Caliphate gets transmission date on Netflix

Swedish series Caliphate (Kalifat) is set to make its bow on Netflix in March.

Aliette Opheim plays the lead role of Sapo agent Fatima in the series that revolves around five young women whose lives are intertwined in a story of religious fundamentalism. “Perhaps this is the most difficult and courageous TV series project that Swedish screenwriters have embarked on,” says Anna Croneman, programme director at SVT Drama.

Caliphate starts in the autumn of 2015. Säpo agent Fatima gets a call that Pervin, a young Swedish woman, is stuck in Raqqa where her husband Husam is connected to IS.

Pervin fears for her and her daughter’s life, while telling Fatima that her husband and his group of Swedish jihadists are planning a terrorist attack in Sweden. One of them is already in Sweden to prepare for the attack.

Caliphate: From Wednesday 18th March, Netflix

Vicky McClure to star in the new ITV thriller from Line Of Duty creator’s production company

Production for series six of Line Of Duty is well underway, but news reaches us that Jed Mercurio’s production company HTM Television has been greenlit by ITV to produce a new high-octane thriller.

Counter terrorism policing and the terrifying work of the Metropolitan Police Bomb Disposal Squad are the breath-taking backdrop for Trigger Point, starring Vicky McClure and written by Daniel Brierley.

Set in contemporary London, Trigger Point is a six-part thriller series focusing on the Bomb Disposal Squad. Known as “Expo”, officers risk their lives daily on ‘the long walk’ towards danger.  Death is always just a heartbeat away.

McClure will play front line officer Lana Washington, who is an experienced bomb disposal operative. Reckless and out of control, Lana is ex-military and pushed to breaking point dealing with a series of improvised explosive devices which threaten the capital during a terrorist summer campaign.

Under extreme pressure and searching for answers, Lana can’t help but become suspicious that the bomber is premeditatedly targeting her unit.  It’s a terrifying thought, but against all odds how does she prove it and discover the bomber’s real identity?

McClure said:  “So grateful to be working with Jed again. I’m really looking forward to creating a strong, bright and troubled character in Lana Washington. Daniel Brierley has produced a brilliant and nail-biting script. I can’t wait to get started later this year.”

“Everyone at HTM Television is honoured Vicky McClure will star in Trigger Point, Daniel Brierley’s breathless thriller that will have viewers on the edge of their seats,” Mercurio added. “We’re immensely grateful to Polly Hill and ITV for giving this opportunity to a brand-new writer.”

READ MORE: ALL OUR NEWS AND REVIEWS FOR LINE OF DUTY

ITV confirms transmission date for McDonald & Dodds

Another big crime show starting on ITV soon is brand-new cop show McDonald & Dodds.

Previously called Invisible, it’s set in Bath, and we’re two feature-length films that pair the wildly ambitious DCI McDonald (Tala Gouveia) with the shy, modest DS Dodds (Jason Watkins). While McDonald has transferred from the mean streets of South London to leap up the career ladder, Dodds has happily languished on the shelf for most of his working life.

McDonald is a tough, driven, battering ram of a cop who cracks cases through sheer force of will; Dodds – the tortoise to her hare – is quiet, unassuming and enigmatic. But thrust back into frontline action for the first time in a decade, he discovers a hidden talent for deciphering puzzles.

Two contemporary Britons, seemingly with nothing in common, thrown together, boss McDonald and loyal sidekick Dodds forge a rumbustious, entertaining and ultimately – give or take a few setbacks – effective partnership.

Each episode takes us into a new story world – from a greed-fueled murder in the upper echelons of Bath society to an unexplained death in a private hospital for recovering addicts. With a classic crime story at its heart, Invisible combines intriguing plots and the journey of two ‘fish-out-of-water’ detectives with warmth and humour.

McDonald & Dodds: Sunday 1st March, 8pm, ITV

 

Narcos showrunner to make opioid crisis drama for Netflix

Narcos showrunner Eric Newman is to make a drama series for Netflix about the opioid crisis sweeping America.

Entitled Painkiller, it’s based on an article by Patrick Radden Keefe called The Family That Built an Empire of Pain and Pulitzer Prize winner Barry Meier’s book Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic.

The Hollywood Reporter quotes Newman as saying: “A tragedy decades in the making, the opioid crisis has become one of the most devastating public health crises of our time.

“Unlike other drug epidemics, born from underground manufacturing and covert smuggling, this epidemic began by prescription — dispensed by doctors, approved by government regulators, and promoted by a family-owned pharmaceutical giant that made billions while betraying the trust of patients and the public. I’m grateful to Micah & Noah, and Alex for bringing this story to me. Noah and Micah’s narrative of how it happened, based on the spectacular reporting of Patrick Radden Keefe and Barry Meier, is heartbreaking and terrifying. I’m honoured to be working with the great Alex Gibney, and I’m thrilled that Peter Berg is coming on to direct it.”

ITV names Liar II transmission date

Harry and Jack Williams’ thriller, Liar, is on the way back and now we know when it’s going to be hitting our screens.

Liar RETURNS Monday 2nd March@jofroggatt @ioangruffudd #Liar pic.twitter.com/3sgDIqEvsW

— ITV (@ITV) February 19, 2020

The series, created by Harry and Jack Williams, and starring Ioan Gruffudd and Joanne Froggatt, told the story of Laura Nielson, a smart and capable teacher in the middle of a breakup, who was set up on a date with recently widowed surgeon Andrew Earlham.

However, the day after it is apparent that something has gone wrong, and the subsequent fallout rapidly spirals out of control, exposing the power of truth, deception and trust.

READ MORE: FOR ALL OUR NEWS AND REVIEWS OF LIAR