Every Friday, TMINE lets you know when the latest global TV shows will air in the UK
Netflix decided to binge this week, buying up a slew of shows that it’s going to air in January some time. Black Lightning is The CW (US)’s new superhero show – that hasn’t started yet and going on past form, Netflix will probably be showing episodes the day after they air in the US, which would mean it’ll become available starting Wednesday January 17.
Also coming to Netflix in January are Outsiders (US: WGN America) and Underground(US: WGN America), both of which I’ve reviewed elsewhere. Meanwhile, department store-set comedy Superstore (US: NBC) has been acquired by ITV2 and will air some time in 2018.
That just leaves:
Will (US: TNT; UK: Virgin)
Premiere date: Friday, December 29
Baz Luhrmann/A Knight’s Tale-esque retelling of William Shakespeare’s ‘missing years’ after he arrives in London as a young man. A punk-infused adrenaline-rush, the first episode is a genuinely great bit of television, after which everything becomes a lot duller and more pedestrian, and the whole thing gets messed up by an attempt to make Will a secret Catholic rebel. The show was cancelled after its first season of 10 episodes but watch the first if you can and regard it as a mini-movie treat to be savoured in its own right.
Every Friday, ‘When’s that show you mentioned starting, TMINE?’ lets you know when the latest global TV shows will air in the UK
A slowish week in acquisitions, with Foxtel (Australia)’s forthcoming remake of Picnic at Hanging Rock with Natalie Dormer the only one that didn’t come with an attached premiere date. Otherwise, here’s the rundown:
Chausée d’amour
Chaussée d’Amour (Belgium: Prime/VIER; UK: Virgin)
Premiere date: Available now
An original commission produced by the Liberty Global owned Telenet in Belgium, and directed by noir veterans Frank Devos and Pieter Van Hees, Chaussée d’Amour brings gripping drama to the living room in a raw and addictive depiction of life on this infamous brothel-lined street. The moody character-driven story unfolds through the eyes of Sylvia Carlier, a distinguished woman fleeing a crumbling marriage. She is forced by financial necessity to take on the running of a brothel inherited after the untimely death of her father. Following the discovery of human remains on the Chaussée d’Amour, the plot evolves through Sylvia’s fight to support her two children and build a new life in the midst of a twisting murder investigation.
Will & Grace (US: NBC; UK: Channel 5)
Premiere date: Friday, 5 January 2018, 10pm
Surprisingly good return after 10 years to the pioneering comedy classic. Smart, pointed, not afraid of pointing out that everyone’s much older and times have changed, it’s also a lot nicer than the barbed original.
Altered Carbon (Netflix)
Premiere date: Friday, February 2
Based on the classic cyberpunk noir novel by Richard K Morgan, Altered Carbon is an intriguing story of murder, love, sex, and betrayal, set more than 300 years in the future. Society has been transformed by new technology: consciousness can be digitised; human bodies are interchangeable; death is no longer permanent. Takeshi Kovacs is the lone surviving soldier in a group of elite interstellar warriors who were defeated in an uprising against the new world order. His mind was imprisoned, “on ice”, for centuries until Laurens Bancroft, an impossibly wealthy, long-lived man, offers Kovacs the chance to live again. In exchange, Kovacs has to solve a murder… that of Bancroft himself.
Stars Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop, The Killing (US)) and Dichen Lachman’s in there, too.
Every Friday, ‘When’s that show you mentioned starting, TMINE?’ lets you know when the latest global TV shows will air in the UK
Not a huge number of acquisitions this week. One show that’s been quietly acquired at some point by Netflix is Glacé (The Frozen Dead) (France: M6; UK: Netflix), but I don’t know when that’s going to air yet. Here’s a trailer to get you in the mood for when it becomes available:
Otherwise, just a couple of premiere dates for you:
ג’וני ואבירי הגליל (Milk and Honey/Johnny and Knights of Galilee) (Israel: Yes; UK: Walter Presents)
Premiere date: Sunday, December 3
Milk and Honey tells the story of four childhood friends from a small village in the Galilee who stumble upon an original business idea which will make the most of their various abilities – they open an escort service exclusively for women, the first of its kind in the country. The service becomes a surprising success around the Galilee, while the four friends struggle with their new and challenging identities as gigolos.
Every episode advances three or four plotlines, following the adventures of the four friends, the women they meet in their personal lives as well as their professional/sexual encounters – and the fine line separating the two.
By turning the spotlight on the bedroom, the show sharply exposes the power play and tension between genders, classes and different sectors in Israeli society.
The men in the show see selling their bodies as a tempting and lucrative business opportunity, but paradoxically, it’s their dubious business that forms a bond of solidarity between them.
Here’s the original Yes trailer, and Walter can introduce the show to you afterwards.
Feud: Bette and Joan (US: FX; UK: BBC Two)
Premiere date: Saturday, December 16, 9pm
Ryan Murphy’s latest anthology series looks at famous feuds. First up, is Bette Davis and Joan Crawford’s hate fest, with Charles and Diana to follow in season two – can’t wait.
A good cast – Jessica Lange, Susan Sarandon, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kathy Bates, Judy Davis, Alfred Molina, Stanley Tucci, Jackie Hoffman and Alison Wright – but I didn’t bother with it because it’s an anthology show that’s also based on real events about which I have no knowledge, so why bother? I might as well review the news…
Zone blanche (Black Spot) (France: France 2; UK: Amazon)
We also have some premiere dates, including dates for shows acquired this week for a change. But just in case you were wondering, season 2 of Travelers will be available on Netflix from 26 December. There’s something to enjoy with your Christmas leftovers, hey?
Salvation (US: CBS; UK: Netflix)
Premiere date: Now (sorry, only just noticed it was there)
Despite previous indications to the contrary, this one actually ended up on Netflix (whoops). An asteroid’s coming to hit the Earth and only a student, a brilliant industrialist and some plodding government types can save the day. I lasted about two episodes, as it alternated between reasonably smart and galactically stupid, but you might last longer. Has been renewed for a second season in the US.
Manhunt: Unabomber (US: Discovery; UK: Netflix)
Premiere date: December 12
True story of the FBI’s hunt for the Unabomber, the deadliest serial bomber in history. The story focuses on FBI agent and criminal profiler Sam Worthington (Clash of the Titans, Deadline Gallipoli, Terminator 4), who pioneered the use of forensic linguistics to identify and ultimately capture Unabomber Paul Bettany. This series features Bettany and Worthington’s first leading roles on US television; it will also air on Discovery UK in 2018 at some point.
I haven’t reviewed it because it aired in August this year. Bloody August.
Le mystère du lac (Vanished by the Lake) (France: TF1; UK: Walter Presents)
Premiere date: December 13
Lise (Barbara Schulz) hasn’t returned to her small hometown since the tragedy that shattered her teens. Now a detective, she is back to care for her Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother. But the day she arrives, a neighbour’s teenage daughter goes missing under the exact same circumstances as Lise’s two best friends 15 years previously. Determined to prevent history from repeating itself Lise imposes herself on the local police squad to help find the missing girl.
Desperate for answers, Lise takes it upon herself to revisit the cold case of her vanished friends. In the process of addressing her own painful memories, she is confronted by her mother’s own muddled recollections, including some shocking new revelations. But can Lise trust these memories have not been tainted by disease?
The Indian Detective (Canada: CTV; UK: Netflix)
Premiere date: December 19
A four-part comedy series developed by Frank Spotnitz and Smita Bhide (Transporter: The Series) for comedian Russell Peters in his first starring role. It also stars WILLIAM SHATNER. Yes, that one.
Peters plays Doug D’Mello, a Toronto cop who unexpectedly finds himself investigating a murder in his parents’ Indian homeland. The investigation leads Doug to uncover a dangerous conspiracy involving David Marlowe (Shatner), a billionaire property developer, while dealing with his own ambivalence toward a country where, despite his heritage, he is an outsider.
It only started in Canada yesterday, so I haven’t had time to watch it yet. Fingers crossed, I’ll be reviewing the first episode on Monday, next week for sure.
Every Friday, TMINE lets you know the latest announcements about when new imported TV shows will finally be arriving on UK screens – assuming anyone’s bought anything, of course
One new acquisition, one new airdate this week. First, remember all those shows I said last week that were coming to Walter Presents by year end? They’ve turned up today. For full details of all the shows, last week’s entry has it all but here they are on 4oD:
Also just turned up is Veszettek (Home Guards) (Hungary: Megafilm), which is about two brothers recruited by a local vigilante group who end up discovering it’s a bit hard to tell goodies from baddies in real-life.
Acquisition of the week is AXN’s Stana Katic drama Absentia, of which I reviewed the first three episodes. That’ll be on Amazon some time next year.
Belated airdate of the week is for the second season of Les témoins (Witnesses), which was on Channel 4 for its first season but is now on BBC Four, starting 9pm next Saturday (25th November). I haven’t seen it, but I’ve already covered it a bit and given Audrey Fleurot is in it, I will be watching it. Two hours of that on Saturday, two hours of Babylon Berlin on Sunday – that’s a lot to get through of a weekend…
