News: Case Histories Series 2 Coming Soon

The BBC Media Centre now has news of series 2; click on the pic below to read the full piece.  Dates are yet to be confirmed but we have:

“Jason Isaacs reprises his role as complex and compulsive private detective Jackson Brodie in crime drama Case Histories. In this first episode, Victoria Wood plays a retired policewoman who finds herself on the wrong side of the law.

Back in Edinburgh after a child-snatching job in Munich, Jackson struggles with guilt about whether he returned the child to the right parent or if he was duped.

A new case comes calling when Hope McMaster, a woman searching for her birth parents, approaches Jackson for help. His search takes him into the dark heart of 1979 police corruption and murder – and a secret that has remained buried for nearly 35 years…”

Click on pic for further info at BBC site.

BAFTA TV NOMINATIONS 2013

The 2013 BAFTA TV nominations have been announced.  The following sample covers awards where crime drama features.  Click on this link to see the full list in an online pdf.

LEADING ACTOR

• Ben Whishaw – Richard II (The Hollow Crown) – BBC Two
• Derek Jacobi – Last Tango in Halifax – BBC One
• Sean Bean – Accused (Tracie’s Story) – BBC One
• Toby Jones – The Girl – BBC Two

LEADING ACTRESS

• Anne Reid – Last Tango in Halifax – BBC One
• Rebecca Hall – Parade’s End – BBC Two
• Sheridan Smith – Mrs Biggs – ITV
• Sienna Miller – The Girl – BBC Two

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Peter Capaldi – The Hour – BBC Two
• Stephen Graham – Accused (Tracie’s Story) – BBC OneHarry Lloyd – The Fear – Channel 4
• Simon Russell Beale – Henry IV Part 2 (The Hollow Crown) – BBC Two

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Anastasia Hille – The Fear – Channel 4
• Imelda Staunton – The Girl – BBC Two
• Olivia Colman Accused – (Mo’s Story) – BBC One
• Sarah Lancashire – Last Tango in Halifax – BBC One

MINI-SERIES

• Accused – Sita Williams, Roxy Spencer, Jimmy McGovern – RSJ Films/BBC One
• Mrs Biggs – Jeff Pope, Kwajdo Dajan, Paul Whittington – ITV Studios/ITV
• Parade’s End – Damien Timmer, Tom Stoppard, Susanne White, David Parfitt – Mammoth Screen/BBC Two
• Room at the Top – Aisling Walsh, Amanda Coe, Paul Fritt, Kate Triggs – Great Meadow Productions/BBC Four

DRAMA SERIES

• Last Tango in Halifax – Sally Wainwright, Nicola Shindler, Karen Lewis – Red Production Company/BBC One
• Ripper Street – Richard Warlow, Tom Shankland, Stephen Smallwood – Tiger Aspect Productions/BBC One
• Scott and Bailey – Production Team – Red Production Company/ITV
• Silk – Hilary Salmon, Peter Moffat, Richard Stokes, Jeremy Webb – BBC Productions/BBC One

INTERNATIONAL

• The Bridge – Hans Rosenfeldt, Charlotte Sieling, Anders Landstrom, Bo Ehrhardt – Filmlance, Nimbus, ZDF Enterprises/BBC Four
• Game of Thrones – David Benioff, D.B Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger – HBO/Sky Atlantic
• Girls – Lena Dunham, Jennie Konner, Judd Apatow – HBO/Sky Atlantic
• Homeland – Production Team – 20^th Century Fox/Channel 4

Starting Tonight: Murdoch Mysteries returns to Alibi

From the press release:

Murdoch Mysteries returns to Alibi
Mondays from 4^th February 2013

UKTV’s Alibi is thrilled to announce the return of 19^th century crime show, Murdoch Mysteries.  The brand new and exclusive sixth series launches on Alibi on Monday 4^th February at 9pm (Sky 132, Virgin 130).

Based on Maureen Jennings’ series of hit novels, Murdoch Mysteries is a one-hour drama set in Toronto in the late 1890s and early 1900s during the age of invention, where methodical and dashing Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) enlists radical new forensic techniques like fingerprinting, ultraviolet light and trace evidence to solve some of the city’s most gruesome murders.

In the season opener, Detective Murdoch witnesses firsthand the early days of mechanical airplane flight as he delves into a high-flying, high-level conspiracy. Later in the season, as well as facing new challenges in his relationship with Dr. Julia Ogden (Hélène Joy), he will try to clear the name of a young Winston Churchill (Thomas Howes; Downton Abbey) after his visit to Toronto goes awry; work to stop a dangerous madman from unleashing a deadly toxic gas attack; visit a community of naturists; and encounter a ghostly presence in Queen’s Park. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle also makes an appearance when his supposedly fictional creation, Detective Sherlock Holmes, becomes entangled in a violent robbery. The season ends with the shocking murder of someone in Murdoch’s circle, and the prime suspect is someone even closer to him.

Take a look at some of the upcoming action here: bit.ly/MM6Trailer

For exclusive content and videos visit www.facebook.com/theperfectalibi or www.uktv.co.uk/alibi and follow @Alibi_Channel on Twitter.

Sky Atlantic announces the commission of The Tunnel, a new crime drama based on Scandi TV series The Bridge

From yesterday’s Cult Box.  The ten-part series co-production with CANAL+ will air later in 2013 and will be bilingual – a first in broadcasting for both the UK and France.

The official synopsis reads: ‘When a prominent French politician is found dead on the border between the UK and France, detectives Karl Roebuck and Elise Wassermann are sent to investigate on behalf of their respective countries. However, the case takes a surreal turn when a shocking discovery is made at the crime scene, forcing the French and British police into an uneasy partnership…’

I don’t know about you but I’m struggling to work out which of the Karl Roebuck and Elise Wassermann pair is British and which is French.

The series will be primarily set in Folkestone and Calais.  See the above link for more information.

Not to be missed this festive season: William Boyd’s Restless

The trailer for the production to be shown on BBC1 on Thursday 27 December and Friday 28 December at 9pm follows below.  William Boyd has been a key part of the adaptation.  The cast includes: Michael Gambon (Page Eight, Luck), Charlotte Rampling (Melancholia, The Eye Of The Storm), Rufus Sewell (Pillars Of The Earth, Zen), Hayley Atwell (Any Human Heart, Captain America), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey, Anna Karenina) and Adrian Scarborough (Upstairs Downstairs, Gavin and Stacey).

More information from the BBC Media Centre here.  Alison Graham has reviewed the programme’s two episodes in the Radio Times here and here.

The Killing III

The Killing returns to BBC4 on November 17, for its third and final series.  The BBC’s Media Centre page tells us that Inspector Sarah Lund is back for one last case and that:

Denmark is the midst of a fiercely contested election race, set against the backdrop of the financial crisis.  With 10 days to go to the election, Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lund prepares to celebrate her 25th year in the police and looks forward to the prospect of a new job in the force. But her relative peace is shattered when unidentified body parts are found at Copenhagen dock only hours before a scheduled visit by the Prime Minister.

The cast includes Sofie Gråbøl as Sarah Lund, Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Mathias Borch and Morten Suurballe as Lennart Brix.

The original TV programme site is here.  Meanwhile, before the short trailer, a word of warning just in case you are looking for clips.  The original site appears to have full episodes in short clips of about 5 minutes and watching these may deliver a spoiler or two.  YouTube has attracted some innovative film makers.  Under the heading ‘Forbrydelsen III’ you will find spoofs and completely non-related entries.

There is also an article in the Radio Times here, talking to the series creator, Søren Sveistrup.

Great crime and psychological dramas on UK screens …

We have had a recent glut of these.  Here’s a quick round-up:

ITV1 A Mother’s Son – a two-parter last weekend

This was a pleasant surprise that exceeded my expectations.  Set in Suffolk, a missing teenage girl is found murdered.  In a household bringing together two sets of two teenagers following the marriage of their parents, the mother is disturbed when seeing some suspicious behaviour in her son.  It makes for tense viewing as we follow her through her moral dilemmas to discover whether he was involved in some way.  One to keep the hankies close to hand.  With Hermione Norris, Martin Clunes, Paul McGann and Alexander Arnold.  The DVD release date is 17 September.  Or catch up on ITV player where there are 23 days left.

BBC1 Accused – a second four part series which ended last week

Another one focusing on moral dilemmas and the writing is superb – led by Jimmy McGovern.  Accused is a stand out for its format:  we know that someone is in the dock, we then find out how they came to be there and what the outcome will be.  Each episode is a single story and delivers some outstanding acting performances.  Across the second series we have Anna Maxwell Martin, John Bishop, Robert Sheehan, Ann-Marie Duff, Olivia Colman, (the ever versatile) Stephen Graham, Sean Bean and Michael Maloney.  Hankies also recommended here.  There is a DVD coming, although it’s not yet out.  You’ll have to be quick if you want to catch the last two episodes on BBC iplayer.

BBC2 Parade’s End

When episode one was aired some media critics noted that with viewers of 3.1m Parade’s End achieved viewing figures to match the lauding it received in its reviews (from same the critics).   A superb cast was mentioned.  True.  But they didn’t take into account the Cumberbatch Factor.  This man is Sherlock for God’s sake.  Lovers of Cumberbatch’s Sherlock were on the receiving end of quite something else here.  No surprises then that nearly one million did not stick with it for episode two.

BBC1, 9pm, Good Cop – starts tonight

Starting tonight at 9pm is a new series on BBC1: Good Cop.  There’s a review from Alison Graham in the Radio Times here.  Starring as John Paul Rocksavage is Warren Brown, latterly of Luther.  This is a four-part series and it kicks off with:

“Liverpool policeman John Paul Rocksavage, known as Sav, and his colleague Andy Stockwell intervene when a gang of men mistreats a waitress at a diner. In an act of retribution, its leader Noel Finch sets up a false call-out and an unsuspecting Stockwell suffers a brutal assault at the hands of the thugs, resulting in his death. Returning to the scene of the crime, a distraught Sav finds a loaded gun concealed under a loose floorboard and when Finch appears he makes a fateful decision.”

BBC4, Inspector Montalbano, Turning Point

Inspector Salvo Montalbano

Welcome back Montalbano!  Sicilian Salvo returns to salve our wounds of missing crime dramas in sunny climes.  Turning Point is also one of the best – if not the best Montalbano episode – to hit our screens from the start of our on-screen Sicilian love affair.

Shockingly, at the start of Turning Point Salvo is considering departure from the police.  With corruption recently exposed within the force he feels let down and at odds with his employer – less of a leader in his role and more of an individual.  But, in a wonderful conversation with Mimi (Augello), another perspective casts a strong light across his agenda.  Does he think again?  Across just over 1.5 hours his later actions speak louder than words here.