Drama

British mystery series Broadchurch was one of the most critically and commercially successful British series of 2013 – earning rave reviews from virtually everyone, or so it seemed. So it’s not entirely surprising that a US television network is jumping on the bandwagon to remake the show for American audiences. There are an awful lot of American remakes of British television programs languishing in the dustbin of history, after all – for every The Office that finds its own voice and success, there are a dozen US versions of things like Skins, Life on Mars, Gavin and Stacey, The Inbetweeners, Prime Suspect and others that were abject failures.

Nevertheless, the story of the Broadchurch remake is an interesting one. FOX is working with Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall to put together the US version – which now looks set to be called Gracepoint – and has already tapped Doctor Who star David Tennant to reprise his role as DI Alec Hardy from the original British series. Now comes news that further casting decisions have been made about the series and, honestly, they sound pretty promising.

Read on for more.

Series 1 of the lavish department store drama The Paradise just wrapped up this week on Masterpiece Classic, so it will probably come as good news to fans of the show that the story’s not over yet.

The department store drama has already been renewed for a second season, thanks to strong ratings on BBC One last year. The drama, which averaged nearly six million viewers per episode in the UK, will return with eight new episodes in Series 2 (in fact, the new season is currently airing in Great Britain as we speak – er, type.)

As those who have watched the Series 1 finale know, Series 2 is already shaping up to be quite, um…dramatic. Read on for details -and just so you know, there be spoilers ahead if you haven’t finished Series 1 yet!

Well, there’s nothing like setting the bar high out of the gate, right?

Sherlock composer Michael Price, along with his partner in crime David Arnold have been putting the finishing touches on the music for the drama’s highly-anticipated third season, and they’re promising fans an intense ride – at least musically, if nothing else.

Via Twitter, Price has stated that Series 3 will not only contain more strings than ever before, but also more “epicness” and more tears along with it. Probably best to start preparing yourselves now.

Period drama Mr. Selfridge will return next year, and ITV has helpfully given us a first look at Series 2 with a brand new trailer that should do a lot more than pique your interest in where the story is going.

The drama’s second season will consist of ten episodes, and the story will be set in 1914, during the onset of the First World War. Yes, this does mean that we’re jumping ahead five years from where we left things in the Series 1 finale, so possibly you should start preparing yourself now for what are surely going to be a few dropped plot threads.

However, if this clip is anything to go by, there’s still going to be plenty of drama going on, even five years into the future. The jazzy, dramatic promo clues us in to the series’ time jump, shows off the new looks of all our favorite characters, and gives us a quick glimpse of some new faces from around the store the store, all set to a Patented Selfridge Pep Talk voiceover. (It might be a bit odd, but I think I’ve actually kind of missed that.)

Watch for yourselves below:

We’ve seen some amazing photos from the upcoming Doctor Who origin story An Adventure in Space and Time. We’ve seen cool retro-style posters. We’ve read descriptions. (Heck, if you follow the British press, you’ve maybe even seen some reviews from folks lucky enough to attend a screening at the BFI this week). But we’d yet to see any actual footage from the highly anticipated film. Until now.

An Adventure in Space and Time tells the story behind Doctor Who, focusing on the people responsible for creating the series in the first place, as well as the actor who first brought the Doctor to life. Written by Sherlock co-creator and frequent Who writer Mark Gatiss, the drama stars David Bradley as First Doctor William Hartnell, alongside Jessica Raines as original Who producer Verity Lambert, Sacha Dhawan as director Warris Hussein and Brian Cox as BBC Head of Drama Sydney Newman.

It also looks fantastic. Watch the first trailer below:

The BBC has released a trailer for Series 2 of the crowd-pleasing romantic drama Last Tango in Halifax. The show was renewed for a second season at the end of 2012 after its successful UK broadcast and went on to win a BAFTA for Best Drama Series

The series stars Sir Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid as a couple who find a second chance at love with one another, sixty years after they first met. Series 1 concluded with a cliffhanger on several fronts, as Alan suffered a serious heart attack, leaving the couple’s nuptials in doubt and fans questioning whether Celia might have to go through losing the love of her life – again.

Series 2 will also be comprised of six episodes, and will pick up right where we left off, with Alan regaining consciousness following his heart attack, much to Celia’s relief and delight. She promises to never fall out with him again and the duo decide to get married immediately, because life’s too short. We will also see the struggles of Celia’s daughter Caroline (played by Sarah Lancashire) as she tries to deal with her newfound sexuality, while Alan’s daughter Gillian (played by Nicola Walker) will find herself in a disastrous love triangle after cheating on her partner Robbie with Caroline’s husband.

Watch the BBC trailer for Series 2 below and let us know what you think in the comments!

Megahit costume drama Downton Abbey just wrapped its fourth season in the UK, and we’ve still got several weeks to go before we get the new episodes arrive in America, but there’s still some good news to be had for fans of the Crawley clan.

ITV has officially confirmed that Downton Abbey will return for a fifth season. Rejoice, fans everywhere! This news isn’t incredibly surprising, given that Downton is a monster ratings hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and its fourth season just averaged around 11.8 million viewers per episode in Great Britain. The delay between UK and US airings hasn’t impacted ratings for the show here in America, as it remains PBS’s most-watched drama to date. Read on for more details.

Now that we're inching ever closer to the highly anticipated third season of Sherlock, it's finally time for some Series 3 goodies to start being released. Which, for fans who've spent the better part of two years in the desert, is basically better than Christmas (I myself fall firmly in this category).

So, rejoice Sherlockians! While there's still no official UK airdate to go with the show's January 19 US premiere date, the BBC has released the first official photo from Series 3, along with a press release to prove this whole thing isn't some kind of shared fever dream we're all having.

Get your first look at stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in action (sort of) below and start preparing yourself and your feelings for the utter devastation and emotional angst that’s basically lying in wait for us all. If this picture is anything to go by, tonally. Just guessing.

We’re now just about two months away from the US premiere of megahit costume drama Downton Abbey and it seems fair to say that most American fans are beyond excited to see what’s in store for our favorite characters after the dramatic (and traumatic) events of Series 3.

As we inch closer to the Series 4 premiere date of January 5, 2014, more and more goodies pertaining to the new season are starting to appear courtesy of the lovely folks at PBS and Masterpiece, to help us get through the torturous final few weeks of waiting (and ease our annoyance at our British friends who are watching it right now!)

A brand new Downton teaser trailer has been released, complete with some new footage that isn’t part of the initial Series 4 trailer that was released back at the beginning of October. In this – sadly, quite brief – clip, you’ll get a look at many of your favorite returning characters, as well as some new faces, who primarily seem to be of the “potential love interest” variety.

Watch for yourselves below.

Lots of good news for fans of period drama Call the Midwife – not only do we have the holiday special to look forward to this December (airing just a few short days after the UK broadcast!), we also have an official premiere date for the show’s third series. We’ll all officially head back to Nonnatus House beginning Sunday, March 30, 2014.

It’s okay if you need to take a minute to let the excitement out.