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Noomi Rapace returns from outer space to a sliiiiightly different world in the trailer for Constellation, a new Apple TV+ sci-fi drama due for arrival on Wednesday, Feb. 21 (with its first three episodes, followed by weekly releases).

Created and written by Peter Harness (Wallander, The War of the Worlds), Constellation stars Swedish actress Rapace (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) as Jo, an astronaut for the European Space Agency who returns to Earth after a disastrous mission, only to discover that key pieces of her life seem to be… different.

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The child stars of My Parents are Aliens have reunited for a photo with lead star Tony Gardner.

Gardner was overjoyed to see the cast members he worked alongside from 1999 to 2006 attend the play he’s currently starring in.

They all posed together following Gardner’s performance in the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist.

Appearing in the photo were Alex Kew, who played Josh Barker, Charlotte Francis, who played Lucy Barker and Olisa Odele, who starred as Cj.

Stephanie Fearon, who joined the show as Harriet after original star Danielle McCormack left, was also present, as was Jordan Maxwell, who played Frankie Perkins.

Gardner, who was beaming in the photo surrounded by his former cast members, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday (23 March): “My Parents are Aliens reunion at the play tonight. Such a wonderful group of friends.”

My Parents are Aliens ran from 1999 to 2006, airing 106 episodes in total.

Reaching into Inspector Morse’s past for a prequel series was a gamble that paid off handsomely. Endeavour, which followed the young detective over a seven-year period from constable to detective sergeant in the 1960s and early 1970s, just concluded after nine series. It was an exemplary prequel, beloved by newcomers and by fans of the original Inspector Morse, which it referenced playfully and with imagination.

Endeavour’s success was not a given, nor should it be laid at the feet of simple IP recognition. Prime Suspect 1973, which attempted the same trick by following a younger version of Helen Mirren’s celebrated Dci Jane Tennison, lasted only one series. Young Wallander on Netflix made it to two, but the response has been lukewarm. The 1930s-set Perry Mason starring Matthew Rhys in the lead role is faring better on HBO, but it’s clear that it’s not enough simply to...

Bradley Walsh’s ITV co-star has addressed claims that their show has been cancelled.

Last week, it was claimed that comedy drama series The Larkins, starring Walsh and Joanna Scanlan, would come to an end due to low ratings.

While ITV is yet to officially announce the show’s cancellation, one of its stars shared a message in response to the claims on social media.

“Thanks for watching #thelarkins,” Tony Gardner wrote.

In the series, Gardner, whose other credits include Last Tango in Halifax and My Parents Are Aliens, plays the wealthy Alec Norman.

He continued: “Made lots of memories and new friends. Can’t ask for any more than that.”

The Larkins, which debuted in 2021, is inspired by He Bates’ novel The Darling Buds of May. The book received its own TV adaptation in the 1990s.

A third series of The Larkins has been filmed, and will be broadcast later this year.

Alan Carr is set to replace David Walliams on the new series of Britain’s Got Talent, reports have claimed.

In November, Walliams apologised after he was recorded making sexually explicit comments about a Bgt contestant during the 2020 auditions process.

According to a transcript obtained by The Guardian, the Little Britain creator allegedly compared one female auditionee to “the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them, but you don’t”.

He also reportedly called a pensioner a “c***” three times after he lightly poked fun at Walliams on stage.

Walliams apologised at the time, telling The Independent: “I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020. These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.”

Production...

Bradley Walsh has denied reports that The Larkins has been cancelled by ITV.

The Chase host stars opposite Joanna Scanlan as Pop Larkin in the channel’s adaptation of H E Bates’ novel The Darling Buds of May.

The series, which follows a family in rural Kent in the 1950s, made its debut in 2021. At the time, it divided critics, with The Independent’s Sean O’Grady calling it “a Brexit television abomination”.

Last week, reports emerged in The Sun claiming that the show was being axed after losing two million viewers between series one and two and alleged “cast disagreements” on set.

However, appearing on This Morning on Tuesday (10 January), Walsh vehemently denied the claims.

Walsh said that he’d “had a few calls” about the rumours which he said were attributed to “some problem with the viewing figures”.

“The viewing figures were absolutely fine, there was nothing wrong with the viewing figures,...

Sky Cinema has launched the official trailer for ‘This Is Christmas,’ a Sky Original film, which will be available just in time for the festive period on Sky Cinema and Now from 9 December.

An uplifting and heartwarming story about finding the magic of Christmas, no matter where you might be, the movie follows Adam (Alfred Enoch) and Emma (Kaya Scodelario) as they make their daily commute from the picture-perfect village of Langton to London for work. Every day they share their journey with the same characters, but they all keep themselves to themselves. But then one day, in the build-up to Christmas, Adam breaks the unwritten rule of travel and starts talking to the strangers on the train, inviting the whole carriage to hold their own Christmas party.

Produced by Vertigo Films with Allan Niblo serving as producer, directed by Chris Foggin (Fisherman’s Friend) and written by Alastair Galbraith (River City,...

Exclusive: Philip Glenister and Steffan Rhodri are to front a factual-based drama for the BBC.

Filming on Steeltown Murders (working title) has begun in and around South Wales, with Life on Mars and State Play actor Glenister and Gavin and Stacey and In My Skin‘s Rhodri in the lead roles as Dci Paul Bathell and Phil ‘Bach’ Rees. Ed Whitmore (Manhunt) is the writer.

Severn Screen, one of the co-producers on ITV’s high rating 2021 series The Pembrokeshire Murders, is producing in association with All3Media International.

The four part-drama is set in both 1973 and the early 2000s, contrasting the policing methods of the 1970s with the forensic breakthroughs of the early Noughties. It centers on the hunt to catch the killer of three young women in Port Talbot, Wales, and the how the mystery — the first case of its kind — was solved 30 years after the crimes thanks to pioneering DNA evidence.

ITV has unveiled a slate of new comedy commissions, most of which will premiere on Itvx, its upcoming free streaming service.

New comedy titles include “Plebs: Soldiers of Rome,” “Deep Fake Neighbour Wars,” “Ruby Speaking Count,” “Abdulla” and “Significant Other.”

“The arrival of Itvx gives us more opportunities to commission a broad range of comedies and a dedicated place for the genre to call home,” said Nana Hughes, ITV’s Head of Comedy. The executive added that ITV aspired to showcase a “huge cross section of contemporary, diverse and inclusive comedy.”

“We want to take risks but most importantly we want our audiences to find shows that reflect them and make them laugh,” Hughes continued.

“Plebs: Soldiers of Rome” is a a feature-length special based on the award-winning comedy series “Plebs” which has had five successful seasons. “Plebs” is directed and written by Sam Leifer and co-written by Tom Basden.

Jamie Dornan-starring series ‘The Tourist’ and Jodie Comer- and Stephen Graham-starring serie ‘Help’ have both been licensed to Chinese companies by international distributor All3Media International.

The deals were announced on Tuesday, on the eve of the Asia TV Forum and Market in Singapore, which runs from Wednesday to Friday.

“The Tourist,” in which Dornan’s character survives a massive car crash in the Australian outback was pre-sold to Pumpkin Films. Over six episodes, he must embark on a journey of self-discovery and stay one step ahead of the people trying to kill him.

Huanxi Media Group, which has its own streaming service as well as relationships with other platforms, licensed the Rose d’Or-winning “Help,” about the Covid-19 care home crisis. It was written by Jack Thorne and directed by Mark Munden. It tells the timely story of the relationship between a young care home worker (Comer...

UK ratings body Barb has revealed a “once in a generation” upgrade that can show how many people are watching the biggest shows on SVoD platforms.

A preview unveiled this morning showed that the seventh episode of Netflix’s Squid Game was watched by 5.8M people last month, ranking the South Korean mega hit 10th in the UK behind the likes of BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing (10.4M), Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off (8.9M) and ITV drama The Larkins (6.6M), which made up the top three most-watched episodes.

Other SVoD films and TV shows to feature in the preview included Netflix film Guilty (3.1M), the first episode of the third series of Netflix’s You (2.7M) and Disney+ film Black Widow (2.3M).

The update means Barb can measure viewing to all the big streaming platforms alongside YouTube, TikTok and Twitch, regardless of whether these platforms are signed up to the service,...

Netflix’s “Squid Game” and “The Guilty” have debuted on Barb, the U.K. television audience measurement currency, as the organization has revealed a “once-in-a-generation upgrade.”

Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and video-sharing platform measurement has been introduced in Barb’s service bouquet.

Barb is now able to measure the reach and total time spent viewing SVOD services such as Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and Netflix, and video-sharing platforms like TikTok, Twitch and YouTube. Regardless of whether these services have chosen to subscribe to Barb, measurement is done via data collected from router meters installed in Barb panel homes.

Barb can also now report the audiences to programs viewed on TV sets on the most-watched SVOD services in Barb panel homes — Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and Netflix — whether they are Barb subscribers or not, using Kantar’s SVOD programme measurement system.

The organization has released a preview chart of its...

As the days grow shorter and families hunker down cozily in front of the TV, British holiday programming has grown into a dependable export around the world, thanks to the success of Christmas specials for shows like “The Office” and “Gavin & Stacey.”

“Demand for British content is higher than ever across the board,” says Louise McNab, director of content sales at BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the U.K. public broadcaster. “International audiences appreciate the ambition and creativity of British shows, as well as the level of authorship.”

Sally Habbershaw, executive VP for the Americas at All3Media, likens holiday specials for top offerings like “All Creatures Great and Small” and “The Larkins” to “a cup of warm tea and a blanket.”

“You snuggle and enjoy them,” says the executive, who notes that holidays “ideally represent some form of nostalgia and security.”

Despite the increasing audience fragmentation caused by individual media devices,...