McDonald & Dodds: ITV reveals transmission date for season 3

Cosy crime, Bath-set crime drama McDonald & Dodds is on its way back to ITV for a third series.

The four-parter now has a transmission date.

In episode one, a young woman dies in a busy park in broad daylight and the mismatched McDonald and Dodds are called in to untangle the mysterious circumstances of her death. Who is she? How did she die surrounded by witnesses? And how is it possible that she is…smiling? All roads seem to lead to Professor George Gillan, a linguistic anthropologist who lives in a rambling mansion with his eccentric mother, Agnes, whose 100th birthday is days away. DS Dodds is sure that the house has something to do with the murder, but in uncovering Belvedere’s history, Dodds also unearths secrets in his own past.

McDonald & Dodds (series three): Sunday 19th June, 8pm, ITV

Apple+ TV drops first trailer for Black Bird

As we mentioned in our review of Shining Girls, Apple+ TV is the one streaming service that really is producing some excellent, complex drama with real depth at the moment.

Now it has revealed the first trailer for Black Bird – a six-part series created by celebrated crime novelist Dennis Lehane.

And yes, we’re excited.

Inspired by actual events, when high school football hero, decorated policeman’s son and convicted drug dealer Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum security prison, he is given the choice of a lifetime – enter a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser), or stay where he is and serve his full sentence with no possibility of parole. Keene quickly realises his only way out is to elicit a confession and find out where the bodies of several young girls are buried before Hall’s appeal goes through. But is this suspected killer telling the truth? Or is it just another tale from a serial liar? This dramatic and captivating story subverts the crime genre by enlisting the help of the very people put behind bars to solve its mysteries.

In addition to Egerton and Hauser, the series also stars Sepideh Moafi, Greg Kinnear and the recently departed Ray Liotta.

Here’s the trailer…

Look out for Black Bird on Apple+ TV from Friday 8th July.

SBS drops new trailer for True Colours and reveals transmission date

One of the shows we’re looking forward to seeing – when it comes to the UK – is Australian series, True Colours.

Now we have a new trailer and know when it’s going to be on.

Set in the fictional community of Perda Theendar against the backdrop of the Northern Territory’s Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and Yeperenye (East MacDonnell Ranges), the series is in English and Arrernte, and has been described as a ground-breaking insight into the Arrernte peoples’ connection to art and cultural practices.  

Detective Toni Alma, played by Rarriwuy Hick, is assigned to investigate a suspicious car accident in Perda Theendar, the Aboriginal community she left as a child and has had little to do with over the years. The beauty of Aboriginal art and the sometimes-devious practices in the global art market lead Detective Alma on a hunt for a killer in her hometown.

The cast also includes Errol Shand, Emilie de Ravin, Trisha Morton Thomas and Ben Oxenbould, and is rounded out by local talent, many of whom count the series as their first acting role: Sabella Kngwarraye Ross Turner, Kurt Abbott, Kumalie Kngwarraye, Natalie Pepperill, Warren ‘Wazza’ Williams, Grant Wallace, Janaya Kopp, Siobhan Breaden, Genise Williams, Martin McMillan, Keenan Mitchell, Stella McMillan, Rosario Young, and Waylon Dixon.

Look out for it on 4th July on SBS in Australia.

Walter Presents announces Easter European season

Who says summer is quiet on TV?

The ever-reliable Walter Presents has acquired four new crime dramas to make up an Eastern European season. So what’s coming and when will they be on?

Four Strangers (Croatia)
Four complete strangers end up bound together irrevocably by a violent event. A multi-layered drama focused on powerful characters, each in some way ground down by the everyday struggle of life in the city. 
When? 17th July, Channel 4

Sign Of The Fathers (Poland)
A retired policeman and former criminal must face their past when their daughters’ lives are suddenly put at risk.
When? 29th July, All4

Hide And Seek (Ukraine)
A father and daughter play a game of hide-and-seek. Soon, she is nowhere to be found and later a video is posted, which shows the girl holding a sign with a mysterious set of numbers. She’s the first of several children who disappear without a trace in a small, industrial town.
When? 14th August, Channel 4

Angel Of Death (Poland)
A year after the tragic events from series one, the public is waiting for the results of the trial in the case of the murdered women. Piotr Wolcicki, the suspect, pleads not guilty but will the testimonies be enough to convict him.

ITV commissions new medical thriller Malpractice

Medical thrillers have been a mixed bag on TV in recent years. But now ITV has delved headfirst into the sub-genre by commissioning Malpractice, to be made by Line Of Duty producers, World Productions.

Dr Lucinda Edwards (Niamh Algar, pictured above when she appeared in Channel 4’s Deceit) is a smart, battle-hardened doctor, but the series shows her on nightmare shift that ends in the death of an opioid overdose victim, Edith Owusu. Despite the support of her medical supervisor, Dr Leo Harris (James Purefoy), Edith’s grieving father Sir Anthony Owusu (Brian Bovell), demands an enquiry into Lucinda’s actions on that fateful night. 

Leading the medical investigation are Dr Norma Callahan (Helen Behan) and Lucinda’s former colleague, Dr George Adjei (Jordan Kouamé). While George feels this was an unavoidable tragedy, Norma is suspicious of Lucinda’s behaviour and decisions in the lead up to Edith’s death. 

As the pressure of the investigation intensifies, Lucinda’s relationship with husband Tom (Lorne MacFadyen) starts to fracture, and her confident professional exterior begins to crack. Is Lucinda hiding something? 

The five-part series has started filming in Leeds.