Home » Upcoming films » New TV series (15)
| Title | Premiere date | Information |
| Catherine the Great | 2019 | 4 episodes, HBO/SKY. Set against the politically tumultuous and sexually charged court of Russian empress Catherine the Great (Helen Mirren), who wielded supreme power throughout Russia for nearly half of the 18th century, the limited series follows Catherine towards the end of her reign during her passionate affair with Grigory Potemkin (Jason Clarke). Gina McKee as Countess Bruce, Catherine’s lifelong friend and confidante; Rory Kinnear as Minister Panin, a skillful politician, advisor and governor to Catherine’s son; Richard Roxburgh as Grigory Orlov, one of Catherine’s former lovers, who helped orchestrate the coup that brought Catherine to power; Kevin R. McNally as Alexei Orlov, who, with his brother Grigory, helped orchestrate the coup that brought Catherine to power; Joseph Quinn as Paul, Catherine’s son and heir; and Sam Palladio as Alexander Vasilchikov, Catherine’s young lover. IMDB |
| Gentleman Jack | 2019 | 8 episodes, HBO/BBC One. Written by Sally Wainwright (To Walk Invisible). Set in 1832 Halifax, Gentleman Jack focuses on landowner Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) and her determination to transform the fate of her faded ancestral home, Shibden Hall, by marrying well. The story examines Anne’s relationships at home with her family, her servants, her tenants and her industrial rivals; and most importantly, with her would-be-wife, the wealthy heiress Ann Walker. IMDB |
| A Christmas Carol | (?) 25 Dec 2019 | 3 episodes, BBC One. A television adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic Christmas tale of the miser Ebenezer Scrooge. Written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Taboo). Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, calls Knight “a genius” and suggests viewers be “prepared to be blown away by his wholly original and visionary take on some of Britain’s best loved classics.” We just hope it will be a classic period adaptation. IMDB |
| The Name of the Rose | 2019 | 8 episodes, Rai (Italy). A monk investigates a series of mysterious deaths at an abbey. Television adaptation of Umberto Eco's novel 'The Name of the Rose'. Starring John Turturro, Rupert Everett. IMDB |
| Pride and Prejudice | 2020 | ? episodes, ITV. Production company Mammoth Screen plans to tease out the “darker tones” of Jane Austen’s classic novel in a new ITV adaptation written by Nina Raine. This will be Raine’s first TV adaptation. The dates and cast for the production and broadcast are still to be confirmed, but there is a chance the new version could air in 2020. |
| The Singapore Grip | (?) 2019 | 6 episodes, ITV. The Singapore Grip by J.G. Farrell tells the story of a British family living in Singapore at the time of the Japanese invasion. It follows rubber merchant Walter Blackett, his wife Sylvia, ruthless daughter Joan and spoilt son Monty, who live a life of luxury, seemingly untouched by the troubles in Europe. However, the story takes a turn when the son of his business partner Mr Webb becomes involved with his daughter Joan before falling under the spell of Vera Chiang, a mysterious Chinese refugee. It is being adapted by Christopher Hampton, who wrote feature films including A Dangerous Method, Atonement, The Quiet American and who won an Oscar for Dangerous Liaisons. Mammoth Screen (Poldark, Victoria) produces. |
| The Gilded Age | 2019 | 10 episodes, NBC. Set in New York City in 1882, the series will follow Marian Brook, the young heiress of a conservative family who is tasked with infiltrating the world of their wealthy neighbors, ruled by railroad tycoon George Russell. Complications arise amid a wide cast of characters including the rakish young Russell son Larry and matriarch Bertha, whose new money presents a social barrier to acceptance by the upper set. IMDB |
| Dangerous Liaisons | unknown | ? episodes, BBC. According to Deadline, Choderlos de Laclos's classic 18th-century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses was to be written as a drama serial by Christopher Hampton. But this news is 5 years old so apparently it's not happening. |
| Charlotte | unknown | TV mini-series. During America's tumultuous years before the Civil War, a Southern family struggles with being societies "upper-crust" while operating a profitable plantation and secretly pushing for the emancipation of slaves. IMDB |
| The Serpent and the Moon | unknown | TV series. Julian Fellowes adapting a Princess Michael of Kent's novel which is based on the love triangle between the young French king Henri II, his long-suffering wife Catherine de Medici, and his older mistress, Diane de Poitiers. |
| A Place of Greater Safety | unknown | ? episodes, BBC. Adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novel about the French revolution. Three young men – Georges-Jacques Danton, Mzimilien Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins, all real figures involved in the revolution – must deal with the dark side of the period’s politics. Adapted by Richard Warlow, a writer on Ripper Street. The news is 3 years old though. |
| Black Diamonds | unknown | Status unknown. Real-life feuds of a wealthy coal-mining dynasty as they built one of the biggest private homes in Europe. The BBC confirmed the programme was in the very early stages of development but we doubt it is being developed now. |
| Mary Burton | unknown | Status unknown. In 2012 we learned that Heidi Thomas, the creator and writer of the BBC1 hit Call the Midwife, worked on the draft script of the first episode for BBC Wales, but since then there were no news on the project. |
| Black Narcissus | unknown | 3 episodes, BBC. Adaptation of Rumer Godden’s iconic tale of sexual repression and forbidden love from Amanda Coe. Returning this haunting love story to its original setting in the 1930s, as the western colonial order is about to explode into the crisis of World War Two, Black Narcissus follows Sister Clodagh and the nuns of St Faiths, who travel to Nepal to set up a branch of their order in the remote palace of Mopu. IMDB |
| Nellie Bly | unknown | (?) episodes, Lifetime. A psychological thriller inspired by the groundbreaking 19th century journalist, with Christina Ricci, Judith Light and Josh Bowman attached to star. The film is in production for 2018 premiere. Ricci plays investigative reporter Nellie Bly, who’s on a mission to expose the deplorable conditions and mistreatment of patients at the notorious Women’s Lunatic Asylum, and feigns mental illness in order to be institutionalized to report from the inside. The movie is an account of actual events surrounding Nellie’s stay beginning after she has undergone treatment, leaving her with no recollection of how she came to the asylum or her real identity. IMDB |