New Orleans becomes BBC West this week

It’s that time of year again, where Tellyspotting, along with 100+ colleagues from PBS stations around the country, descend upon New Orleans to work very, very hard on your behalf. Ordinarily, as television programmer’s, we like to say that our main function in life is to watch bad television so you don’t have to. However, […]

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Goodbye Free Agents, Hello Suburban Shootout?

Goodbye, Free Agents The news this week out of Hollywood of the cancellation of the U.S. remake of the Channel 4 comedy, Free Agents, sadly, was not unexpected. I guess, however, in the grand scheme of American commercial television remakes of British comedies, it should be considered a mild success. After all, it did make […]

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Spooks: What we've learned in 10 years

To the lucky ones on the planet in the UK sitting down in front of the telly tonight at 9:00pm with the enviable viewing choice of either the new seaon of ITV’s Downton Abbey or the final season of Spooks on BBC One. The Guardian put it best by saying that, “…in Downton Abbey, you […]

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The greatness that is Mark Gatiss

In television, whether it be comedy, drama or documentaries, there are individuals whose names you may know but not the face or whose face you may know but not the name. In the case of Mark Gatiss, this is brilliance that you should know both the name and the face. His involvement in numerous series […]

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NBC at it again with Prime Suspect re-make

You’d think they’d learn, post-Coupling. Ok, I know, they do have The Office that they can point to, but for every American Office, I can find ten American Coupling’s or Life on Mars, for that matter, just to throw gas on the fire. Further proof that there are now no new ideas and with history not […]

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Vote! It's BAFTA time. Sherlock, Downton Abbey and more…

Doesn’t get any better than having a night to celebrate and pay tribute to the best television on television. It’s time again for the BAFTA’s, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards, Sunday, 22 May. This year is does nothing to disprove this theory in that you have several legitimate winners in virtually […]

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Neil Gaiman explains Doctor Who in 78 words

With a resume far too lengthy ever to put into print, the great Neil Gaiman is one of the icons in the world of comic books, novels, children’s books and film & television writing, that if you have to ask who he is, well, go here. Recently at WonderCon 2011, a few words of wisdom […]

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Eddie Izzard enters the United States of Tara

Eddie Izzard alert! From Dreamworks Television and Executive Producer, Steven Spielberg, the third season of Showtime’s dark comedy, United States of Tara, kicks off beginning tonight, Monday, March 28 at 10:30p ET (following Nurse Jackie) with the great Eddie Izzard as Tara’s (Toni Collette) new DID-skeptical psychology professor. Thanks to xfinityTV.com for providing tellyspotting this […]

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The Norman Conquests – finally!

Normally, when you put forth the time and effort to revisit the 70’s and watch what you remember as being brilliant television, chances are, you come away a bit disappointed. Such is not the case with the just released on DVD version of the 70’s classic, The Norman Conquests, from the PBS Great Performances series. […]

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Take the UK to US TV export challenge

With all of our talk over the last 14 months about the US “difficulty” with respect to exporting brilliant UK product and putting the U.S stamp on it, whether it be comedy or drama (seems like we’ve mastered the art of the game show/reality show remake), the BBC has come up with a quick 7-question […]

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