FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES (CBC)

From Shaftesbury, the company behind Murdoch Mysteries, comes Frankie Drake Mysteries, a new 11-episode Canadian detective drama which premieres today.

Starring Lauren Lee Smith and Chantel Riley and set in 1920s Toronto, the series is centered on Frankie Drake (Smith) and Trudy Clarke (Riley), the city’s only female private detectives.

Created by Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci, and produced for CBC by Shaftesbury (in association with CBC and UKTV), Frankie Drake Mysteries looked like a Canadian counterpart of Australian detective series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries right from the announcement of the project. Anyway, it will certainly please both fans of Phryne Fisher and Murdoch, two favourites of French pubcaster France 3's sunday night sleuth slot.

Will Frankie Drake Mysteries join Miss Fisher enquête and Les enquêtes de Murdoch on France 3 as "Frankie Drake enquête" or "Les enquêtes de Frankie Drake"? Frankie Drake Mysteries is distributed by Kew Media Group.

http://www.tv-eh.com/2017/08/31/rebecca-liddiard-sharron-matthews-and-emmanuel-kabongo-join-frankie-drake-mysteries/ 

[Update - November 7, 2017]  

Mother of Pearl, the series premiere, is stylish, expensive looking and competently packed comfort zone TV. Frankie Drake Mysteries could easily fill the void left by the end of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on global markets. The cast is talented but it's actually guest star Wendy Crewson who steals the episode.

RÜCKKEHR DER URZEITMONSTER

[21.20 - French Time] Primeval - Series Five, Episode One. Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig) has doubts about Matt (Ciarán McMenamin) and introduces Connor (Andrew-Lee Potts) to Project New Dawn and to his new assistant, April (Janice Byrne). Philip is not alone to be intrigued by Matt, as Abby (Hannah Spearitt) has doubts too. But a there's no time for questions as creatures from the underground decide to visit the city the same day Lester (Ben Miller) must tour the ARC with a lady from the Cabinet office for a possible Knighthood.

When ITV axed Primeval after its third series, a 2009 deal resurrected the sci-fi/adventure drama from Impossible Pictures for 13 new episodes filmed in Dublin and split into Series four and Five. German private channel ProSieben, historic co-producer, stayed aboard and UKTV's digital channel Watch entered as a first-time investor with a first run of the fifth series. And BBC America, which airs Primeval in the US, arrived as a co-producer of the show distributed by BBC Worldwide since its start.

In the United Kingdom, ITV1 aired the fourth series (actually a 7-episode block) from January to February 2011. And Series Five is aired by Watch since a couple of weeks and ahead of ITV. In Germany the two new "series" are aired in one block by ProSieben since April 11 and the channel aired the fifth series's premiere tonight.

A spectacular return written by Chris Lang and directed by Mark Everest. Philip plots to use anomalies for his mysterious project, New Dawn, managed in the Prospero Facility. Is Connor signing a pact with the devil as the industrialist may be behind a global disaster in the future? And who is really April Leonard, Connor's new lab aide? Time will tell but for now the young man has other preoccupations, huge worries of the mean kind. Fortunately Matt will share them with him.

The really impressive giant bugs look like they didn't eat only that guy right out an ad for Primeval's ITV1 sponsor, but also a wide part of the budget as the locations seem to shout cost control. Perfect series start with a truly riveting and scary episode whose welcome comic relief is provided by Ben Miller, as the script plays delightfully with James Lester's "knighthood".

PRIMEVAL BACK ON PROSIEBEN THIS SPRING

[18.57 - French Time] Quotenmeter.de reports that German private broadcaster ProSieben will air series four and five of Primeval from April.

The 13 new episodes of the sci-fi/adventure show from Impossible Pictures, split into "series four" and "series five", will be aired in one block by German private channel ProSieben starting April 11. ProSieben is a historic co-producer of Primeval.

In the United Kingdom, ITV1 aired the fourth series (actually a 7-episode block) from January to the beginning of this month. Series five must be aired by UKTV's digital channel Watch, new co-producing partner, ahead of ITV. In the US the show is aired by BBC America.

http://www.quotenmeter.de/cms/?p1=n&p2=47968&p3 (In German)
http://www.serienfans.tv/index.php?section=news&id=4455 (In German)

AS DEAD AS A DODO?

This weekend ITV1 aired the final episode of Primeval's fourth series, watched only by 3.596 million viewers (15.4%) from 7.30pm.

When ITV axed Primeval after its third series, an unexpected 2009 deal resurrected the sci-fi/adventure show from Impossible Pictures for 13 new episodes filmed in Dublin and split into series four and series five. German private channel ProSieben, historic co-producer, stayed aboard (the programme is very popular in Germany). UKTV's digital channel Watch entered as a first-time investor with a first run of the fifth series. And BBC America, which airs Primeval in the US, arrived as a co-producer of the show distributed by BBC Worldwide since its start.

Overall the 7-episode "series four", which started last month on ITV1, appeared to be a major improvement from the previous series. Some changes in the regular cast, Irish locations and an interesting story arc managed to keep the revived Primeval at least watchable (in spite some blatant defects) - when series three was only calamitous. But the ratings quickly dropped under the 4.4 million viewers of the premiere and remained under (1) except for episode five (2).

With such ratings and "series five" aired by Watch ahead of ITV, inevitably comes the question of ITV's position regarding an hypothetical sixth series. Keep in mind that the show is distributed, co-financed and co-aired by the BBC and is rather atypical in ITV1's drama lineup.

(1) http://www.atvtoday.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=774:low-ratings-for-primeval-season-finale&catid=2:cult-sci-fi&Itemid=5 + http://www.atvtoday.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=468:primeval-continues-to-struggle-in-the-ratings&catid=2:cult-sci-fi&Itemid=5
(2) http://www.atvtoday.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=646:primevals-ratings-rise-again-&catid=2:cult-sci-fi&Itemid=5

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/feb/07/match-of-the-day-tv-ratings

PRIMEVAL TOO?

[21.35 - French Time] Axed by ITV after its third series for financial motives Primeval was resurrected by an unexpected funding deal in september 2009, for 13 new episodes split into "series four" and "series five". ITV1 aired tonight the first episode of the revived show.

[Spoiler-Free review]

The new Primeval started filming in Ireland in March 2010 and the 13 episodes (series four is a 7-episode block) are co-produced by Impossible Pictures, German private channel Prosieben, Ingenious Broadcasting, UKTV's channel Watch and BBC America for ITV/BBC Worldwide. The show is produced in association with Irish film and TV producer Treasure Entertainment with the support of investment incentives for the Irish film industry provided by the Government of Ireland.

Primeval clearly sank with a third series affected by the departure of its star (Douglas Henshall as Nick Cutter), unfortunate cast changes, terrible stories, the total waste of the "mythology" and a poor cliffhanger ending. This fourth series practically starts from scratch with new locations, some new faces and a first episode introduced by a Ben Miller voice over. Miller is one of the remaining Primeval original cast members as James Lester, until now boss of the Anomaly Research Centre (ARC).

Andrew-Lee Potts (Connor Temple), Hannah Spearitt (Abby Maitland) and Ben Mansfield (Becker) are back too but Primeval has a new lead: Irish actor Ciarán McMenamin as Matt Anderson. The character is definitely a far better team leader replacement than Jason Flemyng as Danny Quinn in the previous series. Irish actress Ruth Kearney joins the cast as Jess Parker and should do wonders provided that her character doesn't ask the ARC field team to bow down before an Egyptian croco.

No stranger to popular genre television, the charismatic Alexander Siddig (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) brings his class as wealthy scientist and industrialist Philip Burton. Prospero, Burton's company, is involved with the Anomaly Research Centre in a public/private partnership - much for the annoyance of Lester. Time will tell if the charming but tough businessman reveals himself as a perfect corporate villain, but when Connor and Abby exit from a one-year Cretaceous trap they discover that their workplace is not the old ARC anymore.

And indeed it isn't. The Irish locations brings some fresh air and this series premiere shows a real potential. As long as it can be properly developed past this spectacular exposition episode written by Paul Mousley (with welcome touches of humour) and directed by Mark Everest. There's a revamped intro and nice incidental music by composer Stephen McKeon. Another interesting element is the mysterious Gideon, played by Anton Lesser, who has ties with Matt Anderson.

ITV1 will show Episode 2 tomorrow.

http://www.itv.com/drama/primeval/

See also:

http://stephenmckeon.com/
http://www.filmireland.net/2009/10/06/popular-itv-drama-%E2%80%98primeval%E2%80%99-to-move-filming-to-ireland/

ROBERT QUINN ON PRIMEVAL SERIES FOUR

[19.17 - French Time] IFTN (Irish Film & Television Network) has an interesting interview of Robert Quinn, the only Irish director involved with the new series of Primeval, filmed currently in Ireland .

Shooting of series four began on March 22nd and will continue until November 2010. Axed by ITV after series three for financial motives, Primeval was resurrected by an unexpected funding deal last september, for thirteen new episodes split into series four and series five. The new series are produced by Jim Bradley of Impossible Pictures and Rob Walpole for the Irish based Treasure Entertainment, with BBC America, ProSieben and UKTV as co-production partners.

Irish actor Ciarán McMenamin, Irish actress Ruth Kearney and Alexander Siddig (Star Trek Deep Space Nine, 24) join cast members from the previous series Hannah Spearritt, Andrew Lee-Potts, Ben Mansfield and Ben Miller. Laila Rouass will not return as she joined the cast of Spooks.

http://www.iftn.ie/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4283124&tpl=archnews&force=1
http://www.iftn.ie/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4282979&tpl=archnews&force=1

DINOTOPIA

[12.50 - French Time] Thanks to the ITV Press Centre we know a little more about the cast of Primeval Series four and five (actually 13 new episodes split in two).

As we thought, new cast member Ciarán McMenamin's Matt will be the new ARC field team leader. It's not specified if Jason Flemyng will find some time to appear as Danny Quinn in the new series, shot in Ireland since last month.

Ruth Kearney is Jess, who runs operations from the ARC Control Centre. The anomaly operation is now a public/private partnership, part-owned by the government, and partly by scientist Philip Burton (newcomer Alexander Siddig) after the sarcastic James Lester (Ben Miller) is disavowed.

Hannah Spearritt (Abby), Andrew Lee-Potts (Connor), and Ben Mansfield (Capitaine Becker) return.

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/pressreleases/programmepressreleases/primevalisback/default.html

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2010/03/waking-dead.html

WAKING THE DEAD

[17.53 - French Time] IFTN (Irish Film & Television Network), reports that production of the new series of Primeval is under way in Ireland since last week.

Axed by ITV after series three for financial motives, Primeval was resurrected by an unexpected funding deal last september, for 13 new episodes split into series four and series five. According to IFTN, the new series are produced by Jim Bradley of Impossible Pictures and Rob Walpole for the Irish based Treasure Entertainment, with BBC America, ProSieben and UKTV as co-production partners.

Primeval, distributed by BBC Worldwide, is a major hit on BBC America and is one of the leading brands of the Corporation's commercial arm. The show, released on DVD by the Beeb through 2 Entertain, is sold to over 45 countries including Australia, America, Singapore and South Korea. Ironically, the costly programme emerged in 2007 as a rival of BBC's Doctor Who.

Primeval is also very popular in Germany, an enthusiasm which has certainly been decisive in this resurrection, and private channel ProSieben is a historic co-producer. Series one was also co-produced by French private channel M6, which aired it (digital channel NRJI2 airs the show since series two).

The new series will feature the return of stars from the previous series including Hannah Spearritt, Andrew Lee Potts, Ben Miller and Ben Mansfield. Irish actors joining the cast include Ciarán McMenamin and Ruth Kearney, who play new characters Matt and Jess respectively. But the nature of their characters is not specified.

Could McMenamin be Jason Flemyng's replacement as the new lead? Flemyng (Danny Quinn) is very busy and series four picks up several months after the cliffhanger of series three, which saw characters Danny, Connor and Abby stranded in different time periods.

Primeval series four (seven episodes) will air on ITV1 from 2011 with series five continuing on UKTV’s channel, Watch - as UKTV enter as a first-time investor and gets a first-run of the last six episodes in the 13-episode batch.

http://www.iftn.ie/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4282953&tpl=archnewshome&force=1

TAGGART NEVER DIES

[9.50 - French Time] Broadcast reports that the long-running Scottish crime drama Taggart will finally continue in spite of the current pressure on drama budgets and past rocky relationships between STV and ITV.

The Scottish network will make a new 6 x 60-minute series and will air it exclusively in the autumn, before ITV1 gets the show in 2011. Digital cable and satellite network UKTV has also put money in it for the secondary broadcast rights, and its crime channel Alibi will air the series from 2013. The shooting of the latest series will begin in the spring (http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/broadcasters/itv-buries-hatchet-to-hang-on-to-taggart/5011022.article?referrer=RSS).

Created in 1983 by Scottish screenwriter, playwright and novelist Glenn Chandler, Taggart survived the death of its star Mark McManus (DCI Jim Taggart) in 1994 and went on with other DCIs. The show, sold in more than 40 countries, celebrated its 100th episode last Christmas (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a192911/taggart-actor-amazed-at-its-longevity.html).

This deal for a new series of Taggart recalls, on another scale, the multi-partnership which resurrected Primeval for two more seasons last fall and which also involves UKTV. ITV director of TV, channels and online Peter Fincham said about the resurrection of the costly sci-fi show: « I don’t think all drama will be funded this way, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of it. It’s a reality of a world in which it’s challenging for broadcasters to fully fund drama » (http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/commissioning/fincham-drama-deals-could-be-way-forward/5006271.article).

See also:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a203893/stv-itv-uktv-partner-for-new-taggart.html