The Killing Times Podcast: Episode 8, Olivia Williams

In this episode, we’re delighted to say that Paul is joined by the brilliant British actress, Olivia Williams.

In a long a varied career, Olivia has played all sorts of characters and appeared in all sorts of different projects throughout the years, including Shakespeare, sci-fi, period drama and comedy.

Currently, she appears in STARZPlay’s Counterpart. It tells the story of Howard Silk (J.K. Simmons), a low-level agent whose career is winding down at a Berlin-based United Nations spy agency, unwittingly learns the answer. Upon discovering his organization is harbouring a secret, that of a gateway to a parallel dimension, Howard becomes immersed in a mysterious world of espionage, intrigue, and government conspiracies. There, the only man Howard can trust is Prime, his almost identical counterpart from a divergent reality.

Now into its second series, Olivia plays Emily Silk – Howard’s wife in both worlds, and two different versions of Emily.

It’s well worth a watch.

Counterpart: Currently on STARZPlay (via Amazon Prime Video)

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Professor T series three set for January

Professor T became a bit of a cult favourite when it hit All4/Walter Presents, furthering Belgium’s reputation as a hub for crime drama.

Now it’s back for a third series in January.

The show’s namesake is a prodigal criminologist at Antwerp University who has inspired scores of students with his punchy teaching techniques. However, the heart-breaking ending to series two takes the world’s most germophobic man to his own personal hell: a filthy men’s prison, where the control over his routine and spotless surroundings he depends are taken from him.

After killing the crooked chief-inspector Serge Lauwers to protect Christine, Jasper Teerlinck is immediately incarcerated. For the mysophobic and autistic professor, he could not be thrown into a more challenging situation. However, against all odds he finds a way to embrace his new life and thrive: when a fellow prisoner claims to be wrongly accused of murder, Professor T dusts off his gloves and sets to proving his innocence. They say old habits die hard…

His reputation may have been saved within prison and guaranteed him a steady stream of wrongly accused defendants to save, but on the outside the Antwerp police department strongly sense his absence. Despite new talent on the team, they desperately lack his interfering genius to solve the constant supply of complicated crimes that come their way.

Professor T (Series 3): From Friday 4th January, All4/Walter Presents

Escape At Dannemora gets a New Year’s Day start on Sky Atlantic

Twenty-Nineteen is looking like a big year when it comes to returning US crime drama – we can’t wait for the likes of True Detective, Fargo and Mindhunter – but one of the new shows we’ve got our eye on is Escape At Dannemora, which boasts the likes of Benicio del Toro, Patricia Arquette, Paul Dano, Bonnie Hunt, Eric Lange and David Morse.

It recounts the real-life, stranger-than-fiction prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015 which spawned a statewide manhunt for two convicted murderers, aided in their escape by a married female prison employee who reportedly carried on months-long affairs with both men. 

Here’s a trailer:

Escape At Dannemora: Tuesday 1st January, 9pm, Sky Atlantic

 

Death In Paradise back for series eight in January

Told you January was going to be busy.

Death In Paradise, that modern equivalent of cosy, single-location crime is back as well with more whodunits from the paradise Caribbean island of Saint-Marie.

In the show’s eighth series, the police team face some complex challenges ranging from a popular local radio DJ killed while live on air, to a group of friends celebrating their fiftieth birthdays finding one of its members dead. DI Jack Mooney (Ardal O’Hanlon) leads the squad as they give billionaires a run for their money, and an investigation gets them in hot water. Romance is on the cards for DS Florence Cassell (Jobert) as lines between her personal and professional life become blurred, whilst Officer JP Hooper (Bakare) has his work cut out as he mentors the newest recruit, Officer Ruby Patterson (Amos).

Death In Paradise (Series 8): Thursday 10th January, 9pm, BBC One

Father Brown gets transmission date for series seven

It’s hard to fathom, but the BBC’s daytime cosy crime series, Father Brown, is now onto its seventh series. And that seventh series is due to start in a matter of weeks.

Based on the works of G.K. Chesterton, Father Brown is set in the 1950s and follows the eponymous Roman Catholic priest as he solves crimes in the Cotswold village of Kembleford. It stars Mark Williams, Sorcha Cusack, Emer Kenny and Jack Deam.

In season seven, when Lady Felicia (Nancy Carroll) returns from Northern Rhodesia in need of help, Father Brown is forced to conclude that none other than Hercule Flambeau (John Light) may be her greatest ally. Meanwhile, a familiar face returns to Kembleford when a notorious police killer is spotted near the village, putting Sergeant Goodfellow (John Burton) in grave danger.

With Grantchester also coming back in January, we’re going to be up to our neck in crime-solving clergy.

Father Brown: Monday 7th January, 2.15pm, BBC One

BBC names transmission date for Silent Witness

Ah, January. That time when all the Christmas specials have gone and the schedule is filled with a veritable feast of new series.

We’ve already seen that ITV’s Manhunt, BBC’s Luther and ITV’s Grantchester will be coming into the schedules in January, and now we’re told that a hardy perennial – Silent Witness – is also on its way back.

The long-running series is back for a 22nd run (!) with another 10 episodes, double-billed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Fresh from her trip to the States, Nikki (Emilia Fox) and the Lyell unit are called in to investigate an attack against a trans man. When two further attacks are reported, one leaving a potential witness, it becomes clear that the team is facing an outbreak of violence against the trans community.

Silent Witness (Series 22): Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th January, 9pm, BBC One

The 10 Best Crime Dramas This Week (Monday 17th – Sunday 23rd December)

It’s the calm before the inevitable January storm, so there are slim picking this week. Fortitude continues, The Sinner comes to an end on BBC4, but we’ve highlighted something a bit different – a comedy murder mystery starring Johnny Vegas and the brilliant Sian Gibson. Enjoy!

1 Death On The Tyne *NEW UK PREMIERE ONE-OFF*
S1 E1/1
Comedy mystery following on from Murder on the Blackpool Express, focusing this time on an eventful and bloody overnight ferry trip from Newcastle to Amsterdam. During the turbulent journey, the passengers and crew begin to get bumped off one by one in grizzly circumstances, and everyone seems to have a motive for murder.
Wednesday 19th December, 8.30pm, Gold

2 Fortitude *NEW UK PREMIERE EPISODE*
S3 E3/4
A chilling discovery proves that the horror isn’t over for the locals.
Thursday 20th December, 9pm, Sky Atlantic

3 The Sinner *REPEAT* *LAST IN SERIES*
S1 E7&8/8
Long-held secrets are finally revealed as Cora delves into her past to recover her lost memories.
Saturday 22nd December, 9pm, BBC Four

4 Tin Star *REPEAT* 
S1 E6/10
An increasingly erratic Whitey targets Angela and Anna, but as Jim makes a bold decision to protect his family, he fails to see a new threat waiting in the wings. Once again, it is left to Denise to take care of growing trouble in Little Big Bear. 
Sunday 23rd December, 11.05pm, Channel 4

5 Innocent *REPEAT*
S1 E1/4
David Collins is unexpectedly acquitted on a technicality having served seven years of a life sentence for the murder of his wife Tara. On the steps of the court, he vows to bring to book those who lied at his original trial, to see the real killer jailed and more importantly, to regain custody of his two young children.
Monday 17th December, 10pm, ITV3

6 Bancroft *REPEAT*
S1 E3/4
Detective Superintendent Bancroft is faced with a blast from the past that brings events from 1990 to the surface, and Katherine wrestles with new information that she is uncovering. Elsewhere, Daanish fulfils his part of the deal, and Anya makes a surprising visits to an old friend.
Thursday 20th December, 9pm, ITV3

7 Death In Holy Orders *REPEAT*
S1 E1/2
Commander Adam Dalgleish investigates the case of a suspected serial killer and encounters greed and corruption, while also falling in love for the first time since the death of his wife. Thriller based on PD James’s book.
Thursday 20th December, 9pm, Alibi

8 Father Brown *REPEAT*
S2 E2/10
An ex-serviceman dies suddenly in the street, and Father Brown is called to investigate Danvers Retreat, a facility where the dead man was a patient.
Tuesday 18th December, 9pm, Drama

9 9-1-1 *NEW UK PREMIERE EPISODE*
S2 E9/10
Hen relives her evolution into the firefighter she is today as she recalls the first time she met Chimney and Athena.
Wednesday 19th December, 10pm, Sky Witness

10 Shades Of Guilt *NEW UK PREMIERE EPISODE*
S1 E5/6
A young homeless couple kill an old man in a panic and take a large sum of cash hidden in his home. Using the stolen money, they start the new life they have always wanted – but are their hopes of avoiding the consequences indefinitely realistic or will events finally catch up with them?
Friday 21st December, 10pm, More4