Save Downton Arbys!

For more years than I can remember, PBS has been on the receiving end of their fair share of parodies. Some good, some bad. Some, however, are too good not to share. The brilliant silver lining thing about being the butt of a parody is that you have something worth parodying. Enter Downton Abbey. This […]

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PBS has 'Great Expectations' for Masterpiece

Already a stellar year for PBS’ Masterpiece series. It began with the second series of Downton Abbey in January 2012. PBS followed with the announcement that the premiere of the second set of Sherlock 2 would be on May 6. In between, viewers in the States will be treated to the likes of Great Expectations, […]

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BBC Endeavor – music soundtrack 101

Just like the incredibly important job of the editor, a brilliant music soundtrack can elevate a good story into a great one. PBS Masterpiece viewers will, no doubt, remember the haunting soundtrack to Case Histories with Jason Isaacs broadcast last Fall. With the U.S. broadcast of Endeavor with Shaun Evans set for a July 2012 […]

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Sherlock creator a bit miffed at CBS' Elementary

Ever since the not-too-be-believed news that CBS would be developing a pilot for a “21st Century Sherlock Holmes” series, Elementary, creators of the BBC’s Sherlock series, have kept a close eye on the American version. Admittedly, you can’t copyright the concept of a 21st Century Sherlock Holmes, but it was a curious decision to pilot […]

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The Last Weekend w/ Rupert Penry-Jones & Shaun Evans

Not that I’m being greedy or anything, but with all the particulars that are involved in ITV1’s announcement Monday both in front of and behind the camera, I need to see this now…and it needs to be a part of PBS’ Masterpiece series. The upcoming ITV1 commissioning of Blake Morrison’s best-selling suspense thriller, The Last […]

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Another St. Patrick's Day w/out Frank McCourt

We can’t leave St. Patrick’s Day weekend without a bit of Irish remembrance from awhile back. Several years ago, we had an incredible opportunity to spend a couple of weeks in Dublin with Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Angela’s Ashes, Teacher Man and ‘Tis. Frank hosted the PBS special, Historic Pubs of Dublin, […]

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Sherlock 3 to begin filming in 2013

Sherlock 3 – Good news / Bad news For all those in the UK that have been left hanging out to dry since the end of Sherlock 2 , in the other parts of the world currently in the middle of series 2 or in the U.S. who are, impatiently, awaiting the premiere of Sherlock […]

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ITV commissions Endeavor series for 2013

ITV has announced that their Inspector Morse ‘prequel’, Endeavor, has now officially been commissioned for an additional four episodes, to be filmed on location beginning this summer in Oxford, most likely for transmission in early 2013. PBS viewers in the United States will get a chance to experience what UK viewers already know when Endeavor […]

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Downton Abbey drama du jour

With Downton Abbey currently in production on series 3, the Daily Mail headline reads “Drama at Downton Abbey as Dame Maggie Smith looks set to quit the show“. The text reads like a soap opera as it is being ‘reported’ that the Dowager Countess has ‘panicked the bosses’ by not signing a new contract. It’s as […]

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BBC has high hopes for Call the Midwife

One of the hits of our recent trek to Liverpool for the 2012 BBC Showcase was the opportunity to screen the hit new kid on the BBC drama block, Call the Midwife. The series, which follows a group of midwives working in London’s East End in the 1950s and stars the likes of Jenny Agutter, […]

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