or


[05/25/11 - 09:49 AM]
BBC America Announces New Drama Destination "Dramaville" Hosted by Golden Globe Nominee Idris Elba
The Wednesday block will be home to "The Hour" (August 17), "Luther" (October 5) and "Whitechapel" (November 2).

[via press release from BBC America]

BBC America Announces New Drama Destination "Dramaville" Hosted by Golden Globe Nominee Idris Elba

New York - May 25, 2011 - BBC AMERICA today announced plans to increase its commitment to high quality and critically acclaimed British drama with the launch of a new weekly, hour-long slot, Dramaville. It will be hosted by Golden Globe nominee and Luther star, Idris Elba, who will also serve as producer of the Dramaville host wraps through his company Headshell Productions. Dramaville premieres Wednesday, August 17, 10:00p.m. ET/PT beginning with The Hour, a six-part edge-of-your-seat espionage thriller set in the 1950s.

Following the six week run of The Hour, Dramaville will play home to Luther, a sequel to the first critically acclaimed mini-series of the same name which stars Elba in the title role, followed by Whitechapel, a six-part contemporary crime thriller set in the shadow of Jack the Ripper and the infamous Kray Twins of the 1960s.

Perry Simon, General Manager, Channels, BBC Worldwide America says: "British drama has long been a standard bearer of great scripted television and Dramaville will showcase the very best of British creativity in a clear destination drama fans can easily find. It's a real pleasure to welcome Idris back to the BBC AMERICA family as the host of Dramaville."

Further details of the Dramaville franchise:

Launching the Dramaville slot is the previously announced BBC AMERICA co-production, The Hour. A six-part drama series, created and written by BAFTA award-winning Abi Morgan (White Girl, Sex Traffic, Brick Lane, Murder), it stars Dominic West (The Wire, The Devil's Whore), Romola Garai (Emma, Atonement) and Ben Whishaw (Bright Star, Criminal Justice, Brideshead Revisited) locked in a highly competitive, sharp witted and passionate love triangle. The series, set behind the scenes of the BBC's newsroom in London in the mid '50s, is an edge-of-your-seat spy thriller. Produced by Kudos (Life on Mars, Spooks, Law and Order U.K.), it is distributed by Shine International. It's a Kudos Film and Television/BBC AMERICA co-production for the BBC. The executive producers are Jane Featherstone, Derek Wax and Abi Morgan for Kudos Film and Television and Lucy Richer for the BBC. The Hour premieres Wednesday, August 17, 10:00p.m. ET/PT.

Golden Globe nominee Idris Elba is back in the previously announced, mini-series sequel Luther. EIba (Thor, The Wire) stars as John Luther, the near-genius detective struggling to cope with his own demons, in two distinctive, thrilling crime stories. Devastated by the brutal murder of his wife, John Luther returns to policing in a different world. His old unit has gone and he's working in the newly created Serious and Serial Unit, headed by former police complaints officer Martin Schenk (Dermot Crowley, Babel, Bleak House). Luther quickly gathers together his team, rescuing his old partner Detective Justin Ripley (Warren Brown, Occupation, Shameless) from uniform. It's not long before they're dealing with their first case. A masked man wanders the streets of London, carrying out ritualistic murders in historic locations, working his way up to one final masterpiece. It's written by Neil Cross, Philippa Giles is executive producer and it's a BBC and BBC AMERICA co-production. Luther premieres Wednesday, October 5, 10:00p.m. ET/PT.

Announced today, Whitechapel is a six-part U.S. premiere crime drama set in modern day East London where the police force is faced with the brutal and bloody history of their streets - from echoes of the 19th century and Jack the Ripper to the infamous '60s crime twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray. As the murder rate rises and there are no clues, Chandler and Miles realize the modern day killers are copying infamous crimes of the past. Can the detectives do what their fellow officers failed to do and catch the murderers? It stars Rupert Penry-Jones (Spooks, Persuasion) as Detective Inspector Chandler, Phil Davis (Bleak House, Vera Drake, Ashes to Ashes) as Detective Sergeant Miles and Steve Pemberton (The League of Gentlemen) as Edward Buchan. It's written by Ben Court and Caroline Ip, Sally Woodward Gentle is executive producer and it's a Carnival Films production for ITV. Whitechapel premieres Wednesday, November 2, 10:00p.m. ET/PT.

BBC AMERICA delivers U.S. audiences high-quality, innovative and intelligent programming. Established in 1998, it has been the launch pad for talent embraced by American mainstream pop culture, including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, Graham Norton, and successful programming formats including ground-breaking non-scripted television like Top Gear and top-rated science-fiction like Doctor Who. Owned by BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, BBC AMERICA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including an Emmy, four Golden Globes and ten Peabody Awards. The channel attracts one of cable's most affluent and educated audiences and is available on digital cable and satellite TV in more than 68 million homes. It broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, with content available On Demand across all major digital platforms. Online, www.bbcamerica.com is the place to go to dig deeper into pop culture with a British twist.





  [may 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· HOUR (BBC AMERICA)
· LUTHER (BBC AMERICA)
· WHITECHAPEL (BBC AMERICA)





[08/06/25 - 11:03 AM]
All-New Season of "Ghost Adventures: House Calls" Premieres Wednesday, August 20 at 10PM ET/PT on Discovery
Overwhelmed by invasive, terrifying and unrelenting spirit activity that continues to escalate with no end in sight, distraught homeowners are desperate for the team's help.

[08/06/25 - 10:02 AM]
FOX Enlists a New Group of All-Star Celebrity Recruits for the Fourth Season of "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test"
The fourth season of FOX's ultimate celebrity social experiment premieres Thursday, September 25.

[08/06/25 - 09:02 AM]
Video: Paramount+ Debuts Official Teaser and Key Art for "Tulsa King" Starring Oscar Nominee Sylvester Stallone
The third season of the hit original series will premiere on Sunday, September 21.

[08/06/25 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "The Wrong Paris" - Miranda Cosgrove and Pierson Fode - Official Trailer - Netflix
Dawn thinks she's joining a dating show in Paris, France, only to land in Paris, Texas. She has an exit plan - until sparks fly with the cowboy bachelor.

[08/06/25 - 07:13 AM]
Joanna Gaines Invites Viewers Into Her Kitchen, with "Magnolia Table: At the Farm"
For the first time, fans old and new will get episodes concurrently on Magnolia Network and Food Network, as well as streaming on HBO Max the same day.

[08/06/25 - 07:03 AM]
Video: Tubi Debuts Trailer for New Naomi Osaka Documentary, "Naomi Osaka: The Second Set" Premiering Exclusively on Tubi Sunday, August 24
The documentary film will deliver an intimate look into the life of Osaka as she navigates balancing her career with first-time motherhood and is described as a love letter to her daughter, Shai.

[08/06/25 - 07:00 AM]
Tamsin Greig and Rish Shah Join Ella Purnell as Filming Commences on the Second Season of Darkly Comic Sky and Starz Original Thriller "Sweetpea"
Killer wallflower Rhiannon Lewis is back in Season 2 of the iconically brazen and darkly comic thriller.

[08/06/25 - 06:01 AM]
Jelly Roll, Jonas Brothers, Cece Winans, Dan + Shay, and More Unite in Nashville for Stand Up to Cancer's Fundraising Special
The special will also include pre-taped segments featuring Kevin Bacon, Jamie Foxx, Tim McGraw, Zoe SaldaƱa, Keith Urban, and Reese Witherspoon.

[08/06/25 - 03:31 AM]
ESPN and the NFL Reach New Agreements to Extend NFL Draft Rights and Add NFL Content and Features to ESPN's Upcoming Direct-to-Consumer Service
Beginning with the 2026 NFL Draft, Disney+ and Hulu will also stream ESPN, ABC, and ESPN Deportes' trio of Draft presentations.

[08/06/25 - 03:16 AM]
ESPN's Direct-to-Consumer Service and Enhanced App Launching August 21
ESPN DTC will offer two plans, including an unlimited plan for $29.99/month that gives fans access to all of ESPN's linear networks.

[08/06/25 - 03:01 AM]
ESPN, WWE Reach Landmark Rights Agreement as ESPN Platforms Become Exclusive U.S. Domestic Home of All WWE Premium Live Events, Including WrestleMania, Starting in 2026
The ESPN DTC service will stream all WWE PLEs annually, in their entirety, with select simulcasting on ESPN linear platforms.

[08/06/25 - 01:02 AM]
Video: HBO Max Releases Official Trailer for the Max Original Documentary Series "Most Wanted: Teen Hacker"
The four-episode series, debuting Friday, September 5 on HBO Max, tells the unbelievable true story of a boy once named by the FBI as one of the most dangerous hackers in the world.

[08/05/25 - 05:01 PM]
ESPN to Acquire NFL Network and Other Media Assets from the NFL in Exchange for a 10% Equity Stake in ESPN
In addition to the sale of NFL Network, the NFL and ESPN are also entering into a second non-binding agreement, under which the NFL will license to ESPN certain NFL content and other intellectual property to be used by NFL Network and other assets.

[08/05/25 - 01:01 PM]
Molly Shannon Joins Will Ferrell in Netflix's "Untitled Will Ferrell Golf Series"
The series stars Will Ferrell, in his first TV comedy series, as a fictional golf legend.

[08/05/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of July 28: "Happy Gilmore 2" Continues to Swing Big at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The Yosemite National Park-set thriller "Untamed" maintained the No. 1 spot on the English TV List for a third week with another 12.2 million views added to its accumulated 59.6 million total.