons, executive producer Claude Chelli and costume designer Madeline Fontaine discuss the making of the lavish French historical drama.
End of a Saga
As the final season of Bron/Broen (The Bridge) arrives in the UK, actors Sofia Helin and Thure Lindhardt, creator Hans Rosenfeldt and head writer Camilla Ahlgren reflect on the success of the internationally acclaimed series.
A human story
In his first screen drama, novelist Patrick Gale tells two gay love stories set 60 years apart. DQ speaks to the writer and actors Vanessa Redgrave and Joanna Vanderham about starring in Man In An Orange Shirt .
Being Paula
An award-winning stage turn changed the fortunes of actor Denise Gough, who tells DQ about starring in BBC2 three-parter Paula.
Showtime plays the long game
US channel Showtime has again shown long-term commitment to its drama series by renewing Homeland for two further seasons, while BBC2 will continue to be the home of lavish French period drama Versailles.
Nielsen peels away Orange audience mystery
Nielsen data-crunching underlines the success of Netflix’s flagship drama Orange is the New Black, AMC shows faith in Preacher and Syfy gives a surprise recommission to 12 Monkeys.
Netflix plays Chandra’s Games in India
As Netflix and Amazon continue their global commissioning arms race with new productions in India, Japan, France and the US, CBS has boarded Frank Spotnitz hostage negotiation series Ransom and AMC is adapting David Carr’s memoir.
Know your Enemy: Stephen Poliakoff discusses his new show
Look to the past to find a good story, says Stephen Poliakoff, as a bomb-damaged hotel in post-war London provides the stage for his latest BBC drama, Close to the Enemy.
Strange bedfellows boost TV
From E4 and Netflix to BBC2 and FX, the scripted TV business is thriving thanks to unlikely collaborations. Andy Fry reports.
Playing to win: What next for Playground Entertainment?
Playground Entertainment UK’s Louise Pedersen and Sophie Gardiner reveal what’s next for the prodco following the runaway success of Wolf Hall.
Disney’s Descendants on the up
Among this week’s hits, Descendants did Disney proud both on screens and through speakers, Hallmark hit a new high with Cedar Cove and Tut took Channel 5 by storm. But things were less positive for BBC2 military drama Odyssey…
Leader of the pack
BBC2’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall delivered the channel its best ratings for a drama series in more than a decade and won fawning praise across the board. DQ caught up with the creative talent behind the camera.
Must-see TV
Andy Fry wonders whether US networks will come looking for Witnesses following its runaway success in France, and examines how Jane the Virgin has seduced viewers and critics alike.
Good Fellowes
Fellowes looks Beyond Downton, Blick signs up for new BBC2 series, James Wood named as writer on Game Changer, Fox 21 Television Studios and Kevin Spacey to produce TV version of The Residence.
Inside Steven Knight’s critically acclaimed period drama Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders, the Steven Knight-scripted period crime drama, has had one of the best critical receptions of UK drama in recent years, also winning the Editor’s Choice award at the inaugural C21 International Drama Awards in November 2014. But what exactly does it take to create, and sustain, such a beautifully crafted drama? DQ talks to some of the key players behind the production.