Category: 5. Entertainment

SPY SAGA

The U.K.’s ITV and Mammoth Screen have commenced production on “Betrayal,” a four-part espionage thriller exploring the psychological toll of modern intelligence work. BAFTA and Emmy-nominated director Julian Jarrold (“A Very Royal Scandal,” “This England”) helms the project, currently filming in Manchester and Liverpool.

Shaun Evans (“Endeavour,” “Vigil”) stars as John Hughes, an MI5 operative struggling with contemporary intelligence demands while his personal life crumbles. Olivier Award winner Romola Garai plays his partner Claire, a GP whose trust erodes under the strain of his secretive profession.

The ensemble includes Zahra Ahmadi, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Gamba Cole, and Omid Djalili, alongside television newcomers. Award-winning playwright David Eldridge penned the series. Eldridge has upcoming adaptations including John le Carré’s “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” at Soho Place.

Produced by Irma Inniss (“Mr Loverman”), the drama follows Hughes’ investigation of a British-Iranian informant that turns deadly, triggering scrutiny from superiors. Executive producers include Mammoth’s Damien Timmer and Shaun Evans himself. “Betrayal” premieres on ITV1 and ITVX in 2026, with ITV Studios handling international distribution.

***

Meanwhile, ITV Studios and Sri Lanka’s Sirasa TV have strengthened their partnership with renewed “Voice” franchise deals and the first-ever Asian commission of physical game show “Catchpoint.” Sirasa TV will produce third and fourth seasons of “The Voice Sri Lanka” and “The Voice Teens” respectively, airing this year. The format has become a cultural phenomenon since 2019, consistently delivering strong ratings.

“Sirasa Catchpoint” launches mid-July 2025, marking the show’s Asian debut. The U.K. version attracted 3 million viewers and 20.2% share on BBC One. The format combines quiz questions with physical action as contestants position themselves to catch falling balls for cash prizes. “The expansion of our partnership with Sirasa TV is a testament to the strength and versatility of our formats,” said Augustus Dulgaro, executive VP Asia Pacific at ITV Studios.

REALITY REVIVAL

Disney+ has commissioned a trio of U.K. unscripted series including a contemporary reimagining of dating format “Blind Date.” The 10×45′ series, executive produced by Matthew Worthy and Kieran Doherty for Stellify Media and Graham Stuart for SO TV, features contestants choosing from hidden suitors behind the legendary wall with new format twists.

The slate includes “The Rooneys” (10×40′), following Coleen and Wayne Rooney‘s family life as she pursues entrepreneurial ventures while he handles school runs. Lorton Entertainment and Blast Films produce the observational series.

“Jamie and Sophie: Raising Chelsea” tracks “Made in Chelsea” alumni Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo navigating impending parenthood. Dorothy St Pictures produces in association with Jampot Productions. Sean Doyle, Executive Director Unscripted, commissioned all three series focusing on “female-skewed factual” programming.

STAGE SWEETHEARTS

The new London West End stage musical “50 First Dates” has announced its full cast for The Other Palace run from Sept. 14-Nov. 16. Georgina Castle (“Mean Girls”) stars as Lucy Whitmore, an artist with short-term memory loss, opposite Josh St. Clair (“Ghost”) as commitment-phobe Henry Roth in roles originated by Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in the 2004 film.

The ensemble includes Georgia Arron (“Mean Girls”) as Sharon, John Marquez (“The Birthday Party”) as Marlin Whitmore, and Ricky Rojas (“Moulin Rouge!”) as Marco, among others. Multi-Tony winner Casey Nicholaw (“Mean Girls,” “The Book of Mormon”) directs the adaptation by David Rossmer and Steve Rosen (“The Other Josh Cohen”), featuring original songs exploring love and second chances. ATG Productions, Bad Robot Live, and Gavin Kalin Productions produce the romantic comedy about a man falling for a woman who forgets him nightly.

CHAT CHAMPIONS

Screen Players Film Club launches today on major podcast platforms, bringing film industry creatives into intimate conversation about beloved movies. Created by The Script Factory in partnership with Soho Square Studios and Olympic Studios, the PODSSS production features host Charlotte Bogard Macleod interviewing acclaimed talents like Sam Taylor-Johnson and Simon Beaufoy.

Most episodes record live at The Cinema in Selfridges before movie-loving audiences. Season One’s five episodes explore behind-the-scenes stories from “Nowhere Boy,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Conclave,” “Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love,” and “Drive.” Bastille’s Dan Smith composed the jingle and appears in episode four discussing his documentary-inspired tribute single “Leonard and Marianne.” The weekly series aims to offer insights into filmmaking processes from initial concept to screen realization.

 

Wookie, producer

People say Battle reminds them of some really good years for Britain as a country. We were entering a new millennium, everyone was running their own business, making money and the underground record industry was thriving. I wanted to do a UK garage version of Southern Freeez, by the 80s UK funk band Freeez. Initially, Battle was going to be another instrumental, and then Lain, the singer, came in the room and goes: “Let me put something on this.” I was like: “I’m not sure it’s really a vocal song.” But Lain stacked the vocals, and someone compared it to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, with all the harmonies.

At the time, some people believed that I had copied a dubplate by [UK garage figure] DJ EZ. It is similar – his bassline does something like that. But I know I didn’t copy him, because I didn’t go out that much! So I’d never really heard EZ at that stage.

I didn’t know Battle was going to be as big as it was or have the impact it did – it was just another tune. Then it started to float around: a few DJs had it, the A&R people. Ears started to prick up. I think we added a level of sophistication to garage, even though people like MJ Cole and TJ Cases were already doing that. When we were trying to get Battle on the radio, one station said it was too intelligent for their listeners and they wouldn’t play it.

Battle eventually reached No 10 in August 2000. Louise Redknapp got the No 9 spot by 2,000 copies. It allowed me to appear on a TV show that I had watched my whole life as I was growing up: Top of the Pops.

A lot of people say: “Oh, garage is on the comeback.” But for me, it has been for the last 13 years. I started DJing in 2012 and every year I’m working. It’s been well received by a wider audience ever since, younger and younger.

Lain, singer

Jason Chue, AKA Wookie, was knocking about in jungle, drum’n’bass, trying to siphon off that whole energy and then putting songs to it. I remember him saying about Battle: “I’ve done something strange with the intro.” I was like: “No, just play it.” He was almost apologising for it – but it was like a godsend. That intro had such an urgency. It felt like it was piercing your soul. I said: “Give me a minute.” Then I walked out and I don’t even know if it was half an hour, but I came back and I had written all of the vocal. That’s divine. For the song title we wanted one word. There are a lot of three-word titles, but one word is strong. Whether it’s bringing up three kids on your own, or addiction, everyone’s battling through something, every day.

People call Battle a gospel song. Back then I was doing a lot of regular R&B but I really wanted to do something that involved my faith. When Jazzie B [founder of Soul II Soul and mentor to Wookie] called me about working with Jason, I thought he was going to say: “No, we don’t want that.” But he said: “Just go for it.” We had all these record label bosses trying to sign Battle – one guy had a Maserati and he blew out his speakers playing it. Months later he said: “I didn’t realise I was blowing out my speakers to a gospel tune.”

I first realised Battle was going to be big at [seminal UK garage night] Twice As Nice. Jason said: “You should come down to Twice As Nice because I think this tune’s going.” I was a bit worried because I don’t really go out. So they played the tune and everyone started going: “Booooo!” OK, that’s not a good sign. But Jason was like, “No, no, no – that means they really like it!”

Battle has endured because of what it means to the person who hears it. Back then, we would do PAs and people would say: “That song – my mum was going through cancer and that helped me.” And, 25 years later, someone said: “While I was in prison, that song got me through.” That’s everyone. That’s anyone. I remember Jason sending me a picture of someone who tattooed the middle eight of Battle on her forearm: “I can always rely / On my faith to get by.”

The drag artist known as The Vivienne died from misadventure after suffering cardio-respiratory arrest after taking ketamine, a coroner has ruled.

James Lee Williams, 32, was found in the bath by a neighbour at their home in Chorlton-by-Backford, Cheshire, on Sunday 5 January. The last time anyone had contact with them was two days earlier, a court was told, when a friend said it was evident the entertainer had taken ketamine.

Five drug snap bags were found in The Vivienne’s property, including in a bedroom drawer and a bin in the bathroom, an inquest at Warrington coroner’s court heard on Monday.

Although the performer had struggled with drugs in the past, Williams’s family told the hearing they should not be remembered for their use of ketamine and that drugs did not define the person they were.

Friends and family had no worries about Williams’s mental health, the hearing was told, and the performer was looking forward to future roles on TV and in the theatre, although did “occasionally” take ketamine.

Jacqueline Devonish, the senior coroner for Cheshire, concluding the inquest, said: “The medical cause of death is cardio-respiratory arrest due to ketamine use. The conclusion, on the balance of probabilities, is that I’m satisfied that James Williams’s death was a misadventure, he took ketamine but he did not intend to take his own life.”

A report from a toxicologist, Dr Kerry Taylor, said tests showed a relatively high level of ketamine, but not at a level normally causing death. However, the drug can cause drowsiness, seizures and heart stimulation, and the concentration may have dissipated over time.

Williams was the winner of the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and years later spoke about having been a drug addict. In April, their sister, Chanel Williams, questioned whether the “stigma” surrounding drug use had prevented them from seeking help.

She told the BBC Two current affairs programme Newsnight that The Vivienne did not discuss their relapse, including a hospital stay, to “protect” their family, after a “really long period of sobriety”.

“It’s hard for me because I think, if that stigma wasn’t there, would my brother have sought the help he needed?” she said. “To think that, if we’d known, or if he’d have felt able to talk and really reach out for the help that was needed, the outcome could’ve been different. That’s why we’ve shared James’s story.”

Williams’s family have said they would work with the drug charity Adferiad on future campaigns. Their sister has called for ketamine to become a class A drug rather than class B, because people “think it’s less harmful than other drugs”.

The government is seeking expert advice as the illegal use of ketamine has surged to record levels.

A stuntman drove a replica of the “Dukes of Hazzard” General Lee car over a fountain in Somerset, Kentucky, over the weekend, in a feat inspired by the series.

The stunt took place at the Somernites Cruise, a classic car event, in downtown Somerset on Saturday, June 28. According to local outlets the Lexington Herald Leader and the Commonwealth Journal, 35,000 people were in attendance to watch stunt jumper Raymond Kohn complete his 30th “Dukes of Hazzard” jump over a fountain in the city’s square.

“It was so popular the first time, people asked me to come back and it became more popular – and I became the go-to-guy to jump the General Lee,” Kohn told the Herald Leader. Kohn later told the outlet he had recently undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor, adding he asked the surgeon, “Will I be able to jump after the surgery?”

“Dukes” stars John Schneider, who played Bo Duke, and Byron Cherry, who played Coy Duke, were also in attendance at the event.

‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ cast reunites, Daisy Duke star Catherine Bach hints at potential reboot

“The Dukes of Hazzard,” which ran for 146 episodes across seven seasons, followed the “good ol’” Duke boys of rural Hazzard County, Georgia. Not without its controversies, reruns of the show are few and far between due to its Confederate flag imagery. TV Land dumped the show several years ago, and Warner Bros., which produced the series, halted production of toy replicas of the General Lee, an orange 1969 Dodge Charger stock car driven by rambunctious Southern cousins Luke and Bo. The car famously features an image of the Confederate flag on its roof.

“Sinners,” “Conclave,” “The Day of the Jackal” and “The Studio” are among the movies and television shows nominated for the Location Managers Guild International awards.

The 12th annual LMGI Awards are set for Aug. 23 and will be presented at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, Calif.

The LMGI Awards honor the outstanding and creative visual contributions by location professionals in film, television, commercials and film commissions from around the globe.

The LMGI Awards welcomed a record number of submissions from around the world, each uniquely demonstrating how locations enrich the art of filmmaking.

Check out the nominations below.

OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A CONTEMPORARY FEATURE FILM

“Anora” (United International Pictures, Neon, Le Pacte, UIP-Dunfilm)

“A Real Pain” (Searchlight Pictures)

“Conclave” (Focus Features)

“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” (Paramount Pictures)

“Twisters” (Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures)

OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A PERIOD FEATURE FILM

“The Apprentice” (Briarcliff Entertainment)

“A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures)

“Fly Me to the Moon” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

“Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures)

“I’m Still Here” (Sony Pictures Classics, StudioCanal)

“Sinners” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A CONTEMPORARY TELEVISION SERIES

“The Day of the Jackal” (NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution)

“Landman” (Paramount +)

“The Last of Us” – Season 2 (HBO Max)

“Mobland” (Paramount +)

“Slow Horses” – Season 4 (Apple TV+)

“The Studio” (Apple TV+)

OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A PERIOD TELEVISION SERIES

“1923” – Season 2 (Paramount+)

“Dark Winds” – Season 3 (AMC)

“Godfather of Harlem” – Season 4 (MGM+)

“Hotel Portofino” – Season 3(PBS, Beta Film Group)

“One Hundred Years of Solitude” (Netflix)

“The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” (AMC)

OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A TELEVISION ANTHOLOGY, MOW OR LIMITED SERIES

“Adolescence” (Netflix)

“American Primeval” (Netflix)

“Dope Thief” (Apple TV+)

“Lockerbie: A Search for Truth” (NBCUniversal)

“The Penguin” (HBO Max)

“The White Lotus” – Season 3 (HBO Max)

OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A COMMERCIAL

Army National Guard: “Uncommon is Calling” (Government PSA)

Diablo IV: “Vessel of Hatred” (Blizzard Entertainment)

Lilo & Stitch: “The Super Bowl Commercial” (Disney)

Orient Express: “Artisan of Travel” (Belmond)

Stella Artois: “David & Dave” (AB InBev)

OUTSTANDING FILM COMMISSION

British Columbia Film Commission/Creative BC – “The Last of Us” – Season 2 (HBO Max)

City of Toronto Film Office – “The Handmaid’s Tale” – Season 6 (Hulu)

Egypt Film Commission – “Fountain of Youth” (Apple TV+)

Film New Orleans – “Sinners” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Montana Film Office – “1923” – Season 2 (Paramount+)

New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission – “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures)

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

We tried to turn up the difficulty for last week’s Friday chart quiz by drawing the charts in felt-tip, but it turns out we’re just too good at art.

Answers below. Muse follows each original work:

Eleven correct entries! Come on!

Thanks to the several contestants who also broke out the Sharpies. The wheel can’t be weighted for aesthetic merit, however, and it chose . . .

… Ed Roe, senior portfolio manager at Ptarmigan Capital in London.

To him, an FTAV FCQ winner’s T-shirt. To you, a reminder that there’s another quiz this Friday. And to us, a Turner Prize nomination, probably.

Finding the perfect summer dress is no mean feat. Something stylish which feels on trend as well timeless, so you can wear it year after year. Something loose and flowing for the hot, sticky days which will keep you looking glamorous even when you feel like you may genuinely be melting. Well, it looks like Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh has solved the dilemma, as she stepped out in a beautiful Zimmerman wrap dress. The best part? It’s now on sale.

For a visit to the Central School of Ballet last week (24 June), the Duchess wore an aqua green maxi dress with billowing sleeves by Zimmermann, featuring a watercolour style floral print. The dress is currently on sale across a range of sizes in various retailers, with the biggest discount (at time of writing) at Net-a-Porter, with 40% off, which would be an investment purchase.

You can also find it on sale in further sizes at Selfridges and there’s a similar version of the dress in lilac, which is also on sale:

Everley Plunge Midi Dress

For timeless, billowing summer dresses at a more accessible price tag, look to brands like Nobody’s Child, ME+EM, Boden and Aspiga (another favourite brand of Sophie’s). Here are a few of our top picks available online now:

Blue Watercolour Floral Anya Midi Dress, £150

Orange Floral Print Maxi Dress, £150

Billie Organic Cotton Block Print Dress, £195

During Sophie’s visit to the ballet school she toured The Countess of Wessex Studios – named in her honour, after her former title “in recognition of her longstanding patronage and support of the school” according to the royal family.

While she was there, Sophie was able to have a sneak peek of the rehearsals for an upcoming summer showcase as well as meet staff and students and receive a tour. Despite a busy summer of royal engagements, the Duchess was able to celebrate a personal milestone, during a day at Royal Ascot earlier this month.

Sophie and Prince Edward have now been married for 26 years, and spent their anniversary together at the races, which are an annual staple of the royal social calendar.

Could all this really be for one TV show?

On a humid, hazy night in Seoul over the weekend, Netflix staged its most extravagant fan event to date — a full-scale victory parade celebrating the final season of Squid Game, the candy-colored death drama that remains the company’s most-watched title of all time.

Stretching nearly a mile, the spectacle featured over 450 performers, airborne displays of Squid Game iconography, phalanxes of pink-suited guards, a brass marching band blasting the show’s eerie anthems, and a 25-foot-tall Young-hee doll with laser beams shooting from its eyes. The procession began at the city’s historic Gwanghwamun Gate and marched into Seoul Plaza, culminating in a massive fan celebration starring Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk and 25 of the most popular cast members from across the show’s three seasons. Netflix says the event took nearly a year to organize in collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and that the crowd surrounding the parade swelled to as many as 38,000.

On the ground in Seoul, the moment felt so improbably outsized that it was hard not to impute broader narratives to the spectacle. Perhaps this was more about Netflix finally throwing itself a victory parade for its decisive triumph over the legacy studios in what was once cringingly referred to as “the streaming wars”? Or, thinking “local first” — as Netflix always does with its international content strategy — maybe the Netflix logo beaming over Seoul City Hall was just the natural end point of a U.S. tech giant’s full-scale takeover of the Korean entertainment industry, coyly disguised as an act of benevolence? At other moments in the evening — which included immersive video projections, star Q&As, dance sequences, an a cappella rendition of the Squid Game theme, and the crowd constantly going nuts — the celebration had the air of a raucous music festival. One where every band and DJ was Squid Game.

However jaundiced the perspective of the sole trade reporter in attendance, though, the vibe among the stars on stage and the legions of fans who turned out for the party was purely joyous.

“This has been a five- or six-year journey for me and I have so many fond memories,” Lee Jung-jae, who plays Squid Game protagonist Seong Gi-hun, aka Player 456, said from the stage. “I’ve been doing promotion and interviews in many countries [these past weeks], but watching the parade just now, it finally started sinking in that this is the finale and it’s all over,” he said. “I’m very grateful.”

Actor Lee Byung-hun, who plays Squid Game‘s mysterious villain, the Front Man, said he initially signed up for the project believing he would just be shooting a brief cameo to conclude the show’s first season. But after that season became a global phenomenon, he realized his journey was just beginning.

“When seasons two and three were greenlit, I realized I had to dig deep and understand the role — and that’s when I fell in love with this character,” Lee said. And although he’s been one of Korea’s biggest stars for over two decades, Lee said the Netflix hit held special significance in his long career. “Squid Game made history for Korean entertainment and being part of that has been an incredible honor,” he added.

Content creator Brian Skabeche traveled from Mexico to South Korea for Saturday’s event. Once in Seoul, he participated in a contest of Squid Game-themed challenges with over 100 international influencers and won the honor of being among 20 to walk in the parade in Young-hee’s shadow.

“There are people who came here from all over the world and it’s been a fantastic experience,” Skabeche told THR early in the night. “One guy told me he’s here because he likes the anti-capitalist message of Squid Game; other people are just super fans.”

Skabeche said he had never experienced Korean content before Squid Game, but he fell in love with the show while bingeing it with his sister, after she suffered an accident and was stuck at home recovering. “We both got hooked and it became this thing we bonded over,” he said. Later, Skabeche created a YouTube video with his influencer friends of their dogs participating in a mock version of Squid Game. The video was a hit and gave his channel a significant boost.

“It connected me with K-content fans, who I learned are a really great audience,” he said.

The scale of Squid Game’s success is indeed unprecedented. While Korean cinema had been building a cult following since the early 2000s, and K-pop exploded into global view as far back as 2012 with Psy’s satirical smash hit “Gangnam Style,” Squid Game astonished the world when its first season debuted on Netflix in September 2021. The show’s viewership started modestly, then snowballed into an organic regional hit before exploding into a bona fide global phenomenon. Within weeks, it became Netflix’s most-watched show of all time — a title it has never ceded. (Squid Game later also won a pair of Emmys for its creator and star — a first for the Korean industry.)

The show’s creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, has spoken movingly of his mixed feelings about the way his brutal satire of late-stage capitalism’s rapacious inhumanity has resonated so deeply with viewers around the world.

Netflix, naturally, has only accelerated its investment in Korean entertainment, carving out a decisive leadership position in the country’s premium online video sector ahead of Korea’s top local players. In 2023, the company pledged to invest $2.5 billion in Korean content over four years — more than double the total of all its prior K-content investments. The power of Netflix’s global business model was another undercurrent to Saturday’s Squid Game extravaganza — the kind of spectacle and expenditure that could only make sense for a platform with the potential to leverage localized titles across an international subscriber base stretching into the hundreds of millions (or, several times more than South Korea’s total population of 51 million).

The runaway success of Squid Game’s first season heaped enormous pressure on Hwang, who famously writes and directs every episode singlehandedly. But season two — which took a full three years to make its way back onto global screens — nonetheless delivered, setting a new Netflix record for the most views in a title’s premiere week, and eventually rising to become the platform’s third most-popular show of all time. Squid Game’s fate returned to the audience last Friday, when season three launched worldwide.

“It was a really long journey, and I put my heart and soul into this work,” Hwang told the crowd in Seoul on Saturday. “Now that it’s all over, I have a bittersweet feeling — but I also feel a lot of relief.”

Not long after the director and his cast made their exit, the stage’s huge video monitors flashed a “Game Over” message above the crowd. Whether Squid Game — Netflix’s most valuable piece of IP — is truly over remains to be seen. A mysterious cameo from Cate Blanchett near the end of the finale — along with widespread industry chatter about a potential deal for David Fincher to direct a spinoff — would certainly suggest otherwise. For now, Netflix is staying quiet, basking instead in what one imagines as the pink glow of Season 3’s soaring viewership stats.