Emma Thompson stars in Down Cemetery Road, an 8-Part Mystery Thriller, that debuts tomorrow night on AppleTV+.
This 8-episode thriller starts Wednesday, October 29 with two episodes, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through December 10.
Down Cemetery Road is adapted from byMick Herron's novel of the same name. Herron is the CWA Diamond Dagger Award winner whose Slough House novels were adapted into the award winning Slow Horses series.
The storyline of Down Cemetery Road follows Thompson as a private investigator pulled out of near-retirement when a teenage girl vanishes from a quiet Oxford suburb. What begins as a domestic disappearance rapidly changes into a conspiracy rooted in the university’s inner sanctums — power, secrecy, old money, and the brutal machinery that protects them. Thompson is joined by Ruth Wilson, who plays a morally ambiguous academic with ties to the missing student.
Can't wait! More to come after I've seen the first two episodes. Let me know what you think, too!
Ballard, starring Maggie Q in the title role, will debut on Prime Video,Wednesday, July 9, 2025. There will be10 episodes. This is the latest chapter in the universe of Bosch: Legacy, which aired its third and final season earlier this spring.
Renée Ballard, a homicide detective who appeared in the Bosch: Legacy series finale, investigates cold cases in the Los Angeles Police Department with the help of Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver).
This new cop show is definitely for fans of the Michael Connelly novels novels. Based on the six books in the Ballard series, which began with the 2017 novel The Late Show, the new Prime Video show will follow Renée Ballard as she attempts to solve several cold cases in Los Angeles.
I really like the Ballard books, as well as Bosch and other shows, so I'm pretty sure I'll like Ballard, the TV streaming series.
"Ballard continues to bring Michael Connelly's bestselling novels to life, following Detective Renée Ballard (Q) as she leads the LAPD's new and underfunded cold case division, tackling the city’s most challenging long-forgotten crimes with empathy and relentless determination. As she peels back layers of crimes spanning decades, including a serial killer's string of murders and a murdered John Doe, she soon uncovers a dangerous conspiracy within the LAPD. With the help of her volunteer team and retired detective Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver), Detective Ballard navigates personal trauma, professional challenges, and life-threatening dangers to expose the truth."
If you're a fan of the French TV series Astrid et Raphaelle, as I am, you might want to check out the British/Belgian version entitled Patience which is based on the French series. It will premier in the U.S. on Sunday, June 15 at 8 pm ET on PBS, with streaming available on pbs.org and the PBS app. New episodes will be released weekly on Sundays through July 20th. The series is also available on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel (requires a separate subscription).
Patience has already been renewed for a season two. The first series saw Patience (Ella Maisy Purvis), who’s autistic, establish herself as an invaluable member of the City of York Police. Jo McGrath, Chief Creative Officer at Eagle Eye Drama has promised that series 2 will be "more action packed, culminating with a nail-biting hostage storyline and a shocking family revelation for Patience." Patience stars Laura Fraseras Detective Inspector Bea Metcalf, and Ella Maisy Purvis as autistic police archivist Patience Evans (Purvis is herself autistic). The series is set in Yorkshire.
So sad to see the final episode of Vera on Britbox. I loved the series, and the final season--only two episodes--were both great and sad at the same time. Great because of the acting, storyline, setting, plot, etc, but sad because the series has ended. Brenda Blethyn was terrific as Vera. I will miss her and the series.
I really enjoyed Episode 1 of Inspector Ellis, a new series, on AcornTV. Put it on your list. Great acting, interesting plot, new twist. 3 Episodes (1 1/2 each), being dropped weekly. Hope there's a Season 2 in the future.
Acorn TV’s new three-part seriesInspector Ellis (Ellis in the UK) challenges our preconceptions of a female detective. DCI Ellis (Sharon D Clarke) is a Black woman, no longer young, whose long black coat and brightly colored scarf are a statement of strength and power. She is neither pleasingly eccentric nor eager to reveal a softer side, although we know she has an estranged daughter. She is not to be messed with. Her toughness and tenacity make her the ideal candidate for a new position; a senior officer sent to handle cases that have stumped the local team.
I'm a big fan of Candice Renoir, the French TV mystery series, starring Cecile Bois. AcornTV has the first nine seasons, and if you watched the final episode of Season 9 (currently available), you know it ended with a cliff-hanger. Well, good news. You won't have long to wait for Season 10. Season 10 will start on AcornTV on September 16, 2024. FYI: There are 11 seasons, and we should have access to Season 11 in the near future.
Not familiar with the series? Well, you have a treat in store. Currently AcornTV is airing the first 9 seasons. Start with the first series. Enjoy!
PBS MASTERPIECE Mystery! Fall programming. I'm a huge fan of PBS Passport. Donate a minimum of $60 to your local PBS Station, and you will have all the programs (most with all episodes at time of first episode), plus so much more! There are other ways of seeing these programs, but that's my favorite since the $ goes directly to your local station.
I've seen the first two episodes, and they're great--good story, terrific actors, such a great mix of time periods and storyline. Exactly what we've come to expect of this great show, based on Anthony Horowitz's novel. FYI: Magpie Murders is still available on PBS.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent, a limited series premiering June 12 on Apple TV+. I read the novel years ago and loved it. Sounds like a good production. I'm looking forward to it.
There was a 1990 film made of the 1987 novel Presumed Innocent starring Harrison Ford. It's still available to stream.
The Apple TV+ production of Presumed Innocent is an eight-part limited series starring and executive produced by Jake Gyllenhaal, hailing from David E. Kelley and executive producer J.J. Abrams. The cast also includes Ruth Negga, Bill Camp, O-T Fagbenle, Chase Infiniti, Nana Mensah, Renate Reinsve, Peter Sarsgaard, Kingston Rumi Southwick and Elizabeth Marvel.
I remember The Ipcress File movie starring Michael Caine. The new Ipcress File streaming series is different from both the movie and the novel by Len Deighton. That being said, it is quite interesting for what it is. Great cinematography, acting, period setting, and plot twists. Let me know what you think. Make a comment.
The Ipcress File is available on AcornTV. 6 episodes.
The original “Ipcress File,” based on a novel by Len Deighton, regularly shows up on lists of the best spy films, even though it’s not very good. Pauline Kael called it overwrought and rather silly, a judgment that looks even more apt a half-century on. Its attractions are limited to Caine’s charisma, 1960s London atmosphere (grimy and groovy), some garish energy and a measure of chic sadism (the common link in Caine’s films from that time).
Perhaps it wasn't the best spy movie ever, but I liked it, but I was a big Michael Caine fan at the time. I don't remember all the details of the film which is good because the new Ipcress File TV series is quite different.
Storyline: As the Cold War rages, former smuggler-turned-reluctant spy Harry Palmer finds himself at the center of a dangerous undercover mission, on which he must use his links to find a missing British nuclear scientist.
Rotten Tomatoes says:Slick, stylish, and packing sly nods to present politics,The Ipcress Fileis a classic spy caper with a modern sensibility.
I agree with that.
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The Ipcress File is a British cold warspy thriller television series loosely based on the 1962 novel The IPCRESS File by Len Deighton. Written by John Hodge and directed by James Watkins, it stars Joe Cole, Lucy Boynton and Tom Hollander. It was first broadcast at 9pm from Sunday 6 March to 10 April 2022 on ITV.
Contrary to previous adaptations, the story has been extensively reworked, with plot and some characters radically altered and a lot of new material added, making the TV series significantly different from Deighton's original. The series is also influenced by the 1965 film, most obviously by adopting the "Harry Palmer" and "Jean Courtney" character names coined for the film. Visually, director James Watkins makes several nods to the direction of Sidney J. Furie, with regular use of angled camera work, and in places borrows almost shot-for-shot the framing of certain scenes.
One of the most recognisable homages to the film is during the opening sequence in episode 1, featuring coffee grinding and coffee making, and the very first opening shot of Palmer's glasses. Watkins said "[It was a] little wink ... the gaze is out of focus and then it finds focus when he puts the glasses on." Writing in
The Guardian Stuart Jeffries comments that "this opening reference to 57-year-old movie eyewear is a surprising gambit by director James Watkins and writer John Hodge, given their creative betrayal elsewhere of the source material."
Creative betrayal? Well, that's one way of putting it.
MASTERPIECE PBS and Eleventh Hour Films announced that filming has completed on Moonflower Murders, a new television drama based on the best-selling novel by Anthony Horowitz, CBE. The six-part series is written by Horowitz.Moonflower Murders is a sequel to the acclaimedMagpie Murders that aired on MASTERPIECE in 2022, for which Horowitz received an Edgar Award.
Moonflower Murders will be available to stream in the US on PBS.org, the PBS App and the PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video Channel. In the UK, the series will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. No date yet, but I'll keep you posted.
Can't wait? Read Anthony Horowitz's Moonflower Murders!!!
Returning in the lead roles they originated in Magpie Murders are Lesley Manville and Susan Ryeland and Timothy McMullan as famous literary detective Atticus Pünd.
Moonflower Murders is the second novel in Horowitz’s Susan Ryeland series, and once again uses the story within a story format. Published in 2020, it was lauded as “a richly plotted, head- spinning novel” by the New York Times and picks up where Magpie Murders left off.
Susan has left publishing and is living in Crete with her long-time boyfriend, Andreas. But her idyll is disturbed by the shadow of a murder committed at a British country hotel eight years ago. Alan Conway visited the hotel and wrote a novel based on what happened there. Cecily Treherne, the young woman who helps run the hotel, read the book and believed the wrong man had been arrested. Now she has disappeared.
Can Susan uncover the secret hidden in the book and find Cecily before it is too late?
Lesley Manville says: “I had an incredible time returning to the role of the smart and feisty Susan Ryeland. Anthony Horowitz has written another ingenious adaptation and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
Horowitz says, “I’ve been watching the filming of Moonflower Murders with joy. We’re back with the same cast, including Lesley Manville, Tim McMullan and Danny Mays – but this time we’ve got a whole new box of tricks to present as literary editor Susan Ryeland untangles another book within a book and another series of unfathomable murders. I can’t wait to show it to our audience.”
Filming on Moonflower Murders took place in Dublin and Crete.
The Lincoln Lawyer, Season 2, is a legal mystery series, based on Michael Connelly's The Fifth Witness. It dropped today on Netflix with 5 episodes. 5 more episodes will drop on August 3. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo stars in this series from Emmy winner David E. Kelley.
Why only 5 episodes at a time? Netflix is clearly maximizing views and creating hype for the second part of the show. That being said, I really enjoy the series. I know there are flaws, but anything 'Michael Connelly' is good with me.
Storyline: Mickey Haller runs his law firm from the back seat of his Lincoln as he takes on LA’s biggest and smallest cases. In Season 1, Mickey was recovering from surgery and a subsequent pill addiction. When his colleague unexpectedly passed away, Mickey got back into the legal game, inheriting all of his cases. Working out of his car isn’t the only thing that sets him apart — Mickey takes family business to a whole new level as he works with his prosecutor ex-wife, Maggie (Neve Campbell), and his other ex-wife and assistant, Lorna (Becki Newton).
In Season 2, based on the novel The Fifth Witness, has Mickey Haller expanding his business into foreclosure defense where he represents Lisa Trammell, who is accused of murdering a wealthy man. Mickey, despite suspecting his client's guilt, works to exonerate her. As the case progresses, Mickey discovers the victim's own illegal activities, leading to personal danger.
Haven't seen Season 1? It's still available on Netflix.
And Season 3? As of today it hasn't been renewed or cancelled. I'll keep you posted.
Premiere dates for 3 returning series coming this Fall on PBS
September 3 at 9/8c: Unforgotten, Season 5
September 3 at 10/9c: Van der Valk, Season 3
October 15 at 10/9c: Annika, Season 2
These join the previously announced fall premiere for World on Fire, Season 2 which begins on October 15 at 9/8c.
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