Loading...“The Responder.
The BBC has released a police mini-series starring Martin Freeman. His character, police officer Chris from Liverpool, suffers from personal problems and deals with them with a psychologist. He was demoted to inspector, so now he works night shifts and drives to emergency calls. Anything can happen on them, on top of that Chris has to find common ground with his new partner.
The original script was written by Tony Schumacher, screenwriter and former police officer. In tandem with the lead actor, they have a very sharp and intense psychological drama. Police officer Chris Carson is a man made up of several layers of rage, misery, and despair, and Freeman managed to convey that perfectly. In addition to character, Martin Freeman also studied the specific dialect of the character. The actor was preparing for the role for a year and a half, and all this time talking to himself, honing “Liverpool” pronunciation. You can watch Night Calls on BBC iPlayer, Google Play, and Amazon Prime services.
“The Garvey Sisters Conspiracy” (Bad Sisters).
The five Garvey sisters lost their parents early and vowed to always help each other. Many years later, one of the girls gets married. Her chosen one annoys the other sisters, and Grace herself turns into a housewife after marriage. Suddenly her spouse dies, and the insurance company blames all of Garvey’s sisters for the murder, because her husband’s life was insured for a tidy sum.
“The Garvey Sisters Conspiracy” is a remake of the Belgian TV series “The Black Widow Clan”, reshot in Irish realities. Like the original show, in terms of genre it is a black comedy in ten episodes. The showrunner of the series was Sharon Horgan, she also played one of the sisters. She has also worked on the British series Catastrophe, Her Again and Motherhood. You can appreciate the screenwriter’s new work on Apple TV.
“Hotel Portofino” (Hotel Portofino)
The story unfolds in 1926 in Italy. The English Ainsworth family opens a luxury hotel in Portofino and moves to the resort for a while. The hotel’s owner, Bella Ainsworth, hopes the hotel will help her and her family recover from World War I, but the guests only add to the complications. Capricious English nobles stay at the hotel, and among the local politicians there are a growing number of Mussolini supporters who are not welcome to foreigners. While Bella deals with business and family problems, her husband squanders his fortune and looks for a young bride for his son.
The show has a total of six episodes, but the story has already been renewed for a second season. Interestingly, only part of the filming took place in Portofino itself. Most of the scenes were filmed in Croatian resorts. The main role of the hotel hostess was played by British Natascha McElhone, who starred in “The Crown” and “The Truman Show”. The series is directed by Adam Wimpenny, who directed “Urban Legends.” You can watch the show on Amazon Prime and Google Play.
“Slow Horses.
A spy series about British intelligence agency MI5 has been released on Apple TV. Ambitious agent Rivera Cartwright is exiled to Slow House after a failed mission. This is where all the boring paperwork gets dumped, and the cherry on the cake is the oppressive boss Jackson Lamb. One day the department is given a chance to prove itself again, and the team gets a chance: they have to investigate the kidnapping of a student by a far-right group, which turns out to be linked to Russian spies.
The oppressive boss was played by Oscar winner Gary Oldman. His hero is rude, slovenly, a lover of drink and saying to his subordinates everything he thinks about them. On the other hand is an experienced agent with a sharp mind and wit. Young agent Rivera Cartwright is played by Jack Lowden, known for his starring role in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. The stories are based on novels by British detective writer Mick Herron. Two seasons have been filmed so far, with the creators planning to film a couple more also based on Herron’s books.
“Four Lives.
The mini-series is based on the true story of the murders of four gay men in 2014-2015 and how the families of the victims sought justice and the imprisonment of the perpetrator. All four were killed by Stephen Port – he received a life sentence without parole in 2016. The tape tells how the slowness of the police led to irreversible mistakes and how the relatives of the young people time after time demanded a review of the case and independent expertise.
The lead role of the killer was played by Stephen Merchant, a British comedian and screenwriter. He previously worked on the script for the British “The Office.” You can watch the series on BritBox, Amazon Prime, ITV and BBC iPlayer platforms.
“This Is Going to Hurt.”
“It’s Gonna Hurt” is a dramedy from screenwriter Adam Kaye. Before becoming a writer, he worked in a hospital and described his experiences in a memoir. In the story, the main characters, junior doctors Adam and Shruti, work in the gynecology department at an NHS hospital. Equipment is constantly breaking down, staff is understaffed, and patients keep arriving. The characters live stressful lives, but still manage to build careers and personal lives.
The memoir’s author and protagonist was played by Ben Whishaw and his partner was played by British actress Ambika Maude. The filming took place at a hospital in West London, Ealing Hospital. Movie critics praised the series and the play of characters, and according to journalists, it doesn’t look like a typical medical drama at all. The characters command attention, and the catchy soundtrack by Jarv Is adds a nice nostalgia for the noughties. You can rate stories from the NHS on BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime and Microsoft platforms.
“The Devil’s Hour.
A mystery series starring Peter Capaldi and Jessica Raine has been released on Amazon Prime. Lucy lives with her young son and suffers from nightmares. She keeps waking up at 3:33 and talking to a mysterious stranger. In the end, it turns out that Lucy is connected to a series of brutal murders – which is what keeps her awake. A girl has to make sense of her past and present.
The project’s showrunners are Steven Moffat, author of “Doctor Who” and “Sherlock,” and Tom Moran. So far, the show has one season of six episodes, but the team has already announced a second and third season. The crew has already started filming the sequel, just like last time, in London. The series is available on Amazon Prime.
“The Midwich Cuckoos.
A sci-fi thriller from British screenwriter David Farr – about a strange event in the village of Midwich. Something inexplicable happens and none of the residents remember what happened that day. The next day, all the women in the village get pregnant. The children are born different: all have golden eyes, dark hair, and pale silver skin. It’s like there’s something in their DNA from the aliens. The government urgently classifies all data and forces parents to keep quiet about what happened.
This is another adaptation of John Wyndham’s novel of the same name, this time in the format of a TV series. The story is organized into seven episodes. Starring British actors Akweli Roach and Keeley Howes in the lead roles. You can watch the series on Sky and Now.
“Chloe.”
Becky lives an ordinary life with her mother, working temporary jobs and following the perfect lives of others on instagram. She likes Chloe’s account the most. When she dies, Becky begins to investigate her death and invents a new identity for herself. She wants to be popular and influential so she can gain the trust of Chloe’s friends. The more Becky immerses herself in the fictional world, the more she loses touch with reality and lives a life that is not her own.
The lead role was played by Erin Doherty, who starred in “Call the Midwife,” “The Crown” and “Les Miserables.” For the most part, the press noted Doherty’s convincing performance and carefully calibrated plot – about her obsession with social media and her constant comparison of her life to blogger profiles. Alice Seabright, one of the writers of Sex Education, was responsible for the script. The series is available on BBC iPlayer.
“The Tourist.
BBC One has a mini-series about a man with amnesia. He wakes up in an Australian hospital and has no memory of who he is or how he got there, or why he is being followed by someone in a truck. He has to reconstruct events piece by piece and struggle with his past.
The show has six episodes, but a sequel is already planned for a second season. Northern Irish actor Jamie Dornan (“Crash,” “Belfast”) played the lead role. The series is directed by Daniel Nettheim, having previously worked on Doctor Who and Murder on the Beach. Here, too, the audience is treated to a detective story and a bit of drama. The series is available on Google Play and BBC iPlayer.
“The Ipcress File.
The series from director James Watkins is a new adaptation of Len Deighton’s novel. The protagonist, spy and British Army corporal Harry Palmer, investigates the kidnapping of a famous scientist and unexpectedly learns of an international spy case. During the investigation, Palmer finds magnetic tapes labeled “Ipcress,” but no one knows what they mean or if the name even has meaning.
Visually, the series is reminiscent of the legendary 1965 film The Ipcress Files starring Michael Caine. For example, like the movie, the series has similar storyboards of scenes and the shooting style of director Sidney J. Watson. Fury. In the new series, the main role of the spy was played by the British Joe Cole, who starred in “Sharp Trump”. The series is praised for its vintage Cold War atmosphere and gripping detective plot. The Ipcress Dossier can be seen on BritBox, Amazon Prime and ITV services.
“SAS Rogue Heroes.
The case takes place in 1941 in North Africa. The British army is about to reform after another failure: a young officer David Stirling decides to create a new unit: soldiers will parachute, and it disorients the enemy. Now they have to prove it’s not a delusional idea, but a new kind of troop.
The historical drama is based on writer Ben McIntyre’s book about the rise of the Special Air Service in Britain in the 1940s. If the first season tells about African events, then in the second season the creators will move the heroes to Europe during the Second World War. Starring Connor Swindells, Jack O’Connell and Alfie Allen. You can watch the tape on Apple TV, BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime.
“Conversations with Friends.
The series based on Sally Rooney’s debut novel came out last spring. The plot centers on girlfriends Frances and Bobby. They fall in love with a married couple, Melissa and her husband Nick. They all start to become friends with each other and discuss everything in the world: literature, art, politics, friendship and each other. “Conversations with Friends” is, like the book, a reflection on youth, feelings, relationships, finding oneself, and all the things that Sally Rooney’s readers themselves care about.
The main characters were played by Alison Oliver and Sasha Lane (“American Honey”). The screenplay for “Conversations” was written by the same screenwriter who wrote the screenplay for “Normal People” – Alice Birch, and directed by the same director Leonard Abrahamson. You can watch the series on BBC iPlayer.
“The Essex Serpent.
Especially for Tom Hiddleston fans – a new mystery series starring him and Claire Danes. It all takes place in a small village in Victorian England. A young girl, Cora, comes to the village after the death of her husband to do archaeology. The mythical Serpent of Essex is rumored to dwell in that area. The local pastor (Tom Hiddleston) decides to help her find the mysterious creature.
The tape is based on Sarah Perry’s 2016 bestseller. The book quickly became popular and went on to win the British Book Award. The series has a leisurely, melancholy pace, and in terms of genre it’s something between a gothic novel and a melodrama. From gothic – mystical plot, from melodrama – the intricacies of relationships between the main characters. Critics have particularly noted the work of the costume designer, as any historical drama should. The story is set against the backdrop of the Essex landscape and several locations in London. The series is available on Apple TV.
“Heartstopper.
“A Thrill of the Heart” is a British series from Netflix. It is based on the comic book series of the same name by British writer Alice Osman. The main character Nick is finishing school, one day he meets Charlie and falls head over heels in love with him. Everyone at school knows Charlie as the guy who committed a camming out and was bullied by his classmates for months. Nick knows he has no chance of being together with Charlie, but continues to hope for reciprocity.
Within just a couple days of its premiere, the series was already in Netflix’s top 10 UK series. Critics and audiences alike appreciated the plot and the tone with which the creators told the story of the LGBT characters. The original comic books became even more popular with the release of the series. “A Thrill of the Heart” was eventually renewed for a second and third season.
