Surprise (Not Really): Sherlock Star Benedict Cumberbatch is Making Even More Movies

Because we haven’t done this in a while, let us consider: What movies is Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch busy signing up to star in right now?

You might think that we’ve got enough Cumberbatch films (Cumberfilms?) to be going on with for a bit, what with his upcoming roles in Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Fifth Estate, Twelve Years a Slave and August: Osage County. Oh, and also that highly-anticipated third series of Sherlock that he's currently filming at the moment.  But you would be wrong about that, because apparently Mr. Cumberbatch is either magical or an animatronic Cylon who doesn’t sleep, because he’s lined up even more films in what must now be considered his personal campaign to take over the multiplexes of America. (I’m still okay with it, though.) 

Category:Drama

The First Full Series of Endeavour: Coming in 2013

Excellent news for mystery fans – you can now get your first official look at the upcoming full series of Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour. Shawn Ryan is back as a young Endeavour Morse, who is now just a new constable cutting his teeth on solving crimes in Oxford in 1965.

Endeavour premiered as a one-off film last year and was given the greenlight for a full series before it even reached our TV screens here in America (Which is always a relief!). This time around, young Morse will be back for four feature-length episodes, dealing with a variety of cases and hopefully featuring many more of those lovely in-episode nods to longtime fans that popped up all over the film. Want a look at the new series? The first trailer's under the jump. 

Category:Drama

Heads Up Sherlock Holmes Fans: Elementary Renewed For Season 2

CBS renewed their Sherlock Holmes adaptation Elementary for a second season this week, guaranteeing that Holmes enthusiasts everywhere will get at least one more year of the network’s genderbending adventures featuring stars Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu.

The CBS drama picked up considerable buzz at the beginning of the US Fall TV season for their decision to turn John Watson into Joan in their interpretation of the stories featuring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s great detective. While the actual series hasn’t done what could be called a terribly stringent job in adhering to the Conan Doyle canon, the detective drama has nevertheless managed to gather a sizeable audience on Thursday nights.

Category:Sci-Fi

David Tennant and Billie Piper Set to Return for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special!

You probably don’t need to read this blog post, given the fact that it’s likely you have already seen the massive online celebration or heard my tremendously loud shrieks of joy across all corners, but just in case, here we go. It’s officially official – we’ve got our first bit of absolutely true and confirmed news regarding the upcoming Doctor Who 50th anniversary and it couldn’t be more exciting for Whovians everywhere. 

The BBC announced over the weekend that Tenth Doctor David Tennant and former companion Billie Piper are both set to join current stars Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman for the celebrations surrounding the show’s fiftieth year on the air.  Tennant played the Doctor for three full seasons and several specials, and was last seen on the show in early 2010. Piper was the original companion when Doctor Who returned to televisions for its 2005 reboot and starred alongside both Tennant and Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston for two series.  To say I am over the moon with joy about this news is possibly the understatement of the year. (The only thing that could possibly make me happier is an announcement that Eccleston is also returning, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up about that.) More after the jump.

Category:Drama

Let's Talk Mr. Selfridge: Recapping Episode 1

New Masterpiece drama Mr. Selfridge is here – and it has all the makings of a great series. Of course these things include elaborate sets, fancy costumes and a bevy of characters whose names you will have no hope of remembering for at least a week. Welcome to period drama, people. Selfridge tells the story of the famous Oxford Street department store and the people who work there, and there looks to be plenty of romance, intrigue and poor life decisions to keep us entertained in a world without Downton Abbey. At the very least, it’s going to be fun to talk about.

Join us below for a rundown of events from the Mr. Selfridge premiere – and tell us what you think of the show so far in the comments!  (Fair warning: The premiere was two hours tonight, so this is a bit on the long side. Get comfy!) 

Category:Drama

Life After Downton: Jessica Brown Findlay in Labyrinth

Though people may leave Downton Abbey, they never really leave Downton Abbey, if you know what I mean. Meaning that, even though we may not see certain actors around the estate anymore, it doesn’t mean that we stop caring about what they are up to these days and where we can see them in future.  

Jessica Brown Findlay, otherwise known as Downton’s Lady Sybil, has a brand new project coming to UK TV in the not-too-distant future. She’ll be starring in a television adaptation of Kate Mosse’s global best-selling novel Labyrinth for UK network Channel 4, alongside John Hurt, Merlin’s Katie McGrath, Great Expectations’ Vanessa Kirby and Harry Potter star Tom Felton (who is sporting some…interesting hair).

A two-part fantasy series, Labyrinth interweaves the stories of two women born centuries apart. Present day archaeologist Alice discoverers two shattered skeletons and a labyrinth-engraved ring in a cave, while 800 years ago in medieval France, a young herbalist named Alais is entrusted with hiding the secrets contained within three sacred books. All of these things do connect eventually.

Watch the trailer for Labyrinth below.

Category:Drama

The Shopping Will Go On: Mr. Selfridge Already Renewed for Series 2

While the Masterpiece premiere of new period drama Mr. Selfridge doesn’t happen until this Sunday here in the US, there’s already some good news for interested fans about the future of the show. ITV has already renewed the costume drama for a second series, as a result of its consistently high ratings (averaging somewhere around 8 million viewers) across the pond. The UK network also said that Mr. Selfridge has been the channel’s most watched new drama since detective series Scott & Bailey premiered in 2011. Woo and hoo.  (Apparently this information  was announced a couple of weeks ago – did I miss it while I had the flu? Who knows? It’s still good news!)

Category:Drama

Sherlock Series 3: First Guest Star Revealed and More

Thanks to the official start of filming on the long-awaited third series of Sherlock, we’re finally getting some real information about what the new episodes of the drama might hold in store for fans. We already know that the first episode of Series 3 will be called The Empty Hearse and will feature (at least in part) some sort of take on the How-Sherlock-Holmes-Comes-Back-From-the-Dead plot from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Empty House.

Now with the advent of the series first bit of public shooting this week, further details about the new episodes have started to surface and a few filming photos have started to appear. (This is all going under the jump to protect anyone who’s trying not to find out anything about the new season before it airs, but other than official casting news, it’s spoiler free.)

Category:Sci-Fi

Rumor Has It: Will Doctor Who Fans Get a Regeneration for Christmas?

Another new series (well, half-series) of Doctor Who is almost upon us, so it seems about time for  another rumor about star Matt Smith leaving the show to crop up. This isn’t anything new – it certainly feels like we’ve had at least three or four separate trips through this particular rumor mill since Smith took over the TARDIS – but it seems worth chatting about a bit, if only because everyone’s answers on the subject seem extra vague this time.

For this particular trip round the rumor track, the Sun has reported that Smith is set to depart his Doctor Who role this Christmas, As with just about everything that originates The Sun, let’s take this with approximately a boulder of salt. (They’re not exactly as bad as the Daily Mail, rumors-wise, but they aren’t that far off either.) But, let’s be honest, if there were a perfect time for a regeneration, it probably would be either right around the 50th anniversary or just after, wouldn’t it? Let's discuss.

Category:Drama

ITV Previews Series 3 of Scott and Bailey

Fans of female detective drama Scott & Bailey – a recent addition to our WETA UK lineup here in the Washington, DC area – will be pleased to know that an official trailer for drama’s third series has been released. The show follows the personal and professional lives of two female detective constables who are close friends with very different personalities.

Series 3 will be comprised of eight new episodes. Actresses Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp are both returning and they will again be joined by Amelia Bullmore, who has also apparently written two installments of the upcoming series.  We're currently only on Series 1 on our air here - and we'll probably have to wait a bit for Series 3 to become available - but it's stll nice to see! Give it a look below. 

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