Taking On New Identities

Kind of thematic considering nearly all the shows I'm about to cover in this blog. Some of this is UK/US/Irish paced.

Arrow: I've caught the first two episodes and the show has had something of a mini revamp. Oliver has managed to dial his usual dour self down a few notches, adopted the moniker of Green Arrow and even seems to actually enjoy with Felicity. Unfortunately the flashbacks are still adding nothing interesting to the show but on the plus side, Damien Darhk is already a better foe than Ras was last season, we've got a gay Mr Terrific in the making and Thea and Laurel just work well together whether it's kicking bad guy butt or deciding to bring Sara back from the dead.

Jekyll And Hyde: You have to give it to ITV. Their attempts of creating their own Doctor Who effect have had mixed results. Primeval managed to last a decent five series and be fairly enjoyable but Demons was pretty much an abomination of a series and as for this series - well, it's potentially the strongest candidate ITV have done so far and we're only an episode in. Charlie Higson has done a fantastic imagining of the classic story and Tom Bateman is seriously brilliant in both roles. Definitely a winner for me.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: Okay, this has yet to air on Channel 4 but RTE2 (for Irish viewers) have so far aired the first two episodes of the show's third season and it's been a little bit of a slow burner. Mostly we've seen Skye complete her transformation into Daisy as she recruited more Inhumans while Ward spent time rebuilding Hydra and Fitz rescued Simmons from that weird dimension place she was in between seasons. There is some great stuff with May in the second episode though Coulson just kind of seems to be there at the moment.

Once Upon A Time: I've only seen the first three episodes so far (will catch up within the next week) and I have to admit, I'm not really that compelled by anything as of yet. In larger roles, the dwarves are actually annoying and Emma's foray into darkness hasn't been quite as dark as I'd hope it would be. I'm also not too blown away by the Camelot arc as of yet but on the plus side, I do like Merida from the little I've seen so far. Maybe the episodes awaiting me are a lot better.

Supergirl: I resisted the urge to watch the pilot when it was leaked several months ago but today, I finally caught and I loved it. Yes, there have been stronger pilots and there certainly were moments similar to The Flash and Smallville but this show genuinely deserves to be successfully. The feminist commentary/misogynistic opening baddie might have been hammered home a little too much but Melissa Benoist is going to be the definitive Supergirl for a lot of people and in this episode alone, she embodied everything about the character. Kara is the superhero we need and with 12 million viewers tuning in, CBS have produced a show worth the weekly watch.

The Flash: Ah, the show that now has become so timey wimey, even Steven Moffat would struggle to keep up with this. The first two episodes of Season 2 have been a joy. I might not have liked the swift way that Ronnie was dispatched or Henry left but everything else though has been a charm. The arrival of Jay Garrick certainly has added to proceedings and the looming threats of Zoom and Wells eventual return to our world are keeping things pretty interesting as well. With all these superhero shows flying high at the moment, it's a great time to be a fan of the genre, isn't it?

- Michelle Gomez will play a mysterious character named The Lady in an upcoming episode of Gotham. Nathan Darrow has been cast as Victor Fries for the show.
- Barbara Hershey will be returning for Once Upon A Time's 100th episode.
- Henry Czerny has been cast as the Toyman for Supergirl.
- HBO have cancelled The Brink after one season.
- Sherlock's upcoming special, The Abominable Bride will air on BBC1 and Masterpiece on New Year's Day.
- Bryan Fuller is to revive anthology series, Amazing Stories for NBC.
- ABC have cancelled The Whispers after one season.
- Gilmore Girls is being revived for Netflix as a series of four 90 minute episodes.
- Ryan Murphy and Gwyneth Paltrow may be working on a new show about a former 1990s hitmaker called One Hit Wonder.
- Empire creator Lee Daniels is planning a show about a girlband named Star.

First Look: ITV's Jekyll & Hyde

It might be another few months before this series actually airs but ITV are already getting into the promotional spirit for Charlie Higson's upcoming supernatural drama, Jekyll & Hyde, starring former DaVinci's Demons actor, Tom Bateman in the dual leading roles.

Speaking at MCM's Comic Con back in May with Bateman and other members of the cast, Higson and ITV showed audiences a 11 second trailer (I assume a much longer one will surface in the next few weeks), which gave a tantalising glimpse of the series with Bateman certainly capturing the bad boy elements of Hyde particularly well.

Is it possible that after a series of mishaps (Demons, anyone?) that ITV have finally nailed a supernatural show? In a few months time, we'll know for certain with this ten parts series but for now, the signs are looking promising.

MCM Comic-Con Spoilers/Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCseuVodiA4

Jekyll & Hyde will air on ITV in the Autumn. Proper time and date to be confirmed.

ITV's Jekyll & Hyde - Cast Confirmed

Yup and it's a pretty interesting and familiar cast for Charlie Higson's 10 part supernatural drama, starting with the lead himself ...

Tom Bateman best known for his roles in both DaVinci's Demons and The Tunnel has bagged the role of Robert Jekyll, the grandson of Jekyll and also afflicted with the same curse as well. Set in 1930s London, this version of Jekyll is also a mild mannered doctor who upon transforming into his other persona then becomes something of a risk taker and hedonist as a secret organisation is after the source of Hyde's power while Jekyll's foster father, Dr Vishal Najaran, is controlling his condition with medication.

Elsewhere, Natalie Gumede best known for her role in Coronation Street and recent appearances in both Doctor Who and Death In Paradise has been cast in the role of Bella - a woman caught in a love triangle with Jekyll himself and presumably Hyde as well. Hopefully Gumede's role does extend beyond love interest for the series though.

Meanwhile Richard E. Grant, who has also had recent guest roles in Doctor Who, Girls and Downton Abbey will also appear in the series, taking on the role of Sir Roger Bulstrode who heads the secret government department M10 known as ‘The Invisible Men’. Other confirmed cast members include Stephanie Hyam (Murdered By My Boyfriend), Donald Sumpter (Game Of Thrones, Being Human), Amit Shah (The Smoke, Hustle), Phil McKee (Ripper Street, Dracula),
Christian McKay (Rush, Theory of Everything), Ruby Bentall (Lark Rise to Candleford, The Paradise), Enzo Cilenti (Game of Thrones), Lolita Chakrabarti (The Smoke, Death In Paradise), Michael Karim (Inspector Lewis) and Ace Bhatti (Silk, Eastenders).

The series itself will have episodes directed by Colin Teague and will feature a variety of monsters such as ghosts, zombies, vampires and werewolves to name a few. Here's hoping it's a good series, given ITV's less than stellar history with this particular genre.

Press Release: http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/jekyll-hyde-itv-casting-announcement

Jekyll & Hyde is currently filming in Sri Lanka and will air on ITV later in 2015.

2015 - Five Anticipated Shows

It's the last day of 2014 and to end the year, I decided to have a look at five new shows that I will be looking forward to in 2015.

1: Marvel's Agent Carter (ABC/UK channel TBC)

With the much improved Agents Of SHIELD not returning until March, the first eight weeks of 2015 shall see spin-off, Agent Carter taking it's place and given how popular Hayley Atwell's heroic character has become, I'd be surprised if this wasn't a hit for ABC, especially considering that the cast will also bring in the likes of James D'Arcy, Chad Michael Murray and Enver Gjokaj as well as Dominic Cooper reprising his role as Howard Stark. (Tuesdays 8pm from January 6th)

2: Daredevil (Netflix)

With shows such as Arrow and The Flash flying the flag for DC on the small screen for the CW, Netflix are getting into the act themselves with 13 episode series, Daredevil as Charlie Cox takes on the titular role with a cast also boasting Deborah Ann Woll,  Rosario Dawson and Vincent D'Onofrio for good measure. The show is also executive produced by Steven S. DeKnight, best known for creating Spartacus and working on shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Smallville. (April 10th 2015)

3: Jekyll & Hyde (ITV)

Now this one is a little tricky to talk about. So far we know that it's going to be a 10 episode series, due to film in 2015 by comedian and writer Charlie Higson and that it's set forty years after the original. In terms of casting, we have yet to find out who's playing who and given ITV's past history with genre television, I do hope that this upcoming adaptation fares a lot better than what's gone before. Last thing we need is another Demons, right? The series will follow Robert, grandson of the original Dr Jekyll, as he battles ghouls, zombies, werewolves and vampires, as well as his own inner demon. (Mid-Late 2015)

4: London Spy (BBC2/BBCAmerica)

A five episode one-off series (I think) starring both Ben Whishaw as reckless romantic spy Danny and Edward Holcraft as his lover, Alex, this series by Tom Rob Smith will also feature both Jim Broadbent and Charlotte Rampling (also due to be seen next week in the second series of Broadchurch). The spy series will also see Danny dealing with the disappearance of his lover and having to decide whether he’s prepared to fight for the truth. (Spring 2015)

5: Scream Queens (FOX/UK channel TBC)

This one might have yet to shoot even it's pilot episode but like Gotham, it seems that FOX are confident enough in both Ryan Murphy as a showrunner and leading ladies Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis to already commission a first season of 15 episodes. I'll admit this could end up being just a network attempt of American Horror Story (especially as the serial killer on a college campus plot could easily be done on that show) but I'll also admit that this series is intriguing me more than Murphy's other upcoming TV project at the moment. (Autumn 2015)

Those are my five anticipated shows for 2015 - what are yours? Oh and to everyone who's peeked at my blog this year, Happy 2015. Here's hoping it's a good one.