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Ireland’s Deadpan Pictures (“Northern Lights”) and France’s Thalie Images are teaming up on “The Continental Method,” an ambitious spy comedy thriller set against the backdrop of the Paris riots of May 1968.

The European half-hour series is inspired by the true story of Conor O’Flaherty, a fresh-faced Irish salesman who became an unlikely spy in Paris. The twelve-part show is penned by John Morton (“Dead Still”) and Victor Lockwood (“Mental”) who are leading a writing team.

Red Arrow Studios International will kick-off pre-sales at Mipcom for territories outside of France and Ireland. Deadpan Pictures is co-producing the show with Paris-based Thalie Images, which is part of Kabo Family, a subsidiary of Asacha Media Group.

‘The Continental Method” follows Conor O’Flaherty as he arrives in Paris to sell sweaters in the fashion capital of the world. Caught up in the fervor of the times, he falls for a radical...

Ridley Jones is an animation series for kids created by Chris Nee.

Welcome to the world of Ridley Jones – a little girl in charge of a museum, with many charming friends and, what is almost more important…, she has a hat!

Ridley Jones is a series which is specially designed for the little ones where you will find nothing more than educational zeal, a bit of history, and most certainly, fun for the little people in your home, who are sure to have a great time with the adventures of the friendly protagonist and her charming friends.

Each season consists of several short episodes, ideal for young children.

Enjoy.

Plot

Curious kid Ridley and her friends protect the Museum of Natural History’s treasures and keep its magical secret safe: Everything comes alive at night!

Release Date

March 6, 2023

Where to Watch Ridley Jones

Netflix

Ridley Jones Episode List Season 5

Tba

Season 1

Ready or Not,...

Making a movie requires a lot of time, effort, and talent. But more importantly, making a movie requires a lot of money. No filmmaker wants their movie to flop, but none more so than studios whose very existence depends on their releases putting butts in seats. While studios have always put their bets on tentpole movies to produce good profit margins, because of the popularity of superheroes and other big-budget franchises, it seems that studios are putting less focus on smaller films that would ensure they wouldn't suffer too much due to their modest budgets (even if they failed). As budgets have gotten bigger, so too has the pressure for these films to not only break even but to break box office records.

Filmmakers face serious career problems when their movies flop with audiences, as a failure or, worse, a string of failures, could lead to a dream project being squashed.

€2m invested in 11 films and TV series.

Gerrit Bekers’ Quentin Blake’s Box Of Treasures, a series of six animated stories by the UK illustrator and storyteller, has received backing from Screen Flanders in the latest tranche of funding that sees €2m invested in 11 films and TV series

It is produced by Walter Iuzzolino’s UK outfit Eagle Eye with Belgium’s Creative Conspiracy. The main animation studio is Spicy Acorn in Ghent. Aardman will sell the series internationally. BBC, Vrt and France Télé are also on board.

Screen Flanders is also backing Dorien Goertzen’s musical Just Like In...

Exclusive: Lifetime has rounded out cast for both installments of Toni Braxton’s Fallen Angels Murder Club, and Angie Harmon’s Barstow (working title) movies. The movies fall under previously signed deals with Braxton and Harmon, in which they will star in and executive produce multiple films for Lifetime.

Eddie Cibrian has joined the first installment of Braxton’s Fallen Angels, while Kelly Hu joins the cast of the second film. Both films are based on the Hollis Morgan mystery book series by author R. Franklin James.

Cibrian stars as Avery Mitchell, Hollis Morgan’s (Braxton) charismatic boss, while Hu will make her debut in the second installment as the mysterious Joelle. Both productions have started filming and will premiere in 2022. Additionally, Harmon’s Barstow (working title) movies has added Kristoffer Polaha as Elliot, a mysterious stranger with a troubling past.

In the first installment of Fallen Angels Murder Club (wt), members of the Club must have two things in common – a love for books and have a criminal record. Hollis Morgan (Braxton) meets both requirements. Left holding the bag in an insurance fraud scheme concocted by her ex-husband, Hollis served her time and now hopes the court will pardon her conviction so she can return to law school and fulfill her dream of becoming a lawyer. But when a member of her book club is murdered in a scene straight out of the previous night’s novel, Hollis once again becomes the subject of police scrutiny. Refusing to get stuck with another bad rap, Hollis sets out to investigate her fellow club members and after a second book-inspired murder, she races to identify the killer before she becomes the next victim.

Cast also includes Keith D. Robinson, Lisa Berry, Yanic Truesdale (Gilmore Girls), Kaitlyn Leeb (Spinning Out), Humberly Gonzalez (Ginny & Georgia), Rainbow Sun Francks (Umbrella Academy), Henderson Wade, Rob Stewart, Raoul Bhaneja and Shawn Ahmed.

The Fallen Angels Murder Club films fall in line with Lifetime’s Broader Focus initiative which supports the hiring of women in key production roles. The movies are produced for Lifetime by Brain Power Studio and executive produced by Beth Stevenson, Nancy Yeaman, Toni Braxton and Rhonda Baraka. The films are written and directed by Baraka.

In Barstow (wt),Harmon stars as Hazel King, a single mother determined to shield her daughter from the life she once had while protecting and defending those who can’t protect themselves. Plucked off the streets of Las Vegas at 15, Hazel was trained as a hit woman until a surprisng pregnancy drives her to leave it all behind. Living as a single mother running a diner in Barstow with her teenage daughter, Hazel’s past eventually catches up with her and she’s pulled back in for one more hit.

Additional cast include Lauren Richards, George Paez, Tim Granaderos, Gabriel Rodriguez, Casey Mills, Ben Cain, Anthony Reynolds and Nelson Bonilla.

The Barstow movies are produced for Lifetime by Untitled Entertainment and executive produced by Angie Harmon, Michael Rosenberg, Laura Notarianni, Stan Spry and Eric Scott Woods. The first film is written by Tom Evans and directed by Howie Deutch.

Mari Törőcsik, one of Hungary’s most prominent actors who won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and starred in two Oscar-nominated films, died on Friday in Budapest after a long illness. She was 85.

Törőcsik’s first international appearance was at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival where she starred in Palme d’Or contender Körhinta (Merry-Go-Round), from director Zoltán Fábri. In that film, she played a young farmer girl who falls in love with a peasant boy against her father’s wishes.

Francois Truffaut, who was then a journalist with the weekly Arts, said he would have given her the Best Actress Award and French poet Jean Cocteau also praised her talent. Truffaut wrote: “without the twenty-year-old artist knowing it, she was the biggest star of the festival.”

Over the past half century, she played more than 100 roles. She worked with Fábri as well as Miklós Jancsó, Márta Mészáros and Károly Makk on multiple occasions.

The global pandemic has taken much from us, the least of which may be our regularly scheduled programming. While most late 2020 content had to be pushed to 2021 as a result of the outbreak of Covid-19, His Dark Materials was one of the few TV shows that had almost wrapped production when the outbreak of Covid-19 forced workplaces around the world to close. Because of this, we will be getting Season 2 in November… well, most of it.

As we first learned during this year’s virtual San Diego Comic-Con, His Dark Materials was forced to cut an episode from its Season 2 order in order to keep the season release on schedule. Luckily, the planned 8-episode season consisted of seven “regular” episodes and one standalone, set to follow James McAvoy‘s character of Lord Asriel. Production had finished on the seven “regular” episodes and filming had just begun on the standalone when...

The wait is nearly over: In just a few weeks HBO viewers will be transported back to the wonderous world of “His Dark Materials.” The premium cabler released the trailer for the show’s impending sophomore season on Friday, which is slated to debut in November.

The trailer for the second installment in the fantasy series, which will air on HBO and BBC One, carries the following synopsis:

[Season 2] begins after Lord Asriel has opened a bridge to a new world, and, distraught over the death of her best friend, Lyra follows Asriel into the unknown. In a strange and mysterious abandoned city she meets Will, a boy from our world who is also running from a troubled past. Lyra and Will learn their destinies are tied to reuniting Will with his father but find their path is constantly thwarted as a war begins to brew around them. Meanwhile, Mrs. Coulter searches for Lyra,...

Lyra and Will are venturing into new worlds.

HBO unveiled the first trailer for season 2 of “His Dark Materials,” which played at the very beginning of the show’s Comic-Con@Home panel. The biggest piece of news to emerge from the panel, however, is that a “Fleabag” reunion is on the cards, given that Phoebe Waller-Bridge will voice the dæmon of Andrew Scott’s Colonel John Parry.

Many are doubtless hoping for the sake of irony that Waller-Bridge will play a fox, but in the books Parry’s dæmon Sayan Kötör takes the form of an osprey. Scott of course played the fox-averse “Host Priest” in season 2 of Waller-Bridge’s acclaimed comedy.

In revealing the reunion, Scott kept viewers on tenterhooks by saying that his dæmon would be played by “someone who is very close to me in my real life: a young performer and writer called Phoebe Waller-Bridge.”

“I...

“His Dark Materials” has added three key players to its season 2 cast.

Legendary British actor Terence Stamp is joining the cast of the HBO series for its second outing, alongside “Cleaning Up” star Jade Anouka and “Peaky Blinders” alumna Simone Kirby. The casting announcement comes just ahead of the show’s Comic Con panel, which is taking place later this afternoon.

Based on “The Subtle Knife” (the second novel in Philip Pullman’s trilogy), season 2 will find Lyra (Dafne Keen) in a strange and mysterious abandoned city called Cittàgazze, where she meets Will, the boy first seen in the human world in season one, who is also running from a troubled past.

Stamp will play the role of Giacomo Paradisi, the bearer of the Subtle Knife who lives in the Tower of the Angels in Cittàgazze. Anouka will play Ruta Skadi, a witch Queen who joins forces with Serafina Pekkala against the Magisterium.

Congratulations are in order for Billie Lourd! The 27-year-old actress is engaged. Her fiancé, Austen Rydell, announced the happy news via Instagram on Thursday. "She said Yes!!," the 28-year-old actor wrote alongside videos and photos of the couple. "(Actually she said 'Duhhh') But I guess that's even better than yes?!?" The Booksmart star and her main man reconnected in 2017 after taking a bit of a break. They took a trip to Norway later that year and saw the Northern Lights on the one-year anniversary of the death of her mother Carrie Fisher. "My momby had an otherworldly obsession with the Northern Lights, but I never got to see them with her," Lourd wrote...

Fox has renewed the animated comedy “The Great North” for a second season before the first has even aired.

The show was ordered to straight-to-series last year and is currently slated to debut at midseason in 2021. It hails from Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin from “Bob’s Burgers” as well as Minty Lewis. “Bob’s Burgers” creator Loren Bouchard executive produces.

“Wendy, Lizzie, Minty and Loren delivered a show that embodies our animation brand so strongly, they left us no choice but to give this stellar series an early renewal ahead of its midseason debut,” said Michael Thorn, president of entertainment for Fox Entertainment. “Of course, we’d also like to thank our friends at 20th, who continue to be tremendous partners.”

“The Great North” follows the Alaskan adventures of the Tobin family, as a single dad, Beef (Nick Offerman), does his best to keep his weird bunch of kids close – especially his only daughter,...

Fox has handed an early Season 2 renewal to animated series “The Great North” ahead of its scheduled midseason premiere at the network.

Produced by “Bob’s Burgers” creator Loren Bouchard and created by duo Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin along with “Regular Show” writer Minty Lewis, the new comedy stars Nick Offerman, Jenny Slate, Will Forte, Dulcé Sloan, Paul Rust, Aparna Nancherl and Megan Mullaly, with a guest appearance by Alanis Morissette.

Per Fox, “The Great North” follows the Alaskan adventures of the Tobin family, as a single dad, Beef (Offerman), does his best to keep his weird bunch of kids close — especially his only daughter, Judy ( Slate), whose artistic dreams lead her away from the family fishing boat and into the glamorous world of the local mall. Rounding out the family are Judy’s older brother, Wolf, (Forte) and his fiancé, Honeybee (Sloan), her middle brother, Ham (Rust), and ten-year-old-going-on-fifty little brother,...

This is the eighth installment of Rolling Stone’s Music in Crisis series, which looks at how people all across the music industry are coping with the coronavirus pandemic.

On March 3rd, Victor Alarcon traveled to Rovaniemi, in the Finnish Lapland, a region so frigid and remote that it proclaims itself the home of Santa Claus. For the singer, a Peruvian-born musician based in Dusseldorf, Germany, it was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime: an expedition to film a music video under the Northern Lights. Alarcon, who records...

HBO is weighing up the possibility of more seasons of Philip Pullman fantasy adaptation His Dark Materials after the Bad Wolf and New Line-produced show became the WarnerMedia network’s biggest ever co-viewing hit.

HBO President of Programming Casey Bloys told Deadline that the show, which launched in November, has performed very well, cumulating to 5M viewers an episode. “One of the things that I was hoping and the numbers we’re seeing bear this out, it is more of a co-viewing show than we’ve ever had. We don’t have many shows where kids and parents can watch together and that was the idea with this show and it has done really well.”

His Dark Materials stars Dafne Keen, James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Keen plays main character Lyra, a seemingly ordinary but brave young woman from another world. The first season follows Lyra searching for a kidnapped friend.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has added more production personnel for its 92 annual trophy show. Oscarcast producers Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain today announced 11 members of the team for the February 9 show on ABC.

“This team is the best of the best with a wealth of experience and ideas, and we’re excited to collaborate with them to deliver an incredible show,” they said in a joint statement.

Here they are, will mini-bios provided by the Academy:

Rob Paine has been associated with the Oscars telecast for more than 20 years and returns as supervising producer. Paine has more than 200 television events to his name and has earned seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations, a Daytime Emmy Award nomination and a Peabody Award. His other credits include 12 Super Bowl Halftime Shows, The Kennedy Center Honors and the Primetime Emmy Awards.

Production designer Jason Sherwood joins the Oscars telecast for the first time.

His Dark Materials, the BBC and HBO’s ambitious retelling of Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights novel, came to a close in the UK with just over 4M viewers, as the season struggled to maintain the audience highs of early episodes.

The final installment of Bad Wolf’s drama, starring Ruth Wilson, James Mcavoy and Dafne Keen, was watched by 4.1M viewers across the 8Pm hour on BBC One, according to Barb figures provided by overnights.tv.

This was marginally above last week’s season-low audience of 4M viewers, but the drama was beaten for some of the hour by ITV entertainment show Dancing On Ice, which averaged 4M from 7Pm to 9Pm.

His Dark Materials‘ finale audience was 43%, or 3.1M viewers below the debut episode, which was watched by 7.2M viewers in November. This made it the biggest new drama launch on British TV in more than five years.

Frozen 2 is almost here — and what better way to prepare for its release than with a breathtaking nighttime show?

On Wednesday night, areas of the Northern United States or Canada may be lucky enough to see the northern lights, or aurora borealis, according to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.

The auroral activity happens when the sun releases electrically charged particles into the Earth’s atmosphere. Those particles then collide with gas molecules and atoms, which are primarily oxygen and nitrogen, the Institute explains on their website.

When these charged particles hit Earth’s atmosphere, they cause electrons to move to a higher energy state.

HBO's His Dark Materials is the much-anticipated adaptation of Philip Pullman's trilogy of fantasy novels by the same name. So why are people talking about something called The Golden Compass? Are they the same thing? Well, yes and no. Here's what you need to know about the series, which premiered on HBO on Monday.

His Dark Materials - the book series, not the TV series - is made up of three novels: The Golden Compass (also published in some countries as Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Thus, The Golden Compass is simply part of His Dark Materials - one third of it, to be precise! Back in 2007, when the first attempt at bringing the series to the screen was made, the idea was originally to make a trilogy of films, with one based on each book. That's why the 2007 film adaptation starring Nicole Kidman...

“His Dark Materials” fans are no joke. The book series by author Philip Pullman is one of the most beloved fantasy franchises this side of “Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter,” and any writer attempting to tackle an adaptation is opening himself up to a ton of potential backlash.

But Jack Thorne, writer of the new limited series adaptation for the BBC and HBO, is intimately familiar with the pressures of dealing with fandom and still he took on the challenge anyway.

“Oh totally,” Thorne said in an interview with TheWrap when asked if adapting a property with such a passionate fanbase had ever given him pause. “But I’ve dealt with ‘Potter’ fans. So I know about fans.”

Also Read: 'His Dark Materials': Watch the Comic-Con Trailer for New HBO Fantasy Series (Video)

A veteran screenwriter and playwright, Thorne’s previous credits include the BAFTA-winning “National Treasure” series,...

Hot on the heels of Watchmen, HBO's next genre series debuts tonight.

His Dark Materials is the highly ambitious HBO series based on the series of books by Philip Pullman's fantasy novels.

The series plucks you up and puts you down in a world that seems somewhat familiar but it vastly different than our own.

With a talented, star-studded cast and eye-catching special effects, series creator Jack Thorne goes to great lengths to ensure His Dark Materials appeals to viewers both familiar with the world created by Philip Pullman and those new to Pullman's work.

It's not the first time Pullman's imaginative world has been created for the screen.

In 2007, Chris Weitz wrote and directed The Golden Compass starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig based on the same novels.

It wasn't well received, and fans have wished for Pullman's beloved work to get another shot.

HBO Max Sets Premiere Date,...

His Dark Materials got off to a blockbuster start for the BBC ahead of its launch on HBO tonight.

The lavish adaptation of Philip Pullman’s books from Bad Wolf was watched by nearly 7.2M viewers in the 8Pm slot on BBC One on Sunday night, making it the biggest new drama launch on British TV in more than five years.

The eight-part series was the highest-rated drama premiere on any channel since BBC One’s The Musketeers was watched by 7.4M in January 2014, according to the BBC. It was also comfortably the biggest show in the slot, according to Barb figures provided by overnights.tv.

His Dark Materials beat the debuts of other dramas on BBC One this year, including Gentleman Jack (5.1M), Baptiste (4.5M), and Les Miserables (4.5M). The channel’s biggest drama of 2019 so far was the first episode in series five of Line Of Duty, which was watched by 7.8M viewers.

Kayti Burt Nov 4, 2019

Which books are the His Dark Materials TV show based on again? We get it... it's maybe been a while since you read them.

His Dark Materials premieres on HBO tonight and, while you may have read some or all of the Philip Pullman books the TV show is based on, maybe it's been awhile, and maybe you don't remember exactly what the deal is with this literary world? Don't worry. We've got your covered...

For the most part, His Dark Materials Season 1 is following the first book in the Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, which is composed of three books: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). All three in-universe artifacts referenced in the book titles are also visually referenced in the credit sequence of the show, which is pretty cool.

read more: His Dark Materials Review (Spoiler-Free)

While the first episode...

Welcome to this special edition of Impact Wrestling called “This Is Impact!”, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and this is Impact Wrestling’s debut on Axs TV, so comb your hair you big, lovely bear, because it’s time for Fraggle Rock! Hiya!

Match #1: Madison Rayne w/ Kiera Hogan def. Shotzi Blackheart The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Kiera Hogan joins Josh Mathews and Don Callis on commentary. Madison hits a Northern Lights suplex. Shotzi connects with a 619 but Madison counters the follow-up aerial offense. Madison hits a step-up Enzuigiri but Shotzi comes right back with an Enzuigiri on her own. Madison connects with the Cross Rayne to win.

My Opinion: 2.6 out of 5 – Rayne beat the new WWE signee, so hachee-chachee wah-wah. -10 + 9 = -1. The match had some nice back and forth that won’t set the world on fire, but it will make you feel young,...

HBO has released the official trailer for its television adaptation of Philip Pullman’s epic trilogy of fantasy novels, “His Dark Materials,” and it looks quite—for lack of a better word—epic.

Dafne Keen stars as Lyra Belacqua, a young girl who ends up at the center of a conspiracy involving her uncle Lord Asriel (James McAvoy), Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson), and child abduction. Set in an alternative universe where every human being has an animal companion known as a dæmon, based on this trailer, it looks like “His Dark Materials” may just scratch the itch left by the absence of “Game of Thrones.”

The trailer expands on the tease HBO unveiled earlier this year at Comic-Con in San Diego, with more exploration of the earthly and otherworldly locales beloved by fans of the books.

The first season of “His Dark Materials” covers the story of the first book in Pullman’s trilogy,...

The “His Dark Materials” adaptation coming to HBO has found its Iorek Byrnison.

Joe Tandberg, whose credits include “The Innocents” on Netflix, will voice the famous armored bear. Byrnison comes from the frozen wilderness of the North and is both a skilled metal worker and a fierce warrior.

Also joining the voice cast of the fantasy series based on the Philip Pullman novels are Detective Hercule Poirot himself David Suchet as Kaisa, the gyrfalcon daemon to the witch Serafina Pekkala (Ruta Gedmintas), American comedian Cristela Alonzo, who will voice Lee Scoresby’s (Lin-Manuel Miranda) arctic hare daemon Hester, and Kit Connor (young Elton John in “Rocketman”) who will voice the main character Lyra Belacqua’s (Dafne Keen) unsettled daemon Pantalaimon.

It was previously announced that “Peaky Blinders” star Helen McCrory is voicing Lord Asriel’s (James McAvoy) snow leopard daemon, and the network has also revealed that Mrs Coulter’s...

Ahead of the fall 2019 premiere of HBO’s “His Dark Materials,” the network announced the voice cast behind daemons and other animal characters from author Philip Pullman’s fantasy world on Friday.

“Peaky Blinders” actress Helen McCrory will voice Stelmaria, the snow leopard daemon belonging to Lord Asriel, David Suchet (“Poirot”) voices gyrfalcon daemon Kaisa, while Kit Connor (“Rocketman”) is Pantalaimon, the unsettled daeomon of Lyra Belacqua, played by Dafne Keen.

“His Dark Materials” is based on the novel trilogy by Pullman, consisting of “Northern Lights” (published as “The Golden Compass” in North America), “The Subtle Knife” and “The Amber Spyglass.”

Also Read: 'Carnival Row' Trailer Is Filled With Fairy Sex and Human-on-Creature Violence (Video)

The show’s previously announced stars playing human characters include Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James McAvoy, Andrew Scott, Ruta Gedmintas and Amir Wilson.

Set in a world where science, theology and magic are entwined,...

“Fleabag” actor Andrew Scott is joining HBO’s upcoming adaptation of “His Dark Materials.”

The actor, known as Hot Priest on Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Amazon series, will play Col. John Parry, the father of Will Parry (Amir Wilson). Parry is also known as Dr. Stanislaus Grumman or Jopari. The casting was revealed on Monday.

Scott also appeared in the fifth season of Netflix’s “Black Mirror.”

"So I have summoned you here, and you are to fly me northwards”

When Lee Scoresby met Jopari.@Lin_Manuel #AndrewScott#BehindTheScenes #HisDarkMaterials pic.twitter.com/m0Rv6JlzSG

— His Dark Materials (@darkmaterials) August 19, 2019

Also Read: 'Silicon Valley' Final Season Premiere Date Set By HBO - Watch the First Teaser (Video)

“His Dark Materials,” which has a two-season order, stars Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and James McAvoy.

According to HBO’s description, the first season follows Lyra as she “discovers...

The “hot priest” is joining His Dark Materials… Fleabag actor Andrew Scott has signed up for the HBO and BBC co-production.

Scott is set to play Colonel John Parry, the father of Will Parry, who is being played by Amir Wilson. Parry, who is also known as Doctor Stanislaus Grumman or Jopari, accidentally travelled to Lyra’s world where he became a renowned scholar and shaman. His dæmon was called Sayan Kötör and had the form of an osprey.

He joins the second season of the drama with season one scheduled to air later this year.

The news was revealed in a picture between Sherlock star Scott and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Philip Pullman adaptation, written by Jack Thorne, is produced by Bad Wolf.

The first season of His Dark Materials follows Lyra’s searching for a kidnapped friend. She uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and becomes a quest...

The creative team behind His Dark Materials has called the Philip Pullman adaptation a “challenging” show to write but the “quintessential” HBO/BBC co-production.

Writer Jack Thorne and exec producer Jane Tranter, who runs production company Bad Wolf, spoke about the big-budget fantasy epic alongside stars including Dafne Keen, James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda at its TCA press tour panel.

Thorne admitted that he wrote several dozens drafts for the first episode of the show, which is set to launch on HBO in October. “We wrote papers to ourselves about all the different ideas in the show. We wanted to do a Ph.D. in Phillip Pullman and we tried to do a Ph.D. in His Dark Materials. I wrote 46 drafts of episode one in order to find a way to tell this story as elegantly as possible. [Pullman’s] denseness is a blessing and a curse; it’s so exciting.

The cast of “His Dark Materials” discussed the series’ religious themes at HBO’s summer press tour event.

Executive producer Jane Tranter insisted that, despite the protestations leveled at the 2007 film adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novels, the HBO series “is not an attack on religion.”

“We’re adapting the books across the broad expense of television, one of the things that can happen when you adapt a book for film is the that you have to cut down the middle for the story,” Tranter said. “The religious controversy that was around the film was not relevant to the books themselves….Philip Pullman talks about depression, the control of information and the falsification of information….there is no direct contrast with any contemporary religious organization.”

“His Dark Materials” writer Jack Thorne moved the conversation on to the significance of the story being centered around Dafne Keen’s Lyra Belacqua as...

HBO took “His Dark Materials” to Hall H at Comic-Con 2019 and with it, the premiere of a new trailer for the series based on Phillip Pullman’s epic fantasy trilogy.

We also got a release date — sort of: “His Dark Materials” comes out “Fall 2019,” according to the trailer, so mark your calendar. Literally mark the last few months of it. And watch the trailer above.

Based on Pullman’s novels, “Northern Lights” (published as “The Golden Compass” in North America), “The Subtle Knife” and “The Amber Spyglass,” the series examines concepts like free will, the problem of evil, and the nature (and morality) of the concept of God — we assure you we’re only scratching the surface — set in in a world where science, theology and magic are entwined and explored through the story of a young girl named Lyra. “The Golden Compass” was previously adapted into a movie in...

“His Dark Materials,” the fantasy trilogy by Philip Pullman that has captivated readers since its publication in the late 90s, has proven difficult to adapt in the past. If the forthcoming HBO and BBC series doesn’t hit the mark, viewers and critics will once again be sharpening their subtle knives.

The show took over Hall H at Comic-Con on Thursday afternoon, with stars James McAvoy (Lord Asriel), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Lee Scoresby), Ruth Wilson (Mrs. Coulter) and Dafne Keen (Lyra Belacqua) all present to show off a new trailer.

The trailer teased the war with the evil organization known the magisterium, with Lord Asriel on one side and Mrs. Coulter on the other. Also mentioned was the child abduction plot at the center of the show.

“Sometimes children can just disappear,” Mrs. Coulter says clicking her fingers ominously.

The preview neatly summarizes Miranda’s mercurial character in one sentence: “I...

HBO is adding more to its Comic-Con menu. In addition to Game of Thrones heading down to the San Diegoconfab (news which Deadline exclusively announced), the premium cabler has confirmed panels for His Dark Materials and Westworld while Watchmen will have a surprise in-world opportunity in San Diego’s bustling Gaslamp Quarter for fans to partake in. There will also be autograph signing sessions on the convention center floor for His Dark Materials, Game of Thrones and Westworld.

His Dark Materials will take place in Hall H on July 18 at 4:45 pm with James McAvoy (Lord Asriel), Dafne Keen (Lyra), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Lee Scoresby), Jane Tranter (executive producer) and Ruth Wilson (Mrs. Coulter). Autograph signing is at 2:45 pm. His Dark Materials is written by Jack Thorne and directed by Tom Hooper, and is based on Pullman’s acclaimed trilogy of books: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass,...

“Now is the time to choose a side,” the icy and frightening Mrs. Coulter says in the first trailer for “His Dark Materials,” the big-budget TV adaptation from the BBC and HBO of the bestselling fantasy books by Philip Pullman.

Ruth Wilson plays Coulter, and is among a starry cast that includes James McAvoy and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Dafne Keen plays Lyra, the girl at the center of a tale involving child abduction, witches, a renegade royal polar bear, companions called daemons and a mysterious substance dubbed Dust.

Other cast members include Anne-Marie Duff, Clarke Peters, Ariyon Bakare, Will Keen, Ian Gelder, Georgina Campbell, Lewin Lloyd, Lucian Msamati, James Cosmo, Daniel Frogson, Tyler Howitt, Ruta Gedmintas and Mat Fraser.

The original “His Dark Materials” trilogy comprises “The Golden Compass” (also known as “Northern Lights”), “The Subtle Knife” and “The Amber Spyglass.” Pullman has also written a prequel, “La Belle Sauvage,” and...

“In every child’s nightmares, there’s an element of truth,” Mrs. Coulter warns us in a new teaser trailer for His Dark Materials… which then spends the following minute or so illustrating that concept.

Philip Pullman’s series of novels — which consists of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass — follows Lyra, an orphan who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Lyra’s search for a missing friend uncovers an evil plot involving stolen children and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust.

The small-screen adaptation...

More than three years after it was first announced, the BBC has released a teaser trailer for its adaptation of His Dark Materials, which is set to make its stateside debut on HBO.

Philip Pullman’s book trilogy — which consists of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass — opens by following Lyra, an orphan who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Lyra’s search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust.

The small-screen adaptation boasts...

The BBC has unveiled the first look at its forthcoming big-budget adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy epic His Dark Materials.

The British public broadcaster, which has joined with HBO on the Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema-produced series, has released a trailer featuring stars Dafne Keen, James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda that you can watch above.

“We wanted fans to have a tiny glimpse of His Dark Materials,” said exec producer Jane Tranter. “As with Lyra, there are many more worlds to discover as we start upon this epic journey.”

His Dark Materials, which is one of the biggest in scope and most expensive British dramas to date, is ritten by Jack Thorne and directed by Tom Hooper, and is based on Pullman’s acclaimed trilogy of books: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction.

The cast of the drama,...

Exclusive: HBO has come on board as co-producer and distributor of the BBC fantasy drama series His Dark Materials. HBO has partnered with BBC, Bad Wolf, in which HBO owns a small stake, and New Line Cinema to co-produce the adaptation of the Philip Pullman novels, which has an order for two eight-episode seasons from the BBC, as revealed by Deadline yesterday. Additionally, HBO has acquired the worldwide rights to the series outside of the UK.

His Dark Materials, which stars Dafne Keen, James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda, is believed to be one of the biggest in scope and most expensive British dramas to date. Written by Jack Thorne and directed by Tom Hooper, it is based on Pullman’s acclaimed trilogy of books: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction.

The cast of the drama, which started filming...

Exclusive: The BBC has doubled the order of its adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials ahead of its debut.

Deadline understands that the Bad Wolf and New Line production has already been handed a second, eight-part season. Filming kicked off earlier this month in Cardiff at Wolf Studios Wales for season one of the drama, which is thought to be one of the most expensive British scripted series to date.

The series stars James McAvoy, Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda, is written by Jack Thorne and directed by Tom Hooper.

In March, Deadline revealed that Logan star signed up to play main character Lyra, an orphan, who lives in a parallel universe, alongside Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays adventurer Lee Scoresby. McAvoy plays Lord Asriel, father of Lyra, while The Wire’s Clarke Peters, who recently starred in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, plays the master who raises Lyra.

Newen has acquired equity stakes in a pair of production outfits, the Dutch company Pupkin and Danish banner Nimbus, in order to expand its global footprint and focus on drama.

Through these deals, Newen will aim at creating synergies between talent, formats and relationships with local players, and will be boosting its distribution activities.

Newen is acquiring a 60% equity interest in Pupkin via Tuvalu Media Group, a Dutch production company Newen owns. Pupkin, launched in 2003 by Pieter Kuijpers, Iris Otten and Sander van Meurs, is one of the Netherlands’ leading feature film and drama studios. Its current production slate includes Netflix’s first Dutch series, an Amsterdam-set untitled coming-of-age/horror drama.

With Tuvalu and Pupkin, Newen will become the third-largest local player in the Netherlands.

“Pupkin is very complementary to Tuvalu Media Group because the first is strong in drama production and the other one is experienced in non-scripted. Having...

Soft Cell ponder a relationship’s expiration date on their new single “Northern Lights,” the British duo’s first original song in 15 years. “When do you stop loving me? I’m guessing not that recently,” singer Marc Almond croons over a plinking drum machine, synthesizers and saxophone. “Why can’t you look at me and show a little honesty?”

The track appears on the synth-pop act’s upcoming compilation The Singles – Keychains & Snowstorms, out September 28th via Universal Music Catalogue. The set also includes another new song, “Guilty (‘Cos I...

After making it through the rough time that surrounded Death Cab for Cutie’s last record, Kintsugi – made after frontman Ben Gibbard’s divorce and just before the departure of founding member Chris Walla – the band sounds rejuvenated on Thank You for Today. They’ve added two new members, guitarist Dave Depper and keyboardist Zac Rae, to their lineup and they allowed themselves to take some risks like indulging pop production techniques on the record, which they made with Kintsugi producer Rich Costey.

Right from the start on lead track,...

Black Mirror’s Georgina Campbell, Shameless’ Anne-Marie Duff and Games of Thrones’ Ian Gelder have all signed on to star in BBC One fantasy drama His Dark Materials. The trio have joined the cast of the Bad Wolf show, which has begun filming in Cardiff.

Campbell plays journalist Adele Starminster, Gelder stars as Librarian Scholar Charles and Duff plays a boat dwelling Gyptian, alongside James Cosmo, Lucien Msamati, Mat Fraser, Jack Verhoeven and Benjamin de Ruyter.

Wolf Hall star Will Keen, father of leading actress Dafne Keen, plays Father MacPhail.

The full cast was confirmed after Deadline broke the news of Keen’s performance, as well as that of The Affair star Ruth Wilson and director Tom Hooper’s involvement. As previously reported, X-Men and Atomic Blonde star James McAvoy and The Wire’s Clarke Peters are also on board alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Talented young actors also joining the cast include Lewin Lloyd,...

Exclusive: Rogue One and Life star Ariyon Bakare is the latest actor to sign up to BBC One’s Philip Pullman adaptation of His Dark Materials.

Bakare is a popular man in the fantasy space, having also recently signed up to appear in Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens and Amazon’s Cara Delevingne and Orlando Bloom-fronted Carnival Row.

The British actor will star as Lord Boreal in the series alongside Dafne Keen, James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Boreal is an antagonist in the books, who charms Lyra, played by Keen, and houses her from the police before stealing her alethiometer.

BBC One ordered the series, which is written by National Treasure and Wonder writer Jack Thorne, in 2015. Pullman’s work, which featured three books: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, is a complex tale of physics, philosophy and theology featuring witches and armored polar bears.

TV star Eddie Cibrian still lights up LeAnn Rimes' life. Nine years after they began their relationship — amid a headline-making scandal, no less — Eddie and LeAnn are still together. And the country singer recently opened up about how she and her husband make their blended family work. "The key to doing it right? A lot of grace," LeAnn told E! News at the American Idol Season 16 finale. "A lot of grace. A lot of not taking things personally. The kids are the most important thing, and they know. They know the love is there. Like any blended family, everybody sees — even though you don't think that the kids see — everybody sees the ups and downs." "They know everyone loves them, they know everyone is committed and we're always there for them," the 35-year-old continued. Then she quipped, "As long as us adults can always act like adults, which seems...

BBC has been working on an adaptation of the Philip Pullman classic His Dark Materials, and they just landed some pretty big actors. Deadline reports James McAvoy and Clarke Peters have both hopped on the adaptation which is set to be an eight-part series. McAvoy will play Lord Asriel, who was originally portrayed by Daniel Craig on the big screen adaptation of the first book. Peters will play the master who raised Lyra.

The series is based on Pullman’s trilogy of books: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, "a complex tale of physics, philosophy and theology featuring witches and armored polar bears. It tells the story of two children, Lyra and Will, who wander through a series of parallel universes."

The duo will join Lin-Manuel Miranda, who joined the project earlier this year in the role of adventurer Lee Scoresby. The series will be directed by...

Exclusive: The Affair star Ruth Wilson is the latest A-list star to sign up to BBC drama His Dark Materials.

The actor is signing up to play Marisa Coulter, one of the main protagonists of the eight-part drama and the former lover of Lord Asriel, played by James McAvoy. The character is one of the main characters in the trilogy of novels written by Phillip Pullman, particularly The Amber Spyglass, the third novel, where the character is described as a beautiful 35-year old.

She is thought to be the mother of Lyra, played by Dafne Keen, who has a golden monkey demon.

This comes after X-Men and Atomic Blonde star McAvoy and The Wire’s Clarke Peters signed up to star in the drama.

His Dark Materials, which will air on BBC One, is written by National Treasure and Wonder writer Jack Thorne. It is based on Pullman’s trilogy of books: Northern Lights,...

Adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy epic is written by Jack Thorne (Skins).

James McAvoy (Filth) and Clarke Peters (The Wire) are in talks to join the cast of His Dark Materials, the BBC’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy epic, according to reports.

McAvoy will play aristocratic explorer Lord Asriel, taking on the role played by Daniel Craig in the 2007 feature The Golden Compass.

Asriel is father to protagonist Lyra (Logan’s Dafne Keen), an orphan who lives in a parallel universe. Peters will play the master who raises Lyra, with both actors starting work on the series later this month.

They will start working on the BBC One series later this month.

James McAvoy (Filth) and Clarke Peters (The Wire) have joined the cast of His Dark Materials, the BBC’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy epic, written by Jack Thorne (Skins).

McAvoy will play aristocratic explorer Lord Asriel, taking on the role played by Daniel Craig in the 2007 feature The Golden Compass.

Asriel is father to protagonist Lyra (Logan’s Dafne Keen), an orphan who lives in a parallel universe. Peters will play the master who raises Lyra, with both actors starting work on the series later this month.