Martin Freeman

As the entertainment world struggles to figure out what the new normal is during the coronavirus pandemic, the BBC greenlights a remake of Alan Bennett’s famous series of Talking Heads monologues with an all-star cast that includes Jodie Comer, Imelda Staunton, Martin Freeman and more. 

It’s been over a year since Sherlock Season 4 concluded. Since that time, there’s been no official word on the possibility of a fifth season, but that hasn’t stopped literally everyone from speculating, or asking the cast and producers about it every time they get the chance.

Now, at this point it seems kind of obvious that if a fifth season of Sherlock happens, it won’t be any time soon. Not only does the end of Season 4 work as potential series finale should the folks in charge decide to take a break that lasts longer than the series’ usual hiatus periods, but everyone’s schedules so incredibly packed it’s hard to know when they’d even film.

Stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are involved with multiple other projects. They’re both part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe now, with Freeman recently appearing in Black Panther and Cumberbatch popping up in the just-released Avengers: Infinity War. Cumberbatch’s latest series Patrick Melrose will drop on Showtime this spring, and Freeman’s zombie film Cargo just debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival. Even co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss seem busy with other things, most notably their slightly bizarre-sounding new adaptation of Dracula.

To put it kind of bluntly: No one really has time for a trip back to 221b Baker Street. Moreover, it’s not entirely clear that anybody wants to do so, anytime soon.

Fifteen years have flown by since we first met the employees of Werham Hogg Paper Merchants, the Slough branch.  In its unblinking mockumentary style, The Office followed the day to day lives of the staff in a typical British workplace. The show was a great springboard for the careers of quite a few of the ensemble's principle actors so at this time let's take a look at what they’ve been up to these past decade and a half.

One of the best things about Fall is the return of the BBC’s annual Children in Need charity telethon, which generally features celebrity appeals, comedy sketches and musical performances, all in the name of raising money for a good cause.

The UK tends to do these sort of specials fairly often see also: the annual Red Nose Day and Sport Relief events. Thankfully, they usually turn out pretty great, and this year appears to be no exception.

Sherlock star Martin Freeman appeared in what was probably the evening’s best bit – a Star Wars-themed sketch in which Warwick Davis, with assistance from robotic friends C3PO and R2-D2 was charged with locating the film’s biggest fan in order to trigger the first Children in Need totalizer of the night. (This means they get to push a big button that reveals how much money has be raised so far, so it’s actually pretty cool, if you ask me.)

If you're a fan of all things British, you're probably just going to have to accept that you'll have to start seeing those big Marvel superhero films sooner or later, as the list of British Actors of Note who've nabbed roles in this particular cinematic universe is quite lengthy - and apparently growing every day.

Next up to bag a spot in the world of Marvel: Sherlock star Martin Freeman, who has officially nabbed a role in the anticipated sequelCaptain America: Civil War.

He joins a long lineup of impressive Brits who've done Marvel roles of varying sizes including Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Ben Kingsley (The Mandarin), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), Toby Jones (Arnim Zola), Paul Bettany (JARVIS/The Vision), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), David Tennant (Zebediah Kilgrave), Christopher Eccleston (Malekith the Accursed), Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock) and more.

Hi gang! I’ve been on vacation for the past week – so if you noticed that the blog was dark over this time, that’s why – and now that I’m back catching up it seems like a lot happened during the past few days!

Clearly the best thing that I missed out on – and it’s so good I’m not even upset that I’m writing about it so late – is the fact that Sherlock star Martin Freeman hosted the iconic Saturday Night Live last weekend. While I haven’t managed to watch the entire episode yet – though I hear from various corners of the internet that the whole thing was actually good, something of a rarity during the past few years of SNL – I did catch the standout moment that resulted when the worlds of two of Freeman’s biggest hits collided.

The Office: Middle Earth imagines what life might be like for Bilbo Baggins following the conclusion of his quest in The Hobbit. It turns out that life looks a lot like the iconic British sitcom The Office, which also starred Freeman as loveable everyman Tim way back when. Only this time, there are definitely more orcs.

Fresh off the proverbial boards, as his production of Richard III has just concluded, Martin Freeman already has a new gig. The Sherlock star has been tapped for the lead role in an upcoming feature-length BBC drama about the trial of one of World War II’s most notorious figures.

Freeman will play TV producer Milton Fruchtman in 90 minute film The Eichmann Show, which will tell the story of the televising of the trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the chief architects of the Nazi “final solution,” or the plan to systematically exterminate Europe’s Jews.

Eichmann was captured by Israeli secret agents in Buenos Aires after the war and transported to Israel, where he was put on trial in 1961. Fruchtman played a key role in making sure that Eichmann’s four-month trial in 1961 was an event seen around the world – it was shown on TV in 37 countries and provided tremendous insight into the horror of the death camps as victims were seen relaying their experiences live. It has been estimated that four-fifths of the German population watched at least an hour a week, and the trial has been described as the first true global TV event.

Freeman will be joined by Without a Trace star Anthony LaPaglia as TV director Leo Hurwitz, with further casting still to be announced.

One of the most frequently mentioned items on any Sherlock fan’s wishlist – besides the obvious answers like more episodes or the possibility of Cumberbatch clones – is the chance to see more bonus material and behind-the-scenes clips from the series’ filming.

Well, Sherlock fandom, occasionally wishes do come true – the first official blooper clip from the show has made its way online – with the promise of more to come!

Hi guys! I’m home from Comic Con – exhausted, sore, seriously jetlagged and super happy. I had a great con. More on that later, but first I have to catch up on the apparently millions of things I did not read or watch over the last week. Bear with me!

One of the (many, many) fantastic bonuses to come out of San Diego Comic Con International is a positive explosion of new trailers for things. Having a captive audience, so to speak, the biggest studios and networks in the world want to make as big of a splash with as many properties as possible.

Thus, it’s no surprise that Warner Brothers rolled out the red carpet for the final appearance of The Hobbit – and likely the final Comic Con for fanboy god Peter Jackson for a very long time (if ever). The director has filmed six Tolkien-based movies over the past fourteen years, and unless he somehow manages to wrest the rights to The Silmarillion away from the author’s estate (unlikely), we’re approaching a true end of an era.

The studio hosted a star-studded panel on Saturday morning in the convention center’s Hall H, featuring stars Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lee Pace, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Evangeline Lilly and more, and dropped the first trailer for the trilogy’s highly anticipated final installment, subtitled The Battle of the Five Armies.

Spoiler alert: If you are at all in any way a fan of Jackson’s vision of Middle Earth, get your tissues ready now. Just trust me.