Early in “The Drama,” things are still good between Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson). The young happy couple, about a week away from getting married, have enjoyed a whirlwind romance. As this dark comedy’s opening credits roll, they’re blissfully practicing their first dance, laughing and stumbling as they try to get their twirls and steps right.
But the scene’s highlight is the song that plays in the background, airy, gentle and simple. Spare guitar chords give way to a female voice that sounds unpolished but beautiful: “I want to lay with you/ In an open field/ Where yellow flowers are suns of Earth.”
For many viewers, this will be the first time they’ve ever heard “I Want to Lay With You,” one of the most gorgeous love songs of the 1970s. It’s also likely they’ll have no idea who the singer is. Her name is Shira Small, and in 1974, she recorded an incredible album, “The Line of Time and the Plane of Now,” when she was 17. She never recorded another — at least, not yet. Now nearly 70, Small may finally be getting her moment in the spotlight.
“I’m cracking up,” says Small over Zoom from her Cooperstown, N.Y., home, “because I had no idea whatsoever that that movie was coming out until my dear sister informed me via you.” Flashing a relaxed smile and sporting long gray hair, Small knows little about the controversial “The Drama,” an A24 film with a heavily guarded twist.
Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in the movie “The Drama.”
(A24)
But it’s becoming a delightfully frequent occurrence that Small learns after the fact that her music is featured prominently in a movie or television show. “The record company does what they do and then they send me royalties and I get it in a statement,” she explains. “I had a song that HBO bought for ‘Pause With Sam Jay.’ They sent me an email that was not even to me — it was this interdepartmental thing. At the bottom, it said, ‘Oh, by the way, it airs tonight.’”
Jemma Burns, music supervisor for “The Drama,” had been a fan of Small’s album, thinking “I Want to Lay With You” would be perfect for this idyllic scene, right before Emma and Charlie’s relationship implodes over a disturbing revelation that turns their dream wedding into a nightmare.
“He was trying to set up the rom-com tone,” says Burns of the movie’s writer-director Kristoffer Borgli, “one that would contrast with the modernity of the setting and where the film goes. He wanted something that was from a bygone era, but also something that felt disarmingly charming. The two lead characters are very switched-on, fashionable, arty. So it felt like something they would’ve had in their record collection.”
The youngest of five siblings, Small always loved singing. But even as an adolescent growing up in Harlem, she felt like an old soul, her thoughts running deeper than the average kid’s.
“My focus was on not understanding war and hatred and bigotry,” she says. “I was seriously into trying to make love happen everywhere.”
Against the backdrop of the war in Vietnam and the Black Power movement, Small was well on her way to becoming a hippie, a transformation amplified by her enrollment in a private Quaker boarding academy, George School, in Newtown, Penn., on a full scholarship. When she arrived at George School, Small recalls, laughing, it was “very rich and very white. But I’ve always been a flotation device. I can walk around like I don’t have a clue about things.”
Shira Small, photographed in 1971 at George School in Newtown, Penn.
(Courtesy of Shira Small)
At George School, Small sported an Afro and smoked weed. She was drawn to theater and music, impressing music teacher and classical pianist Lars Clutterham, who saw she had talent. They worked on songs together, with Small coming up with the lyrics and vocal melodies. Every student had to complete a senior project, so Small proposed that hers be an album. Not long after, she and Clutterham drove to a Philadelphia studio for a one-day session.
The 10 songs on “The Line of Time and the Plane of Now” — each recorded in only one take — mix folk, soul and jazz, radiating innocence. The arrangements, awash in old-school analog warmth, are straightforward: guitar or piano supplemented with drums, leaving plenty of space for Small’s lilting voice, which contains both idealism and, even as a teen, traces of real-life sorrow.
Her mother died while she was at George School, inspiring “My Life’s All Right,” a ballad about surviving tough times, which later appeared on the Sam Jay show. “Eternal Life” sprang out of her in one burst, celebrating the power of love to transcend life’s harsh realities. As for the movie’s “I Want to Lay With You,” it was about a boy Small liked. She just can’t remember who anymore.
“It was somebody who was just as much a friend as a person that I had a crush on,” she recalls. “I honestly felt that we could have a life together.”
Small laughs at her adolescent self. “Like I knew what it would be like to have a freaking life together! To be able to wake up with somebody and have a beautiful day and always make them smile.”
According to Small, George School’s parents and students raised money to pay for the album and 300 copies were produced. “It was a joyous time,” she recalls. “I was on my way — to somewhere!” After graduation, though, she struggled to find her footing, eventually graduating summa cum laude from the City University of New York with a theater degree. But then she chose pre-med, becoming a physician assistant.
“When I became pre-med, it was so hard for me that I was just tunnel-visioned,” explains Small about why she said goodbye to music. “I had to devote my whole self to it. It was so all-encompassing that I could think of nothing else.”
But there was another reason she walked away from music. From an early age, Small suffered debilitating stage fright. “It was so bad that it would twist my stomach into a knot,” she recalls. She gutted it out to do plays at George School and, later, record her album. After a while, though, “It just got to be too much.”
Still, didn’t she miss singing? “Constantly,” replies Small, who retired about five years ago from the medical profession. “I sang unconsciously a lot. My patients always picked up on it — they’d be like, ‘Every time you come in, you’re singing.’”
But although Small abandoned music, “The Line of Time and the Plane of Now” never went away. In 2006, the Numero Group, an archival record label, put together a compilation, “Wayfaring Strangers: Ladies From the Canyon,” devoted to under-the-radar female singers from the 1970s. Numero Group co-founder Ken Shipley made sure “Eternal Life” was included.
“I was the first person to ever reach out to Shira,” he says proudly in a separate phone interview. Shipley heard “Eternal Life” on a burned CD of femme-folk artists that was making the industry rounds at the turn of the millennium while he was putting together his “Wayfaring Strangers” lineup. “Shira was a top want for me.”
The Numero Group put “Eternal Life” on Spotify in 2013. But when the label released the full album digitally in 2022, “I don’t know that anybody really cared,” Shipley says. Undeterred, he reissued it on vinyl the following year. Maybe listeners just needed time.
“Music finds a way,” Shipley says. “Music’s like water. It’s going to get down the creek into the river into the ocean. It’s going to find its audience.”
Sure enough, strange serendipitous moments started happening for Small. A future bandmate’s ex had one of her songs on a playlist, having no idea it was Small. She recently started working part-time at a local opera house and one of the opera singers adored “Eternal Life,” unaware that Small was an employee.
And now, royalty checks arrive for the usage of her songs in films like “The Drama.” It still feels unreal to Small that her album generates revenue. “It was never for commercial purposes,” she says. “I can’t believe that I am collecting any royalties on that music and that it just keeps going and going.”
Small’s husband died in 2019 after 34 years of marriage. It sent her spiraling, but then something remarkable happened. “The day I came out of it, the music was gushing out of me so fast that I couldn’t keep up with it,” she says. “I had to walk around with a voice memo. I hadn’t spoken to Lars in more than a decade. I sent him all of these voice memos and he sent me a note: ‘Shira, you still got it.’”
In 2024, she released her first song in 50 years, “Why,” which lays out her fears for the world. Her voice is different, deeper, possessing a lifetime of experience that her teenage self couldn’t have possibly imagined. Small is now plotting out an album and has some shows lined up. Even better, she’s worked through her stage fright.
Eventually, she’ll perform her old songs, but she’s figuring out how to hit that higher register from her youth. “I’ve gone through decades of hormones and cigarettes and all the other things that I did that I’m happy I lived through,” she says, wryly.
“I still have a thing about yellow flowers in open fields,” she admits. “We have these huge sunflower fields here. The whole idea of being in such a beautiful place with yellow flowers that light up a great day is what popped into my head when I wrote that lyric.”
I ask her what she makes of that young woman she hears on “The Line of Time and the Plane of Now” today.
“I know her so well,” replies Small. “You know why? Because she’s still here. I am, at this point, everybody I’ve ever been ever, leading up to this moment.
“I still feel the same way about many things,” she continues. “I’m probably angrier now than I was when I was a child, but I still have this underlying thing about looking at a bigger picture to help me keep my lid on. When I think back on ‘Eternal Life’ and ‘My Life’s All Right,’ that music was born from my core. And my core does not have an age.”
Dakota Mortensen’s storyline will be edited out of the upcoming season of “Vanderpump Villa.”
Mortensen, who regularly appears in “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” was set to be included in the third season of “Vanderpump Villa” — slated to premiere April 16 — as part of a getaway with members of DadTok, the group that consists of past and current partners linked to the MomTok influencers of “Mormon Wives.” Variety was first to report the decision.
Hulu declined to comment.
It’s the latest reality TV series caught in the relationship dust-up involving Mortensen and his ex, Taylor Frankie Paul.
Last month, a domestic violence investigation between the on-again, off-again pair prompted Season 5 of Hulu’s “Mormon Wives” to pause filming. Subsequently, the release of a video of a separate dispute in 2023 led to the shelving of Season 22 of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” which featured Paul as its heroine. It has not yet been announced whether or not it will air at a later date.
Much of Paul’s story on “Mormon Wives” has revolved around her rocky relationship with Mortensen. Paul was previously arrested and charged in 2023, eventually pleading guilty to one count of aggravated assault; other charges were dropped. Part of that incident was documented on the series premiere of the show in 2024.
How does “Vanderpump Villa” figure into all of this? The third season of “Mormon Wives” featured the fallout from an explosive crossover with Hulu’s other reality series, which follows former Bravo star Lisa Vanderpump and her staff at various luxury European estates. “Mormon Wives” stars Demi Engemann and Jessi Ngatikaura were guests on that show’s second season and got embroiled in drama with staff member Marciano Brunette, who alleges he had intimate connections with both women. The recent fourth season of “Mormon Wives” revisits the crossover, with some of the women’s spouses partaking in their own “Villa” getaway that fuels more drama, including between Mortensen and Paul.
Mortensen isn’t totally out of the reality TV circuit, though. He is set to appear in “Unwell Winter Games,” a YouTube reality competition series produced by Alex Cooper, that premieres April 6.
Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.
This is another strong week for new releases. By now you have likely heard something about “The Drama,” which has become inescapable thanks to the tireless promotion of its two stars, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson.
In a movie written and directed by Norwegian provocateur Kristoffer Borgli (“Dream Scenario”), the pair play Emma and Charlie, an engaged couple who find their wedding week thrown into disarray by the revelation of a deep secret from the bride-to-be.
Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in the movie “The Drama.”
(A24)
As Amy Nicholson put it in her review, “To another screenwriter, ‘The Drama’ would be an intimate study and a more emotionally wrenching film. But Borgli forces us to parse the mushy stuff from the mess and analyze the pending nuptials as an impersonal problem: What comes after a public shaming for the guilty and the inquisitors? That’s one of the most important (and unresolved) questions of the modern era, so I’ll forgive the filmmaker for being no more interested in writing Emma and Charlie as complex human beings than if they were character names in a math quiz about two people on two trains speeding toward a crash.”
Meanwhile, Tim Grierson spoke to Shira Small, the folk artist whose sole 1974 album features a song heard in an early scene of “The Drama.” Small, a delightful interview, goes into the music career she left behind a long time ago — one which may be reigniting now thanks to the movie.
Also opening in Los Angeles this week is Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid’s “Yes,” a guaranteed conversation-starter. Ariel Bronz stars as a musician who, in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, decides to say yes to composing a vicious new political anthem..
Reviewing the film, Joshua Rothkopf said, “It’s a movie about a citizenry at war with itself, hoping to keep the plates spinning for one more night. You watch it and think how easy it would be to envision an American remake — and wonder, too, if a filmmaker like Lapid even exists here.”
One of my favorite films from SXSW 2025, “Fantasy Life,” is finally coming to theaters. Written and directed Matthew Shear, the movie is an affectionate nod to the chatty dramedies of Noah Baumbach (some of which Shear has acted in). Here he plays Sam, a troubled law school dropout who takes a job looking after the children of a Brooklyn couple (Amanda Peet and Alessandro Nivola) and finds himself in an emotional affair with the wife.
“Fantasy Life” actor-writer-director Matthew Shear and star Amanda Peet bond in New York.
(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)
I recently spoke to Shear and Peet about their collaboration on the film. Peet’s character in the film is also an actor and, though much of the film’s anxieties felt familiar to her, one scene in particular is drawn from Peet’s own experience: She is often mistaken in public for Lake Bell, including once on a red carpet.
“It’s a weird thing because you’re like, what do I do here?” said Peet with a laugh. “What’s the least douchey way to get out of this?”
The Black Pack’s resistance humor
Robert Townsend in the 1987 movie “Hollywood Shuffle.”
(Samuel Goldwyn Company / Photofest)
Curated around a new book by Artel Great, the UCLA Film and Television Archive is launching the series “The Black Pack: Rewriting American Comedy,” to spotlight a moment in the 1980s and ’90s when a small group of Black creators reached the very heights of Hollywood.
Eddie Murphy, Paul Mooney, Robert Townsend, Keenan Ivory Wayans and Arsenio Hall were friends and collaborators who, from 1987 to 1994, created the work showcased in the series. The Black Pack is a name they gave to themselves, partly in response to the John Hughes-affiliated Brat Pack.
Things begin tonight with a 35mm screening of Townsend’s essential 1987 satire “Hollywood Shuffle.” Great will be there for an introduction and a Q&A with cast member Anne-Marie Johnson and Spring Mooney, daughter of late actor Paul Mooney, who also appeared in the movie.
The cast of “In Living Color,” to be celebrated as part of the UCLA screening series “The Black Pack.”
(Fox / Photofest)
Other events include an evening of episodes of Wayans’ sketch comedy series “In Living Color,” 1988’s “Coming to America,” starring Murphy and Hall, a 35mm screening of Townsend’s 1991 “The Five Heartbeats” and a 35mm screening of 1989’s “Harlem Nights,” the only movie starring, directed, written and produced by Murphy, then at the height of his cultural capital.
This series is a terrific example of why smart programming matters. Here is a group of films (and a TV show) that might seem only related in a vague way, but when put together under a specific theme or idea, they are suddenly transformed into something revelatory.
Each evening of the series is designed to make the case for a different aspect of the Black Pack’s work and influence. The series as a whole puts forward a larger concept Great has coined a term for.
“I’m arguing through the series that the Black Pack’s cultural material is connected to a longstanding tradition that I call Black resistance humor,” says Great, now an associate professor at San Francisco State University, in an interview this week. “This idea of Black resistance humor is really a cultural practice where Black cultural workers are using political wit, irony, satire, parody, absurdity to challenge corrupt authority, to give voice to racial trauma and also attach themselves to re-imagining what freedom can really look like.”
From left, Arsenio Hall, Eddie Murphy, James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair in the movie “Coming to America.”
(Paramount / Photofest)
There are plans for Black Pack programs in other cities, including Atlanta, San Francisco and Chicago, bringing this fresh look at their specific moment to venues around the country.
“I’m hopeful that the series will allow communities and audiences to see the Black Pack as cultural strategists who are using this idea of Black resistance humor to address very serious issues of power, identity and race,” says Great. “But also as a way of thinking, as a way of seeing and as a way of building alternative systems. Because that’s what they were able to do.”
Points of interest
‘The Birthday Party’ in 35mm
Actor Robert Shaw, left, with director William Friedkin on the set of “The Birthday Party” in 1968.
(Larry Ellis / Getty Images)
As part of its series celebrating the legacy of actor Robert Shaw, the Academy Museum will screen 1968’s “The Birthday Party” in 35mm on Sunday. One of the earliest features directed by William Friedkin (who would go on to such classics as “The Exorcist” and “To Live and Die in L.A.”), the film’s screenplay was written by Harold Pinter, adapting his own play. Shaw, Friedkin and Pinter make for a combustible intensity.
Shaw plays Stanley, the lone boarder at a seaside inn. When two mysterious men (Dandy Nichols and Sydney Tafler) arrive, they engineer a party for Stanley that becomes increasingly ominous.
In his original review, Charles Champlin lauded Shaw, saying he gives “one of the total and totally engrossing movie performances,” adding that Friedkin “as a director is everything a dramatist, and an audience, could want. The sense of loving care and artistic sureness which characterizes every aspect of the movie is extremely tonic. Pinter may be an acquired taste, but it is easy to acquire.”
‘He Got Game’ in 35mm
Denzel Washington in 1998’s “He Got Game.”
(David Lee / Touchstone Pictures)
Spike Lee’s prolific career is now studded with movies that maybe didn’t quite get their due in their day but deserve renewed attention. Screening in 35mm on Sunday at Brain Dead Studios is Lee’s 1998 “He Got Game,” which is just that kind of movie: stuffed with ideas and ambitions even if it doesn’t totally all come together for everyone. I particularly like his use of composer Aaron Copland’s music, which gives many of the images an epic quality they might not otherwise fully achieve, challenging preconceived notions of what can be thought of as Americana.
The movie stars a particularly electric Denzel Washington as Jake Shuttlesworth, a once-promising basketball player whose life took a turn. Now he’s in prison. His son, Jesus (played by NBA star Ray Allen), is a promising prospect and Jake is given an offer of a reduced sentence if he can convince his son to attend a certain college. The mixture of two of Lee’s own personal preoccupations, basketball and family, makes for a potent combination.
Reviewing the movie when it was released, Kenneth Turan wrote, “Given that writer-director Lee is one of the most visible of the New York Knicks’ celebrity fans, what’s surprising is not that he made a film about the sport he cares so much about but that he waited so long. … Though ‘He Got Game’ is periodically awkward and unruly, it benefits, as many of Lee’s films do, from the director’s determination to connect with the troublesome issues of the real world. Too few American directors work with Lee’s kind of social immediacy, and that makes his films, flawed and didactic though they sometimes are, essential viewing.”
Harmony Korine’s ‘Gummo’
Jacob Reynold, left, and Nick Sutton in Harmony Korine’s ‘Gummo’
(Criterion Collection)
Harmony Korine’s first feature as director, 1997’s “Gummo,” will screen at Vidiots on Monday. The event is co-presented by the Cinegogue, a group perhaps best known for their limited-edition movie-themed clothing drops, but who describe their mission thusly: “Our goal: make movies cool again through concert-like experiences and fanfare. … Because even though a movie might end, cinema is forever.” (And that’s a sentiment we here can get behind.)
The film finds Korine attempting to bring elements of experimental film and video to a nominally more mainstream context. It’s both confrontational and playful. Using a collage-like structure, the film follows a few kids as they make their way around their small town in Ohio after a tornado. Mostly featuring non-actors, the cast also includes Linda Manz and Chloë Sevigny, who is also credited as the film’s costume designer.
Writing about “Gummo” and Korine’s subsequent “julien donkey-boy,” Kevin Thomas made special note of “the intensity of Korine’s compassion for individuals who have so little going for them and so much going against them, yet at times are capable of experiencing an exhilarating freedom of spirit.”
Huw Edwards has said he will ‘challenge the misleading or fabricated’ claims surrounding him after he pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children
Daniel Bird Assistant Celebrity and Entertainment Editor
12:22, 02 Apr 2026Updated 12:33, 02 Apr 2026
Huw is plotting his next move(Image: PA)
Huw Edwards vows to “challenge” claims about himself. The disgraced BBC News anchor will “challenge the misleading or fabricated claims” made in recent coverage, and will “produce my own account”.
Edwards was one of the BBC’s highest-paid newsreaders, known for presenting the BBC’s News At Ten for decades, before pleading guilty to making indecent images of children in July 2024.
He was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. Edwards was placed on the sex offenders’ register for seven years after his sentence.
The disgraced broadcaster was offered “naughty” images of somebody described as “ying [sic]”, to which he replied “go on”. Edwards was also the subject of a recent Channel 5 drama about his downfall, starring Doc Martin actor Martin Clunes.
He said in a statement: “Much has been written and reported in the past week following Channel 5’s one-sided account. Other opportunities will arise later this year for me to state my case and to challenge the misleading or fabricated claims made in recent coverage.
“A number of serious questions still remain to be answered, and not just by me. It will now take some time for me to produce my own account, and until then, I do not intend to comment any further.” It is understood that Edwards intends to make his own documentary or podcast series about the events.
Edwards previously claimed the production company behind the 5 drama, Wonderhood Studios, failed to check the “truth” of the narratives shown in the series, relating to allegations made by The Sun in July 2023, which claimed that a “top BBC star” paid a teenager more than £35,000 for sexual pictures.
Days later, Edwards’ wife named him as the presenter at the centre of the scandal. He resigned from the BBC in April and was charged in June 2024 following a Metropolitan Police investigation.
In a previous statement, he said: “[They] made no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative before going ahead with the production. They belatedly asked for a response after the drama had been made, while reserving the right to edit any such response. They also refused to disclose whether any of those making allegations had been paid for their contributions. Channel 5’s ‘factual drama’ is hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened.
“My deep regret and remorse for the crimes I committed were expressed in court. In pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, I took full responsibility for my reprehensible actions. I am repelled by the idea that some people enjoy viewing indecent images of children. Every image represents an innocent victim. I offer my sincere and profound apologies for what I did.
“I am making an effort to produce my own account of these terrible events. This is a slow process, given the fragile state of my health. have been open about my struggle with persistent mental illness over a period of 25 years. What is less well known is the severity of that condition, which was managed successfully until the downward spiral which led to an appalling outcome.
“Mental illness is misunderstood by many, but can never be an excuse for criminality. It can, however, at least help explain why people sometimes behave in shocking and reprehensible ways, and why things fell apart for me in the way they did.”
A previous statement from Channel 5 said: “Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards is based on extensive interviews with the victim, his family, the journalists who revealed his story, text exchanges between the victim and Edwards, and court reporting.
“It has been produced in accordance with Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code. All allegations made in the film were put to Huw Edwards via his solicitors six weeks before transmission.”
The series, which arrived on Netflix on March 26, focuses on a troubled Oslo police detective (portrayed by Tobias Santelmann), who must grapple with both a horrific serial killer and his corrupt colleague.
“Created by one of the greatest storytellers in crime fiction, Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole is a whodunnit serial killer mystery led by famed anti-hero Harry Hole,” the official synopsis teases.
“Underneath the surface, this series is a nuanced character drama about two police officers – and supposed colleagues – operating on opposite sides of the law. Throughout the season, Harry goes head-to-head with his long-time adversary and corrupt detective Tom Waaler,” reports the Express.
The description concludes: “Harry is a brilliant but tormented homicide detective who struggles with his demons. As the two navigate the blurred ethical lines of the criminal justice system, Harry must do all he can to catch a serial killer and bring Waaler to justice before it is too late.”
Joel Kinnaman portrays Tom, alongside Tobias Santelmann as Harry. Pia Tjelta, Peter Stormare, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Ellen Helinder, Simon J. Berger, and Ingrid Bolsø Berdal also star.
Jo Nesbø has a devoted following, with his novels selling 60 million copies globally, including 5.6 million in Norway – exceeding the nation’s total population. It appears the series has proved to be just as successful as the books, with Detective Hole climbing the Netflix UK rankings just one week after arriving on the streaming service. It currently sits as the fifth most-watched TV programme, and presently maintains a 90% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Critics have lavished praise upon the series, with Collider stating: “A roundhouse-kick of a thrill ride that lives up to the promises baked into the thriller subgenre’s name, Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole delivers virtually everywhere it should – which is nothing less than what a modern legend deserves.”
FandomWire contributed: “Stylish, gritty, and suspenseful, Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole is a knockout and Nordic noir done right,” while The Times remarked: “So much plot, so much incident, plus heatwaves, tropical thunder and sweat. As rides go, it’s certainly rollicking.”
Fans have also expressed their enthusiasm, with many devouring all nine episodes in one go. One individual posted on IMDb: “Excellent adaptation of Jo Nesbø’s The Devil’s Star. As an avid reader of the books, I found this to be absolutely spot on with its recreation and casting of the Harry Hole universe. So atmospheric, capturing the style and tone of Jo Nesbø’s writing. Excellent acting and riveting storyline, this was an easy binge. I sincerely hope there will be more seasons as there is a wealth of material to tap into.”
Another chimed in: “A gripping Norwegian masterpiece that stays with you. Just finished bingeing the new Norwegian Netflix series Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole (based on the Harry Hole novels), and wow – what an intense, atmospheric ride… By the finale, I was emotionally drained in the best way.”
They went on to say: “If you love smart, character-driven crime dramas with heart and moral weight (think The Killing or The Bridge but with Jo Nesbø’s signature edge), drop everything and watch Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole. It’s binge-worthy perfection. 10/10 from this amateur reviewer – easily one of the best new international series I’ve seen in a while.”
A third viewer described the series as “absolute perfection,” while a fourth fan likewise commented: “Detective Hole is a gripping, unforgettable series that captures the raw brilliance and dark originality of Jo Nesbø. With its intense atmosphere and a deeply flawed yet magnetic protagonist, it pulls you straight into a world where crime, emotion, and truth collide.”
Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole is available to stream on Netflix
We spoke exclusively to Altered Carbon and For All Mankind actor Joel Kinnman about his brand-new Netflix crime drama Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole
Netflix has dropped a brand new crime drama that’s perfect for audiences looking for their next binge watch.
Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole is adapted from the internationally best-selling author’s acclaimed books and follows alcoholic but brilliant detective Harry Hole (Tobias Santelmann) as he tries to hunt down a brutal serial killer on the prowl in Oslo, Norway.
However, Harry is also trying to take down corrupt fellow detective Tom Waaler (Joel Kinnaman) as the two men try to out-wit each other.
The nine-part series, which can be described as Luther meets Line of Duty, has some gruesome moments putting it in on par with Idris Elba’s BBC detective drama.
In a recent interview with the Mirror’s publishers Reach Plc, Detective Hole star Joel Kinnaman broke down perhaps the most stomach-churning moment in the show and shared some surprising behind-the-scenes insight into bringing the grisly scene to life.
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This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Stranger Things and The Last of Us.
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers from Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole on Netflix
The scene in question saw Kinnaman’s sociopathic police officer Waaler luring an unsuspecting man into public toilets on the promise of sexual favours, before castrating and murdering his victim.
Kinnaman said: “When we were shooting that, that’s where you really felt like this big budget was coming in because that penis prosthesis was so perfect. It felt very real holding it.” Adding: “It was a very realistic experience.”
Despite the sequence proving a tough watch, filming it was another matter for Kinnaman and the rest of the crew.
The star joked that every time the prosthetic appeared, he would “make a soundtrack” for its entrance.
“It was pretty hard to keep from laughing but then when he got into it, it became sort of horrifying,” he said.
Adding: “It was a very strange feeling. It was very strange to do it, but I enjoyed it.”
Addressing joining the crime drama, the Swedish-American actor said he was “very excited” about the idea of playing the Swedish character in a Netflix production, which he said would make it “accessible” to audiences.
Kinnaman went on to say that he was excited to step into acclaimed crime author Nesbø’s world and the character of Waaler, saying: “I’ve never got to play this kind of mouth-watering, crazy role. So fun and such an opportunity.”
The star went on to say about Waaler’s mindset: “He’s sort of morally conflicted and he’s driven by his sexual confusion and his sexual desires and his strive for power and power games. But what is also fuelling all of this is his childhood trauma.
“I sort of play him as a malignant narcissist on the scale of psychopathy. That was sort of the hypothesis that I was playing off of and that’s someone… he’s not born a psychopath, but he has been damaged at a young age.
“And then it veers, it makes his personality veer off in this direction and course.”
Kinnaman said that childhood trauma had created a lack of empathy in Waaler that led to his extremely violent behaviour.
Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole is streaming on Netflix now
A classic period drama, one that popularised the genre globally, is still regarded as one of the finest to ever grace our screens. Period drama enthusiasts will be familiar with the show in question — Upstairs, Downstairs.
Upstairs, Downstairs laid the groundwork for Downton Abbey with a story that will be familiar with fans who have only seen the modern sensation. As the definitive period dramas of their era, the parallels between Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey are self-evident.
Both shows portray the personal struggles of an aristocratic family and their servants against a backdrop of social and political upheaval on an overlapping timeline.
Like Downton Abbey, it spans three decades, covering both World Wars and the roaring 20s through to the Great Depression. The classic show chronicled the turbulent lives of the aristocratic Bellamy family and their servants in the early 1900s.
They diverge in numerous ways, however, and one is immediately apparent.
The seventies programme is less high-end, a quality that can taken as nostalgic or a dealbreaker. Upstairs, Downstairs premiered in 1971 and ran for five years, predating Downton Abbey by a good 50 years.
In fairness, Downton’s setting is inherently more luxurious. The Bellamy family inhabit a London townhouse, a far cry from the Crawley family’s lavish country estate that was a character in its own right.
And while Downton’s visuals proved a triumph, a frequent criticism from audiences is that the programme descended into melodrama. In contrast, Upstairs, Downstairs has been likened to a stage play for its more understated visuals and plotlines.
Fans of both period dramas shared their preferences. One viewer sparked a debate on Reddit, asking: “If you have seen both shows, which show do you think is better?”
“Upstairs Downstairs without question,” replied one viewer decisively. Another agreed: “I like Downton Abbey better, but Upstairs, Downstairs is the better show.
“I have tried watching the Upstairs/Downstairs remake multiple times and I always end stopping after about two episodes,” commented a third. “It just doesn’t grab me like Downton.”
Upstairs, Downstairs is available to watch on ITVX.
Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.
In another busy week for new releases, the horror-comedy “Forbidden Fruits” is among the standouts. Having just premiered at SXSW, it is the feature debut for director Meredith Alloway, who co-wrote the screenplay with Lily Houghton, adapting Houghton’s play. Diablo Cody is a producer on the film, and the movie shares a sensibility with her beloved “Jennifer’s Body.”
Set at a Texas shopping mall, the plot follows a group of female employees at a boutique who are secretly a coven of witches after hours. They bring a new employee into their fold. Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti and Alexandra Shipp star.
Alexandra Shipp, from left, Victoria Pedretti, Lili Reinhart and Lola Tung in the movie “Forbidden Fruits.”
(Sabrina Lantos / Independent Film Co. / Shudder)
Though Katie Walsh gave the film a mixed review, declaring it “essentially the fast fashion of girly pop horror,” the film casts a spell when it is working.
Pedretti in particular is a standout, and Malia Mendez spoke to her about the role. “It asks a lot of people to try to step into a world like this one,” Pedretti said of the film’s knowing, campy style. “And as nerve-racking as it may be to take that big swing, you gotta take the big swing.”
Also opening in L.A. this week is Sofia Coppola’s “Marc by Sofia.” The director’s first documentary, it’s more a snapshot than a definitive portrait of the life and career of her longtime friend, fashion designer Marc Jacobs, as he prepares for his spring 2024 collection. While not as in-depth or revealing as one would hope, the film has a warmth and charm all its own. And anyone feeling nostalgic for ’90s New York after watching the recent TV series “Love Story” will get a buzz from this too.
Larry Karaszewski on ‘Last Summer’
Richard Thomas, left, Barbara Hershey and Bruce Davison in the movie “Last Summer.”
(Warner Archive)
The American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre on Sunday will host the world premiere of a new restoration of the theatrical version of 1969’s “Last Summer,” directed by Frank Perry from a screenplay by Eleanor Perry. Actors Barbara Hershey and Bruce Davison will be there for a Q&A moderated by screenwriter Larry Karaszewski.
“This is one of the holy grails for movie nerds,” says Karaszewski in a recent phone interview. The restoration happened in no small part thanks to his persistent and vocal fandom of the film. Best known for his work with writing partner Scott Alexander (including “Dolemite Is My Name” and “Ed Wood”) and currently a governor in the academy’s writer’s branch, Karaszewski is also a pillar of the repertory scene around Los Angeles, frequently moderating Q&As and an avid moviegoer.
Richard Thomas, left, Barbara Hershey and Bruce Davison in the movie “Last Summer.”
(Warner Archive)
“Last Summer” follows three teenagers (Hershey, Davison and Richard Thomas) whiling away the summer at the beach on New York’s Fire Island. As a certain psychosexual energy escalates among them, winding each other up, they turn their attention to a younger girl (Catherine Burns) and torment her in increasingly sadistic ways.
For her performance, Burns was nominated for an Oscar for supporting actress, while Hershey briefly changed her last name to Seagull after a bird was accidentally injured on set.
In his original July 1969 review, The Times’ Charles Champlin called “Last Summer” “a compelling and disturbing movie, with moments of quite extraordinary power and poignance.”
“This was a movie that people who saw it were just fascinated by,” says Karaszewski. “Even though it came out in ’69, it feels like an important ’70s-style movie, a really rough youth film that used the new freedom that cinema had at that time. But you couldn’t see it.”
Director Frank Perry and screenwriter Eleanor Perry during production of “Last Summer.”
(Warner Archive)
Over time, the rights to the movie changed hands, elements went missing and it became a rarity. Due to an intense rape scene, the movie was also briefly released to some theaters with an X-rating, though Karaszewski says the differences to the R-rated version are minimal — a matter of a few frames and a single word. Released on VHS, “Last Summer” has never been on DVD or Blu-ray. (The Warner Archive label will release a disc of the new restoration later this year.) An edited TV version of the film has circulated, and the last few times “Last Summer” has shown in Los Angeles, it has been from a print discovered at an archive in Australia.
Karaszewski has long had a fascination with the film, one that was only fueled by its inaccessibility.
“It became famous as just, ‘Oh, that’s the movie Larry champions, that’s the movie that Larry won’t stop talking about,’ ” he says. Karaszewski jokes that he won’t know what to do with himself now that his longtime obsession with seeing the film revived has been fulfilled.
“I’ve been championing it so long,” he says. “It could have been just like, ‘Oh, Larry’s a little crazy. He loves this movie.’ And that would’ve been fine too. I’m a person that feels like every movie should have its day in the spotlight.”
The complete Akira Kurosawa in 35mm
An image from Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran.”
(Rialto Pictures)
On Saturday, the Academy Museum launches “Darkness and Humanity: The Complete Akira Kurosawa,” a comprehensive retrospective of the Japanese filmmaker’s 30 existing features, all of which will screen in 35mm. The series opens with two of Kurosawa’s best-known films, “Seven Samurai” and “Rashomon.” Other highlights include “Throne of Blood,” “Ikiru,” “Hidden Fortress,” “Stray Dog,” “High and Low,” “Dreams” and “Ran.” This is a rare opportunity to take in the true breadth of Kurosawa’s work.
Writing about the filmmaker in 2009 to commemorate the centennial of his birth, Dennis Lim said, “The wonder of Akira Kurosawa’s 50-year career is that it was at once remarkably varied and satisfyingly coherent …. But the constant in his films was the principle of heroism, not as a vaporous ideal but a way of life, an awareness of individual agency and personal responsibility in a world that does not always reward or even allow heroic behavior.”
Toshiro Mifune in Akira Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo.”
(Janus Films)
Kurosawa’s influence on other filmmakers around the world has been widely acknowledged. Upon the news of Kurosawa’s death, Steven Spielberg proclaimed him “the visual Shakespeare of our time” and added, “I am deeply saddened by Kurosawa’s death. But what encourages me is that he … is the only director who right until the end of his life continued to make films that were recognized as, or will be recognized as, classics.”
In 1985, while in Los Angeles for a screening of his film “Ran,” Kurosawa described his own work by saying, “I just make up stories and film them. When I am lucky, the stories have a lifelike quality that makes them appealing to people and the film is successful.”
Points of interest
‘To Sleep With Anger’ in 35mm
Actor Danny Glover and director Charles Burnett during production of “To Sleep With Anger.”
(Samuel Goldwyn Company / Photofest)
To celebrate the release of Ashley Clark’s new book “The World of Black Film: A Journey Through Cinematic Blackness in 100 Films,” the UCLA Film and Television Archive will screen Charles Burnett’s 1990 drama “To Sleep With Anger” in 35mm at the Billy Wilder Theater on Sunday. Clark will be there for a book signing, and Burnett will join him for a Q&A.
Recently included as part of The Times’ ranked list of the 101 best Los Angeles movies, “Anger” stars Danny Glover in a galvanizing performance as Harry, an old friend from the South who arrives for an unexpected visit to a family in South Central L.A., upending their lives.
In his book, Clark describes the film as “a singular work with a distinct yet tantalizingly hard-to-pin-down performance from Danny Glover, who, as the inscrutable Harry, flickers between menace and charm, using all of his six-foot-four-inch stature to dominate the frame.”
In a 1990 Times story by David Wallace, Burnett spoke about how the film was meant to evoke a sense of Black cultural history, saying, “I didn’t appreciate the [storytelling] tradition until it disappeared. I had a sense of who I was because of that experience. … This film was an attempt to go back and deal with the past. To tell a story about a story.”
Added Glover: “I think there is a little of Harry in all of us. We’re constantly in conflict between the good side and the other. Harry’s involvement with the dark side is not that uncommon.”
Clark will also appear at the Academy Museum on Monday for the world premiere of Ngozi Onwurah’s restored 1995 film “Welcome II the Terrordome.”
‘Thank You for Smoking’
Aaron Eckhart in the movie “Thank You for Smoking.”
(Dale Robinette / Fox Searchlight Pictures)
On Saturday, Vidiots will host a 20th anniversary screening of Jason Reitman’s debut feature “Thank You for Smoking” in 35mm, with the filmmaker in attendance for a Q&A. Adapted by Reitman from a novel by Christopher Buckley, the film is media satire that follows the misadventures of a lobbyist (Aaron Eckhart) for Big Tobacco. The cast also includes Katie Holmes, Robert Duvall, William H. Macy and Sam Elliott.
In his original review, Kenneth Turan called the movie “that rare film that actually has a sense of humor,” before adding, “Reitman’s script and direction retain the novel’s rhythms and black comic sensibility while at the same time eliminating and/or rearranging large chunks of its plot. He’s also figured out a way to make the story more conventionally audience-friendly without losing the extraordinary bite that made the book so successful.”
I recall an afternoon spent on the Fox lot talking to Reitman and Buckley together for a piece I wrote in 2006. The political climate that the film examines, one of extreme partisanship, has only heightened in the years since.
“The compliment the book always got,” said Reitman at the time, “which I thought was wonderful, was Democrats always thought it was theirs and Republicans always thought it was theirs. Like all good satire, the book was a mirror. … It doesn’t feel like it’s coming from one way or the other. It’s ridiculing both, and hopefully the film does the same thing.”
An uprising typically has a long parentage and, if effective enough, can leave behind many like-minded descendants. Such is the bracing air that Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir breathes into her historical drama “Palestine ’36” as she dramatizes the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt against occupying Britain’s increasingly punitive, underhanded rule, offering up a multifaceted rebellion tale with plenty of contemporary resonance.
That being said, Jacir’s fourth feature — packed as it is with storylines — could stand a bit more context and fewer of the expositional traps that big-cast sagas easily fall into. But the key element that grounds Jacir’s version of an old-fashioned epic (and helps it withstand its faults) is that we’re seeing a place rarely depicted with such sweep, detail and scope outside of biblical epics. It’s as if a long-disused history book’s pages have finally been opened, dust giving way to color and purpose.
Some of that breadth is seen at the beginning in some astonishing newsreel footage from the era, which segues into Jacir’s establishing story threads. We meet village-born Yusuf (newcomer Karim Daoud Anaya), an ambitious young man who moves restlessly between bustling Jerusalem, where he works for a wealthy, British-friendly Palestinian businessman (Dhafer L’Abidine) and his journalist wife (Yasmine Al Massri), and his rural home where villagers are routinely targeted by British authorities. If it isn’t vicious Capt. Wingate (Robert Aramayo) violently rooting out rebels and putting locals in pens, it’s outwardly friendly officials like the secretary who oversees new policies kinder to the increasing numbers of Jewish settlers than to those who have been farming the hills for ages.
The split widens when a labor strike becomes an armed revolt, with Jacir gamely tracking the hardening or shifting loyalties of both her peasant and well-to-do characters. The British, represented at the top by the casually imperious High Commissioner Wauchope (a perfectly cast Jeremy Irons), are decidedly the villains here as a colonial force quick to brutalize Palestinians for speaking up for themselves. Still, by forgoing any Jewish characters when there was already a burgeoning transplanted minority — all we see is a kibbutz being erected in the far distance — seems like too careful an avoidance of contextual reality.
As “Palestine ’36” eventually sacrifices focus on the many characters it has, one wishes Jacir had had the luxury of a classic epic’s standard third hour to build that complexity into a vivid resistance narrative. Wanting more from this material, though, feels better than not getting the opportunity to see it at all. As overdue tales of history go, “Palestine ‘36” (currently one of the last films with access to its real-world locations) is certainly more of a blunt instrument than a novelistic endeavor. But its broad strokes and rooted passions easily earn their place, and deserve to inspire more such stories.
‘Palestine ’36’
In Arabic and English, with subtitles
Not rated
Running time: 1 hour, 59 minutes
Playing: Opens Friday, March 27 at Laemmle Royal and Laemmle NoHo 7
We spoke exclusively to Detective Hole creator Jo Nesbø and lead star Tobias Santelmann about the Netflix crime drama’s future
Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole is adapted from a series of best-selling crime novels(Image: NETFLIX)
Netflix has only just dropped its thrilling new crime drama Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole but some viewers are already keen to know if there will be another series.
The nine-part detective series is adapted from best-selling crime author Nesbø’s The Devil’s Star and takes Netflix viewers on quite the ride.
Detective Hole follows troubled detective Harry Hole (Tobias Santelmann) as he races against the clock to track down a serial killer before they can strike again.
At the same time, Harry is locked in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with crooked fellow police officer Tom Waaler (Joel Kinnaman).
Will there be a Detective Hole season 2?
In an exclusive interview with Mirror publishers Reach Plc, creator Nesbø, lead actor Santelmann and Beate Lønn star Ellen Helinder addressed the future of the show.
Nesbø said: “No plans yet [for a season two]. Right now, we’re just concentrating on getting this TV series out to the audience and we’ve been working on this for three years now.
“So, just the thought of starting all over again right now is a bit premature and we’re so exhausted right now that we want a vacation.”
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However, Harry Hole star Santelmann said: “I’m ready. You might be exhausted.”
Nesbø jokingly added: “You’re ready? Then I’m ready too for season two.”
The crime author admitted that he hadn’t yet thought about the direction he’d like to take the show in or which Harry Hole novel a possible season two might take.
Meanwhile, actress Helinder, who portrays the brilliant forensics officer Beate, shared her hopes for more seasons of Detective Hole: “Just to keep working with these amazing people and develop the characters even more.
“There’s so much to find in these people, who work within the law enforcement.
“Even more the morality, the ethical dilemmas and how is Harry going to cope with everything? Who is Beate? I would like to explore her backstory.
“I think this ability that she has for facial recognition is so cool, just for her to keep tracking cases and doing her thing.”
Given Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole has only just been released, Netflix will be keeping an eye on the viewing figures before making any renewal decisions.
The Devil’s Star is just one of 13 Harry Holes books that Nesbø has written, so there is plenty of content for the programme-makers and indeed the author, who also served as the screenwriter on the Netflix series, to draw on.
Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole is streaming on Netflix now
Huw Edwards, the lead presenter of BBC News at Ten for 20 years, was spared jail at Westminster Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children
01:54, 26 Mar 2026Updated 02:05, 26 Mar 2026
Huw Edwards is pictured leaving Westminster Magistrates’ Court after he was spared jail(Image: PA)
Furious viewers have blasted Huw Edwards’ “disgraceful” sentence after a shocking TV drama detailed his crimes.
The shamed broadcaster, 64, was spared jail despite admitting three charges of making indecent images of children. His case was explored in Channel 5’s Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards on Tuesday night, in which Martin Clunes played the presenter.
The 90-minute programme showed how Edwards groomed a teenager, paying him for sexual photos and videos. After it was broadcast, one viewer said: “First time in ages I flicked on terrestrial telly — and wow, it laid bare exactly what a monster he was.” Another summed up public anger by adding: “He should be watching this behind bars.” A third viewer said: “His sentence was disgraceful, considering what a sick creep he was.”
Nearly two million people tuned in to see Clunes, 64, portray the broadcaster, who had a vile double life. He was praised for his “compelling” and “career-defining” performance.
“I don’t get why Huw isn’t in prison. He needs to pay for what he’s done. It’s fact,” one viewer posted on X, which was known as Twitter. Another on the platform said: “Watching Power. Martin Clunes is excellent but it’s very uncomfortable viewing. How did Huw Edwards escape prison?”
Katie Jones, a mum who watched the show, wrote online: “I watched simply because I wanted to understand why NO jail time for EDWARDS. Was it cos he claimed to be suffering from a mental breakdown? It’s a must watch — difficult subject told well.” A shocked viewer agreed: “He should have been jailed. He’s a paedophile. He’s not sorry.”
Edwards paid a troubled teenager thousands of pounds, which the lad spent on drugs. The youngster was played by Emmerdale actor Osian Morgan. Osian, who was also in Waterloo Road in 2023, was praised for his acting in the harrowing drama.
Father-of-five Edwards was charged after the arrest of another paedophile, Alex Williams, who had sent him 377 images via WhatsApp. Westminster Magistrates’ Court the star, who was the lead presenter of BBC News at Ten for 20 years, sent 41 indecent images of children, some showing a victim aged between seven and nine.
Child protection charities have slammed the sentencing. Emma Hardy, of the Internet Watch Foundation, said: “We must never forget children are at the heart of this story — children who have suffered, and who suffer again each time imagery of them at their most vulnerable is reshared.
“Perhaps most worryingly, there is nothing to stop this happening again. WhatsApp, and other apps which use the extreme end-to-end form of encryption, are still failing to prevent the upload of known child sexual abuse imagery.
“While some platforms are now choosing not to use this kind of encryption because of safety fears, there remain whole swathes of the internet where this dangerous and illegal content can still be shared undetected and unopposed. The tools to help stop the next Huw Edwards are here, they work, and they do not impact on individuals’ privacy. It’s time to use them.”
Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards tells the story of the presenter’s fall from grace
Martin Clunes plays Huw Edwards in the drama(Image: PA)
Channel 5 viewers have called a new programme about former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards a “hard watch”.
Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards – starring Martin Clunes in the main role – chronicles the events leading to the presenter’s conviction for making indecent images of children. He was found guilty in 2024, and received a six-month prison sentence, which was suspended for two years.
The drama aired on Channel 5 on Tuesday (March 24), centring on Edwards’ alleged interaction with a 17-year-old. The teen, given the fictional name ‘Ryan’, is portrayed by Welsh actor Osian Morgan.
Moments after it began, viewers started posting comments on social media stating that it made for “uncomfortable” viewing, reports Wales Online.
“5 minutes in and can already tell this will be a thoroughly uncomfortable watch,” one viewer posted on X. Another individual admitted they were “already creeped out”.
“Not even halfway and I feel nauseous,” another person shared on the platform, formerly known as Twitter.
“Already creeped out when he calls him ‘baby’,” commented another viewer, whilst someone else confessed they were “speechless” watching the story unfold.
“I’m normally quite hardened to these sorts of dramas but honestly this Huw Edwards programme on 5 is a heck of an uncomfortable watch,” another viewer expressed.
“It’s a hard watch,” concurred another, as one viewer admitted they were turning off.
“I tried watching Power but it’s so grim that I’ve switched over to a repeat of Simon Schama’s History of Britain,” they shared.
“That’s it I have had to turn off this Huw Edwards programme,” said someone else.
Another viewer described the programme as feeling “dark and ominous”.
Numerous viewers also commented on Martin’s depiction of the former newsreader, saying he “nailed it”.
“Clunes is playing a blinder as Huw Edwards,” one individual remarked, whilst another added: “Martin Clunes is giving a career-defining performance. A disturbing, but compelling, portrayal of Huw Edwards.”
“Clunes is really pulling this off,” observed another, with someone else stating that the Doc Martin star’s performance was an “absolute tour de force”.
“Martin Clunes is formidable in his portrayal of Huw Edwards,” praised another impressed viewer.
Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards airs on Channel 5.
Paapa Essiedu is set to appear in a ‘tender yet urgent love story’ starting on BBC One next week
Megan Nisbet Content Editor
15:38, 24 Mar 2026
Holliday Grainger and Paapa Essiedu in The Capture(Image: BBC)
The Capture favourite Paapa Essiedu is set to star opposite Siobhán Cullen, known for The Dry and Obituary, in a powerful new drama.
Babies, starting on BBC One next week, is the actor’s first role since his unexpected exit from The Capture. It comes after his character, Home Secretary Isaac Turner, was killed off just minutes into season 3, despite being a main figure on the show since 2022.
Written and directed by multi-award-winning Stefan Golaszewski (Mum, Marriage, Him & Her), Babies is a gripping, warm and urgent love story about a couple struggling through the experience of pregnancy loss.
A synopsis for the new series reads: “At the heart of the series are Lisa (Cullen) and Stephen (Essiedu), a couple in their 30s whose dream of becoming parents is tested as they endure multiple miscarriages. While confronting unimaginable grief, their bond shines through with humour, warmth, and unwavering commitment.
“Charlotte Riley (The Peripheral, Press) and Jack Bannon (Pennyworth, Pulse) also star as Amanda and Dave – a new couple navigating their own challenges and testing their compatibility. Their complex relationship, set against Lisa and Stephen’s ongoing pregnancy journey, begins to expose cracks in Stephen and Dave’s long-standing friendship.”
Describing the series, and what drew him to the scripts, Paapa said: “It’s a six-part drama about two couples who are navigating all the complications and nuances of their relationships and the process of trying for children. The characters are all in their mid to late 30s and at this new stage of life. I’ve always been a huge fan of Stefan’s work. I loved Him & Her, as well as Mum and Marriage.
“He writes with such compassion, detail, specificity, humanity and humour. Scripts with that level of complexity, depth and dimension rarely arrive in your inbox. I never thought twice about it.”
Outlining the premise of the show, writer Stefan Golaszewski, said: “It’s a love story about a couple going through the process of trying to have their first baby. Although it is not autobiographical, I have some personal experience of these issues, and I thought it was a good idea to create a show that talks about a subject that feels quite taboo, but that so many people go through in a painful secrecy. “
Describing the characters at the centre of the show, Stefan said: “Stephen is a kind, gentle soul who has some complications with his notions of masculinity. He loves Lisa very much, and has had a well-oiled problem-free life up until this point. This is his first time experiencing tragedy.
“Lisa is a funny, clever, outgoing, confident person, who again, hasn’t really had to deal with much in her life. She’s had smooth sailing throughout her youth and is now experiencing the first emotional hurdle.
“Dave is a complicated soul. He’s gotten by so far in life by not letting anything deeper than banter in but depth is starting to happen around and to him. He’s finding it hard to navigate that with his old tricks.
“Amanda has suffered great loss in her life. Her fiancé died a few years ago, and she’s now with Dave. She’s starting to step out into the world again, and she’s trying to find a new future for herself.”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, said: “Babies has everything we love about Stefan Golaszewski’s work – a tender, authentic, emotional and human look at couples navigating a time in their lives that is rarely covered on television.
“It’s no surprise that this very special series has attracted such an outstanding cast, and it’s been an honour to see them bring Stefan’s scripts to life.”
All episodes of Babies are on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Monday, March 30, with the series airing on BBC One from 9pm that night.
The crime drama from Death in Paradise’s creator has returned to screens with its third season and viewers were delighted
The Marlow Murder Club returns for a third season this week(Image: UKTV)
The beloved mystery drama, The Marlow Murder Club, made its comeback to our TV screens with the eagerly awaited third series and viewers have declared the opening instalment “brilliant”.
Adapted from the novels by Death in Paradise creator Robert Thorogood, the programme unfolds in the charming Buckinghamshire town of Marlow.
Where retired archaeologist and amateur detective Judith Potts (Samantha Bond) joins forces with dog walker Suzie Harris (Jo Martin) and vicar’s wife Becks Starling (Cara Horgan) to crack a series of captivating crimes.
Every series has featured an array of famous faces, with the likes of Peter Davison (The Gold, Gentleman Jack), Tony Gardner (The Larkins, Last Tango in Halifax) as well as the comedy icon Harry Enfield making a guest appearance in the newest series, reports Hello.
In season three, Judith, Suzie and Becks confront a new batch of baffling mysteries, assisted by Marlow Police’s senior detective, Tanika Malik (Natalie Dew).
The synopsis reads: “From the sudden death of the town’s beloved mayor – the nicest man in Marlow – to a celebrity chef found dead at the launch of his cookbook with half the town in attendance.
“The team will be working under the watchful eye of the Marlow community.
“They’ll also be called to action at a university reunion in an eerie manor house where, in a surprising twist, Becks finds herself amongst the suspects. Could this case threaten our amateur sleuths’ roles as civilian advisors?”
This gripping drama represents cosy crime at its finest. With absorbing mysteries, ingenious plot twists and abundant charm, it’s hardly surprising that The Marlow Murder Club has become such a firm favourite with audiences.
Sharing their reaction on social media, fans have praised the programme’s much-anticipated third run as “brilliant”.
One viewer posted on X: “Last night’s #MarlowMurderClub series 3 premiere was off to a great start, brilliant stuff from Samantha bond, Cara Horgan, Jo Martin, Natalie Dew.”
Whilst another commented: “So pleased this is back on. I love it.” A third audience member commended the show as a “brilliant crime drama,” whilst another applauded the “beautiful scenery and laugh out loud moments”.
Meanwhile, the programme has garnered favourable reviews from television critics, with The Times likening the drama to “the TV equivalent of a garden wallow listening to birdsong whilst enjoying a nice cup of tea,” in its three-star assessment.
Awarding four stars, the Daily Mail praised the show as “cosy crime at its snuggest and most comforting”.
All six episodes of The Marlow Murder Club Season 3 are now available to stream on U and Channel 4.
The popular crime drama first aired back in 2021 and has featured the likes of Stephen Graham, Jodie Whittaker and Bella Ramsey.
David Tennant is starring in the upcoming series(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)
The wait is almost over as the BBC has confirmed a third series of Jimmy McGovern’s BAFTA-winning hit drama, Time, is coming back.
With filming set to begin in Belfast, the broadcaster has announced viewers can expect to see David Tennant and Siobhan Finneran in the upcoming instalment.
This week, the broadcaster shared further casting as Vinette Robinson, Jo Joyner, Daniel Ryan, Warren Brown, Louis McCartney, Ollie McNulty and Chukwubuikem Molokwu will star in the third series.
BBC viewers will also welcome the likes of Ethaniel Davy, Victor Zhao, Paul Smith Junior, Finn Kearns and Jack Barnes.
Set in a Young Offenders Institution, the third series of Time will explore the impact of locking up teenagers and the impact on those who look after them.
A synopsis reads: “Prison Chaplain Marie-Louise comes to the YOI having lost her faith. When tragedy strikes within the prison, Marie-Louise clashes with veteran officer Bailey, a man in the midst of his own crisis.
“Bailey knows more about the circumstances that led to this major incident – but will he come clean before the guilt gets too much?
“Meanwhile, two teenage young offenders, Peter and James, struggle through the terrifying first weeks and months of their incarceration.
“Can James ever face his broken parents after an unforgivable act of violence and will Peter tell the truth about the death of an innocent man, or does family loyalty mean more? An unlikely friendship between them looks to shift the trajectory of their futures, but in an increasingly unstable environment, is change ever possible?”
Sharing an image of the new cast members joining the show in Instagram, it wasn’t long before people commented on the post, sharing their excitement.
One person said: “Fantastic news.” Another wrote: “Can’t wait! Congrats on the casting, amazing announcements.”
Someone else shared: “ANOTHER SEASON OF TIME?!? I’m ready to get my heart absolutely broken yet again.” As one fan added: “A good line-up of actors and actresses.”
Another commented: “Can’t wait for this also great casting!” While someone else added: “Can’t wait for this, Siobhan smashed the first 2 series.”
Time series one and two are available to stream on BBC iPlayer
For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.
Period dramas are more popular than ever thanks to the likes of Bridgerton and Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights.
Five things about The Other Bennet Sister’s Ella Bruccoleri
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice universe is far from just Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy as a new BBC adaptation is ready to air.
Netflix fans are curious to see how the iconic novel written by author Dolly Alderton will take shape this year but there’s an alternative with a twist on BBC One in the meantime.
Based on the best-selling 2020 novel of the same name, The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow is finally being brought to life in the shape of a 10-episode period drama.
But rather than telling the love story of Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, the BBC series will be told from the perspective of Mary Bennet, the “seemingly unremarkable” middle sister of the Bennet family.
She may be considered the “overlooked middle sister” of Pride and Prejudice but, in this series, Mary Bennet will stand in the spotlight for the first time.
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Debuting with a double bill tonight, Sunday, March 15, at 8pm on BBC One, The Other Bennet Sister “follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose, finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way.
“Her journey will see her leave her family home in Meryton for the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love, and reinvention.”
Bringing the 19th Century Regency drama to life are an abundance of familiar faces, led by none other than Call the Midwife actress Ella Bruccoleri as Mary Bennet.
She is joined by stars including Gavin and Stacey’s Ruth Jones as Mrs Bennet, The Capture actress Indira Varma as Mrs Gardiner and Saltburn actor Richard E Grant as Mr Bennet, just to name a few.
Despite not yet airing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, The Other Bennet has already won itself a legion of fans thanks to Hadlow’s hit book.
Taking to Goodreads, a fan described it as “Beautifully written, moving and plausible, and very much in the spirit of Austen.”
Another echoed: “I would think that Austen herself wrote this book if I didn’t know better.
“Hadlow completely nails Austen’s witty, sharp sense of humor and elegant turns of phrase.”
“I absolutely love this – it’s a lovely, powerful and sweet book and I just adored it”, a third said.
While fourth added: “This is a fantastic re-telling of a classic novel and its characters, reforming our view of Mary Bennet, and elevating her into a heroine in her own right.”
The Other Bennet Sister premieres tonight, Sunday, March 15, at 8pm on BBC One.
Gary Wilmot reprised his role as journalist Anton Busette in the latest episode of Death in Paradise
Death in Paradise fans say same thing as Gary Wilmot returns to BBC drama(Image: BBC/Red Planet Pictures/Philippe Virapin)
Popular series Death in Paradise has announced the return of a familiar face, much to viewers’ delight.
The 15th series of the enduring detective drama is currently broadcasting on BBC One, with DI Mervin Wilson (Don Gilet) and his colleagues solving more puzzling deaths on Saint Marie.
After following Mervin, Naomi (portrayed by Shantol Jackson) and Selwyn’s (Don Warrington) escapades in Antigua, the penultimate episode shifted back to Saint Marie, with the protagonist grappling with his abduction and revelations about his brother.
Mervin swiftly resumed his duties following the murder of the island newspaper’s agony aunt, Hortense LeRoux (Anna Savva). At the start of the episode, the Commissioner and Mayor Bordey (Elizabeth Bourgine) attended Hortense’s leaving celebration. Tragically, the occasion ended in disaster when Hortense was poisoned the next day, whilst reading her final advice column, reports the Express.
Audiences also recognised a returning character at the gathering, with journalist Anton Busette (Gary Wilmot) making a notable appearance. This marks Anton’s second stint on the programme.
Fans will recall that he created considerable controversy earlier in the series through his attempts to undermine the police force and damage the Commissioner’s reputation. The character swiftly emerged as a suspect during Friday’s (March 13) instalment, given he was the former spouse of the murdered agony aunt.
Expressing her views on Anton, Mayor Bordey remarked: “Men like him [are] hungry lions, looking at you like you’re a tasty steak at a buffet.”
Despite his character’s shortcomings, Death in Paradise enthusiasts were thrilled to witness British legend Gary Wilmot reprising his role, with numerous viewers expressing their delight on social media. “Ooh! Gary Wilmot back on #DeathinParadise!” one viewer posted on X (formerly Twitter), whilst another contributed a string of celebratory emojis.
A third commented: “Keep thinking about how my dad has played football with Gary Wilmot and seeing him as Anton is so weird,” whilst another fan voiced apprehension about Gary’s character, stating: “I’m sensing bad vibes from Gary Wilmot’s character.”
Later in the episode, Mervin and Naomi persuaded Mayor Bordey to operate covertly and extract information from Anton, with the journalist promptly divulging some of his secrets.
Disclosing that Hortense’s daughter, Esme (Emma McDonald), wasn’t her biological offspring, Anton revealed: “She took her from Paris when she was a baby. Her mother wasn’t able to take care of her, a drug addict I believe… Hortense couldn’t have children.”
Anton went on to reveal that Hortense relocated to Saint Marie and falsified Esme’s birth certificate to make it appear as though she was her biological daughter. However, the atmosphere quickly changed when Anton discovered he was being recorded, with the journalist cautioning Mervin: “This won’t be the last you hear of me, I’ll be calling your Commissioner.” Was Anton responsible for his ex-wife’s death?
Death in Paradise is available to stream on BBC iPlayer
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ITV has shared images from its upcoming true crime series about convicted sex offender John Worboys
14:39, 12 Mar 2026Updated 14:48, 12 Mar 2026
Aimée-Ffion Edwards stars in Believe Me(Image: ITV)
Broadcaster ITV has released a first look at its new true crime drama Believe Me.
Filmed in Cardiff, the four-part series tells the story of John Worboys – who was dubbed the ‘black cab rapist’ after preying on women under the cover of being a licensed taxi-cab driver.
He was convicted in 2009 for crimes including sexual assault and drugging with intent against 12 women.
His modus operandi was to claim that he’d had a win at a casino or on the lottery, then offer women he’d picked up in his cab after a night out a glass of champagne, which he’d laced with drugs, and which rendered his victims unconscious.
ITV said the drama “tells the story of how the victims of one of the most prolific sex attackers in British history were failed by the system”.
The series focuses on the ordeal of Sarah (played byPeaky Blinders‘ Aimée-Ffion Edwards) and Laila (played by Raised By Wolves’ Aasiya Shah), who reported sexual assaults by Worboys (Daniel Mays), and how their allegations were not thoroughly investigated.
Sarah and Laila – both pseudonyms – joined forces with solicitor Harriet Wistrich, played by Philippa Dunne and barrister Phillippa Kaufmann QC, played by Rachael Stirling, to sue the Metropolitan Police under the Human Rights Act for their failure to properly conduct investigations into their allegations of sexual assault, leading to their being subjected to degrading treatment and contributing to their distress.
They won, and when the Met appealed that judgment to the Supreme Court, they won again.
As these women fought to have their cases heard, looming in the background was Worboys’ first parole hearing. Eight years after he was convicted for his crimes, his victims had to fight again to keep him behind bars.
Sarah, Laila, Harriet and Phillippa were joined by Carrie Symonds (played by Industry’s Miriam Petche), a senior figure in the Conservative Party press team. She put her career on the line to spearhead a huge media and political campaign pushing for an unprecedented judicial review of the Parole Board’s decision. The campaign, with Sarah, Laila and Carrie at the forefront, was successful, and Worboys’ parole was quashed.
Sarah, whose identity has been protected, said: “Believe Me is about the courage of every woman who came forward to help put John Worboys behind bars.
“What happened to me changed my life, but in many ways the hardest part was not being believed for so many years. Without the people who stood by me, Worboys would have been freed and continued to pose a huge risk to women. Seeking justice shouldn’t mean more trauma. We shouldn’t have to fight to be believed or feel like we’re the ones on trial. The shame never belongs to the survivor.”
Believe Me will air on ITV
If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Victim Support for free, confidential advice on 08 08 16 89 111 or visit their website, http://www.victimsupport.org.uk.
Ella Bruccoleri looks unrecognisable from her days at Nonnatus House as she takes on the leading role in new BBC period drama
Ella played Sister Frances in BBC period drama Call the Midwife(Image: BBC/Nealstreet Productions/Matt Towers)
Call the Midwife star Ella Bruccoleri has landed the leading role in new BBC period drama The Other Bennet Sister.
The 10-episode series, which is based on Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name, follows the “overlooked” character of Mary Bennet, played by Ella, who looks unrecognisable from her days at Nonnatus House, where she featured as Sister Frances until 2022.
The series begins at Longbourn, where the Bennet family’s five unmarried daughters navigate the rigid expectations of Regency society.
“Her journey sees her leave her family home for the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love, and reinvention,” the synopsis says.
“The series follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose, finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way,” it goes on.
Speaking to the BBC about her new role, Ella explained: “Mary’s not your typical period drama heroine.
“She lives in a world where, particularly for women, appearance is everything, and she doesn’t understand that value system at all.
“Instead, she turns to literature that offers a different viewpoint. Her favourite book is Fordyce’s Sermons to Young Women, because it argues that women shouldn’t have to be beautiful — they should be intelligent and pious.”
Giving fans further insight on her character, she added: “Mary Bennet has been written off by many members of her family, and as a result she’s written herself off too. When we meet her at the beginning of the series, she’s living with her family in a small village and has never really left that world.
“These are the only people she knows, and she understands herself through the values they impose on her. We know these characters from Pride and Prejudice, but it’s fascinating to see the impact they have on someone like Mary.”
Giving her thoughts on the new adaptation, the star said: “When I read Jane Austen, I’m always struck by how witty it is so witty, with humour in every line.
“Sarah Quintrell really brings that into the scripts, and Janice Hadlow’s book does the same. The novel is very different in style from Austen, but it feels like a genuine extension of Pride and Prejudice.
“Sarah’s scripts tread the line between comedy and drama better than anything I’ve ever read. It feels like a tragicomedy – it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it’s also not afraid to delve into emotionally weighty material. That feels very true to Jane Austen.”
The Other Bennet Sister debuts on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday (March 15) at 8pm
For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.
Adapted from the identically titled novel, A Woman of Substance follows housemaid Emma Harte as she challenges societal conventions to establish a worldwide business empire.
Spanning dual timelines, the eight-episode series chronicles Emma’s (portrayed by Jessica Reynolds) ascent from her formative hardships through to the present day, where she (Brenda Blethyn) confronts fresh, unforeseen challenges.
Where was A Woman of Substance filmed?
Captured during spring 2025, sequences depicting young Emma in the early 1900s were shot throughout Yorkshire, with the Grade I-listed Georgian residence Broughton Hall serving as Fairley Hall.
Broughton Hall previously featured as a filming venue in Channel 4’s original 1984 adaptation of A Woman of Substance.
Broughton Hall is the 16th Century manor house situated at the centre of the 3,000 acre Broughton Sanctuary estate.
Whilst the property remains unchanged, it’s now encompassed by the sanctuary, housing the Avalon Wellbeing Centre and offering holiday accommodation available for guest bookings.
Production teams were additionally observed at Ilkley Moor, Barnsley Town Hall and at Brodsworth Hall and Gardens in Doncaster.
Speaking about the use of Brodsworth Hall in the series, a representative from English Heritage said: “Last year we were pleased to welcome a production company, filming scenes for an adaption of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s A Woman of Substance.
“Filming took place within our Servants’ Wing, Laburnam Arch and Target House/Range and we are extremely excited and proud to see Brodsworth on the small screen!”.
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Reynolds, who portrays the younger version of Emma Harte, shared her experiences of filming in Yorkshire with Country and Town House.
She said: ‘I know the crew worry about wind and rain, but I just love being able to have nature around me and working off the elements.
“I feel much less self-conscious, and freer.
“Some of the locations were just breathtaking and those are the images that stick in my mind today when I think back to filming; Yorkshire is just stunning.
“Those are some of Emma’s happiest moments too, when she’s so connected to the land – it’s a beautiful thing.”
Meanwhile, the contemporary scenes featuring Vera legend Blethyn, which are supposed to be set in New York, were actually filmed in Liverpool.
This isn’t the first time Liverpool has served as a stand-in for New York in film production, with major films including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and 2022’s The Batman also shot in the UK city.
A Woman of Substance premieres on Wednesday, March 11, at 9pm on Channel 4.
EXCLUSIVE: A beloved crime drama is set to return for a third season next week, with a host of “incredible” guest stars
14:59, 10 Mar 2026Updated 15:02, 10 Mar 2026
‘Intriguing’ crime drama that Death in Paradise fans ‘watch on repeat every day’(Image: UKTV/Robbie Gray)
Fans of Death in Paradise are being urged to watch a “cosy” crime drama with a distinctive premise.
Death in Paradise creator Robert Thorogood’s English-set mystery series, The Marlow Murder Club, follows three amateur detectives as they solve crimes in the tranquil riverside town of Marlow.
Judith Potts (Samantha Bond), a retired archaeologist, establishes a club alongside professional dog walker Suzie Harris (Jo Martin) and vicar’s wife Becks Starling (Cara Horgan). Their discoveries eventually earn them positions as civilian advisers under Detective Sergeant Tanika Malik (Natalie Dew).
Now firmly embedded within newly promoted DI Malik’s crime-solving operation, Judith, Suzie and Becks are back, applying their unorthodox techniques to a series of high-profile murders. However, it quickly becomes apparent to the amateur investigators that their enquiries may strike closer to home than ever before, reports the Express.
The synopsis reveals: “From the sudden death of the kindest man in Marlow, the town’s beloved Mayor, to a celebrity chef found dead at the launch of his cookbook with half the town in attendance, the team will be working under the watchful eye of the Marlow community.”
“They’ll also be called to an eerie manor house in the middle of nowhere, where they’ll face a case intrinsically linked to Becks’ past that could threaten the future of their roles as civilian advisors. Judith, Suzie and Becks will have to pull closer together than ever to catch these killers.”
Since launching in 2024, The Marlow Murder Club has established itself as a beloved staple amongst mystery fans. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, leading actress Jo Martin, who portrays Suzie, has shared her thoughts on why the programme connects with audiences so profoundly.
“People love murder, don’t ask me why. And the fact that this isn’t this gruesome, you know, dead women everywhere, mutilated. It’s a cosy crime drama, and it’s beautifully shot as well,” she explained.
“You can sit back and feel like [you’re having] a cup of drinking chocolate, you know? It’s like that. It’s like toasting some marshmallows and watching this. You’re in safe hands. It’s a great formula and it works.
“I think people have bought into the characters as well. And the fact that there aren’t many shows where you’ve got, you know, three, four women leading the show. We’re not the wife of, or the friend of, or the dead body – we are leading the show, and we’re all women of a particular age.”
Jo continued: “It’s intergenerational, which is always very interesting, you know… I think it’s wonderful.”
Alongside the returning main cast, series three will welcome an impressive array of guest stars throughout its six episodes. The stellar line-up includes Nigel Harman, Peter Davison, Jacqueline Boatswain, Sarah Alexander, Tony Gardner, Jason Merrells, Harry Enfield, Cherie Lunghi, Adrian Lukis, and Alastair Mackenzie.
Additionally, Hugh Quarshie reprises his role as Professor Darius Gifford, a prospective romantic interest for Judith.
Discussing the significance of embracing their guest performers, Jo explained: “If you’re coming on as a guest, it’s really hard to enter this family… [We want] to make [them feel] a part of it, so they can do their best work. So, yeah, we love it, welcoming new people.”
The actress also described her excitement upon meeting comedy icon Harry Enfield. She recalled: “We’ve had some great artists this season. It’s been amazing. I’m a huge fan of Harry Enfield… When he was on set, we’re all like, ‘Oh God, when can I ask for a selfie? When’s it going to be cool to get a selfie with Harry Enfield?’ Yeah, it’s incredible.”
With only two episodes remaining in the current series of Death in Paradise, audiences may be seeking a new series to satisfy their appetite. This “intriguing” programme that fans “watch on repeat every day” could prove the ideal escape into the realm of murder mysteries, minus the blood and violence.
The Marlow Murder Club returns to U and U&DRAMA on Wednesday, March 18 at 8pm
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The BBC war drama depicts a fictional nuclear attack on Britain by Russia and its devastating aftermath – and was so disturbing it was banned from broadcast for two decades
The nuclear war drama was deemed ‘too horrifying’ for British viewers(Image: Anadolu, Anadolu via Getty Images)
In the face of escalating conflicts worldwide – from the intensifying US-Israel joint operation against Iran in the Middle East, Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza following Hamas’ October 2023 attack, to the four-year-long Russia-Ukraine war still in progress – it’s no exaggeration to say we’re witnessing a catastrophic level of global unrest.
Amidst this turmoil, the looming threat of nuclear warfare is ever-present. The aftermath of such a conflict would bring about unimaginable destruction and devastation – the fallout is too horrific to contemplate.
This chilling scenario was portrayed in a BBC documentary from 1965, a film so disturbing it was banned from television broadcast for two decades by the British Broadcasting Corporation itself.
At the time, the corporation justified its decision to prohibit the documentary, stating: “The effect of the film has been judged by the BBC to be too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting. It will, however, be shown to invited audiences..”
The controversial pseudo-documentary finally aired in Great Britain on 31 July 1985, twenty years after its initial scheduled screening date of 6 October 1965. This broadcast coincided with the week leading up to the 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, reports the Express.
The War Game is currently available for free streaming on BBC iPlayer or can be bought for £5.99 on Amazon Prime Video.
Written, directed and produced by Peter Watkins for the BBC, The War Game depicted a fictional nuclear strike on Britain by the Soviets and its devastating consequences.
The docu-film’s official synopsis states: “In this British documentary, a hypothetical Chinese invasion of South Vietnam triggers a new world war between East and West. In the town of Rochester, Kent, the anticipation of a nuclear attack leads to mass evacuations.
When a stray missile actually explodes, the ensuing firestorm blinds all those who see it. It’s not long before the fabric of society is ripped apart owing to radiation poisoning, a lack of infrastructure and rioting for food and other necessities.”
On 13 April 1966, The War Game had its premiere at the National Film Theatre in London, where it screened until 3 May. Barred from broadcast, the 47-minute docu-drama subsequently appeared at numerous international film festivals, including Venice, where it secured the Special Prize.
The recognition continued – the prohibited BBC production went on to claim the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1967, alongside two BAFTAs for Best Short Film and the UN Award.
Boasting a near-flawless 93% approval rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, The War Game has earned widespread acclaim from critics and viewers.
One reviewer commented on the docu-drama: “Nothing that you have heard or read can fully prepare you for Peter Watkins’ 1965 faux documentary on the aftermath of a nuclear attack on Great Britain.”
Another reviewer added: “One of the most disturbing, overwhelming, and downright important films ever produced.”
A third critic described it as essential viewing, noting: “It was produced by the British Broadcasting Corp. but never televised because it was felt its showing would be both horrifying and depressing. It is. It also is realistic, informative and shattering. It is a movie that everyone should see.”
Whilst one critic said: “Still packs a whallop. Will stick with you for life. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” another commented on the nuclear war drama, “One of the most skillful documentary films ever made.”
Viewer reactions mirror this sentiment, with one audience member writing in an extensive review: “The War Game, although created as a TV movie for the BBC for the 20th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is easily the one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen, on par only with Gus van Sant’s “Elephant. ” It accurately portrays the effects and aftermath of a nuclear attack and uses a handheld documentary style that makes everything chillingly real.
“There were several times during the film when I had to remind myself that Britain had never suffered a nuclear attack and the footage I was looking at was not real. There are very few films that have left me in the state that this one did when it was over. Much like “Schindler’s List” or “American History X,” this is the kind of movie I think everyone should watch because it is so incredibly informative and brings the viewer so much closer to understanding the pain and monstrosity of a nuclear attack.”
Another viewer described it as: “A harrowing punch in the gut that nothing prepared me for. Unforgettable.”
Meanwhile, one audience member remarked about Watkins’ drama: “Really shook me up and left me reeling for a while after seeing it. Peter Watkins ruined my 3 day weekend with this masterfully done piece of film. Needs to be required viewing for every being capable of understanding images and sound.”
The War Game can be streamed free of charge on BBC iPlayer until July 2026, or purchased for £5.99 through Amazon Prime Video.
