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Streamer Disney+ has revealed a power packed British cast who will join the previously announced David Tennant, Alex Hassell, Aidan Turner and Danny Dyer on the series adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s steamy novel “Rivals.”

Joining the eight-part saga are Annabel Scholey (“The Split”), Maggie Steed (“Ten Percent”), David Calder (“Motherland”), Antony Byrne (‘”The Witcher”), Denise Black (“Queer as Folk”), Bryony Hannah (“Call The Midwife”), Olivia Poulet (“Back”) and Brendan Patricks (“Downton Abbey”).

“Rivals” is part of Cooper’s bestselling “Rutshire Chronicles,” set in affluent 1980s England where two powerful men and neigbors – Olympian turned politician Rupert Campbell-Black and television exec Tony Baddingham – have a longstanding rivalry that finally comes to a head.

Scholey plays Beattie Johnson, a ruthless Fleet Street journalist who will do anything for a story. Steed plays Lady Gosling, the steely no-nonsense chair of Independent Broadcasters Association. Calder plays Lady Gosling’s dogmatic right-hand man, Fergus Penney,...

Showtime and Channel 4’s new comedy from the production company behind Fleabag, has announced its cast. Entitled comes from writer Matt Morgan (Mister Winner) and is directed by Tim Kirkby (The Pentaverate). Morgan and Kirkby also serve as executive producers alongside Fleabag trio Harry Williams, Jack Williams, and Sarah Hammond. Production recently started in Manchester, England, according to Deadline. The series is led by Stranger Things star Brett Gelman, who plays Gabe, a conniving American widower who posthumously must get to know The Beaucrofts, his British wife’s eccentric estranged family, in their crumbling gothic mansion in the English countryside. As Gabe searches for closure and truth, his newly inherited fortune reveals each family member’s secrets and ambitions. In addition to Gelman, the cast also includes Donald Sumpter (Game of Thrones), Brendan Patricks (Downton Abbey), Pippa Bennett-Warner (Gangs of London), Mark Quartley (Lucky Man), Jonathan Livingstone (Peacock), Charlotte...

Showtime and Channel 4 comedy Entitled from the production company behind Fleabag has unveiled full cast and rolled cameras in Manchester.

Joining Fleabag and Stranger Things star Brett Gelman in Two Brothers Pictures’ eight-parter are Donald Sumpter (Game of Thrones), Brendan Patricks (Downton Abbey), Pippa Bennett-Warner (Gangs of London), Mark Quartley (Lucky Man), Jonathan Livingstone (Peacock), Charlotte Louise Arrowsmith (This is Going to Hurt) and Kelly Wenham (Merlin).

Entitled stars Gelman as Gabe, a conniving American widower who posthumously must get to know The Beaucrofts, his British wife’s eccentric estranged family, in their crumbling gothic mansion in the English countryside. As Gabe’s search for closure and truth reveal a newly inherited fortune, each family member’s ambition comes to a head.

Matt Morgan (Mister Winner) created Entitled, which entered production in Manchester this week. Director is Tim Kirkby (The Pentaverate) and exec producers are Morgan, Kirkby, Gelman and Fleabag trio Harry Williams,...

HBO and BBC period drama Gentleman Jack has been handed a second season. Sally Wainwright’s Suranne Jones-fronted series will return for another eight-part run.

It comes as the Lookout Point-produce drama is still on the air. The series debuted on HBO on April 22 in its new Monday night slot and on the BBC on May 19. It became the BBC’s biggest new drama launch of the year with an average overnight audience of 5.1 million viewers.

Written by Happy Valley creator Wainwright, it tells the story of Anne Lister, played by Jones, who had a passion for life and a mind for business, and bucked society’s expectations at every turn.

Gentleman Jack focuses on Regency landowner Lister in the period drama, which is set in 1832 Halifax, West Yorkshire. She is determined to transform the fate of her faded ancestral home, Shibden Hall, by reopening the coal mines and marrying well.

Gentleman Jack has become the BBC’s biggest new drama launch of the year and the British broadcaster most successful new scripted series since Jenna Coleman-fronted psychological thriller The Cry.

The HBO co-production, which stars Suranne Jones, scored an average of 5.1M viewers with a peak of 5.6M on Sunday night in a 9pm slot. It secured an average share of 27.2% across the hour.

This comes after Coleman’s Australian-set drama averaged 5.7M viewers last year with a peak of 6.3M, compared with Bodyguard’s opening audience of 6.7M last year.

Gentleman Jack launched on April 22 in HBO’s new Monday night slot. It is created, written and co-directed by Happy Valley’s Sally Wainwright. The drama, which is produced by War and Peace producer Lookout Point, tells the story of a woman who had a passion for life and a mind for business, and bucked society’s expectations at every turn.

"The language is developing faster than our progress." Vertical Entertainment has debuted another new official trailer for Farhad Safinia's film The Professor and the Madman, which will actually be getting a release in theaters this May. In the film, Mel Gibson stars as James Murray, a professor at Oxford who is hired to work on compiling the very first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. During the course of his fastidious work, he receives over 10,000 entries from a patient and convincted murderer at the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, a man known as Dr. William Chester Minor, played by Sean Penn. The cast also includes Steve Coogan, Eddie Marsan, Natalie Dormer, Jennifer Ehle, Ioan Gruffudd, Jeremy Irvine, Aidan McArdle, Brendan Patricks, and Adam Fergus. Not that sure this will be worth seeing. Here's the second official trailer for Farhad Safinia's The Professor and the Madman, from YouTube: You can...

Gentleman Jack, the period drama fronted by Doctor Foster’s Suranne Jones, will debut on HBO on Monday April 22 – marking one of the first scripted series to play in the new premium broadcaster’s new slot.

The series, which is a co-production with the BBC, is created, written and co-directed by Happy Valley’s Sally Wainwright. It will join series including mini-series Chernobyl, Catherine The Great , His Dark Materials and the final season of The Deuce in the newly opened 10pm Monday slot.

The drama, which is produced by War and Peace producer Lookout Point, tells the story of a woman who had a passion for life and a mind for business, and bucked society’s expectations at every turn. The Killing star Sofie Gråbøl and Happy Valley star Katherine Kelly also star.

It will air later this spring on the BBC in the UK.

Jones plays Regency landowner Lister in the period drama,...

In a bit of against-type casting, The Professor and The Madman stars Mel Gibson and Sean Penn, but Gibson is, in fact, not playing the latter character. Rather, in the story of crafting the Oxford English Dictionary, he plays Professor James Murray, who took up the challenge only to discover that one man (Penn), convicted for murder and at an asylum for the criminally insane, submitted over 10,000 words.

Although production on the film began back in 2016, it was caught up in legal troubles, and now with Apocalypto co-screenwriter Farhad Safinia, who helmed the film, taking his name off the project (now credited to the fictitious P.B. Shemran), it’s finally seeing the light of day. The film will be arriving in other countries this spring, though Vertical Entertainment has not yet announced a U.S. release date. The first international trailer has now arrived for the adaptation of Simon Winchester’s novel.

"When I read, I can fly out of this place on the backs of books..." The first official trailer has debuted for a film titled The Professor and the Madman, a drama from Iranian filmmaker Farhad Safinia, who wrote the screenplay for Mel Gibson's Apocalypto. In Safinia's The Professor and the Madman, Mel Gibson stars as James Murray, a professor at Oxford who is hired to work on compiling the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. During the course of his fastidious work, he receives over 10,000 entries from a patient and convincted murderer at the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, a man known as Dr. William Chester Minor, played by Sean Penn. The cast also includes Natalie Dormer, Jennifer Ehle, Ioan Gruffudd, Jeremy Irvine, Aidan McArdle, Brendan Patricks, and Adam Fergus. We've all been curious to see what the footage looks like, considering Penn and Gibson are odd picks,...

The Killing star Sofie Gråbøl and Happy Valley star Katherine Kelly have joined HBO and BBC drama Gentleman Jack.

The pair will star alongside Suranne Jones in the eight-part series, which was created by Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright. The series is produced by War and Peace producer Lookout Point for the premium U.S. cable network and British public broadcaster.

Kelly plays Elizabeth Sutherland, the sister of Anne Lister’s intended wife Ann Walker, played by Peaky Blinders’ Sophie Rundle, whilst Gråbøl will appear towards the end of the series as Queen Marie of Denmark. Her appearance will be shot on location in Copenhagen. Jones plays Regency landowner Lister in the period drama, which is set in 1832 Halifax, West Yorkshire. Gentleman Jack focuses on the landowner, who is determined to transform the fate of her faded ancestral home, Shibden Hall, by reopening the coal mines and marrying well. The...

Downton Abbey’s penultimate season 4 episode centered around a church bazaar held on the estate grounds, while relationship drama seemed to unfold everywhere.

'Downton Abbey Recap

Following Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Blake’s (Julian Ovenden) rescue of the estate’s pigs, the Crawley’s determine that Tim Drewe (Andrew Scarborough) will take up caring for their livestock. When the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) suggests that Blake would think it silly that they were hiring Drewe based on his family’s history of working their land, Mary takes to Blake’s defense. By the time she watches Blake lift up a crying George, she appears to be fully smitten. The Countess is not impressed.

Later on, when Anna (Joanne Froggatt) learns that Gillingham (Tom Cullen) will be returning to Downton with Green (Nigel Harman) in tow, she tells Mary about how the valet had raped her. When Mary urges Anna...

Lady Isobel and Lady Violet went head to head while Edith found out she's pregnant and Rose had a dalliance with the black jazz singer in Downton Abbey.

Evelyn Napier (Brendan Patricks) has returned to Downton with a new man, Charles Blake (Julian Ovenden), in tow. Charles reveals to Mary (Michelle Dockery) that the duo are not there to study and preserve old estates, but to study how the fall of English aristocracy will impact food supply. Mary is furious and thus Charles and Mary find themselves at odds.

Edith (Laura Carmichael) receives a note from her doctor informing her that she is pregnant. The father, Michael Gregson, is nowhere to be found, and Edith could find herself an unwed mother. In other family drama, Lady Violet (Maggie Smith) and Mrs. Crawley (Penelope Wilton) had a verbal spat after the Dowager Countess accused the boy gardener, John, of stealing things from her study.

Plus, Mary gets a special visit from another handsome suitor! Has Matthew’s replacement arrived at last?

Anna (Joanne Froggatt) has worked tirelessly to keep her rape a secret from Bates (Brendan Coyle), but on the Jan. 26 episode of Downton Abbey, her tragic ordeal was brought to light — and it went just about as badly as she thought it would.

After weeks of uncomfortable distance from his wife, Bates basically forced Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) to reveal what really happened to Anna, though she did manage to avoid leaking the who of it all. With most of the truth finally out in the open, Anna agreed to move back into the cottage, and all seemed resolved — until Bates told Mrs. Hughes that “nothing is over, nothing is done with.”

I’m really hoping Bates doesn’t kill Green, but if he does, I’m just hoping he somehow gets away with it.

Downton Abbey returns this Sunday (PBS, 9/8c) with Lady Mary still in mourning for her husband, six months after Matthew’s untimely death.

So how to pull the grieving widow out of the dark after such a loss? Not one, but three potential suitors certainly should help: There’s old family friend Gillingham (played by Tom Cullen), newcomer Blake (Julian Ovenden) and the Turk’s returning pal Evelyn Napier (Brendan Patricks).

Plus, the upcoming Christmas special promises to be “more optimistic” than last year’s bloody affair, says star Michelle Dockery.

Related | Downton Abbey Renewed for Season 5

Here, the actress...

Well, that was all a bit of a damp squib. The 'Next Time' teaser at the end of last week's Downton suggested that this week's episode was going to be a ripsnorter. A possible death, a last-minute trip to America, the return of the dastardly Green. Everything was finally coming together.

On paper, it sounded exciting. In reality, Downton's fourth series continues to dawdle and meander at the pace of one Lady Mary's dehydrated pigs.

First things first, Dame Maggie Smith isn't going anywhere. The Dowager had a nasty bout of flu, Violet went a bit cuckoo with fever and the hair and make-up team got to have a giggle, dressing her up like Worzel Gummidge on a bad day. But after a few rounds of gin rummy and some mopping of the brow with a damp flannel from Isobel (Penelope Wilton), she's back on her feet again.

Just in case you weren't sure,...

A flock of fellas are coming for Lady Mary. It’s like a 19th-century ‘Bachelorette!’

Matthew who? When Downton Abbey returns for its fourth season Jan. 5, a newly widowed Mary (Michelle Dockery) will have her hands full with a bevy of potential new suitors. “There’s a character called Blake, played by Julian Ovenden,” Michelle tells HollywoodLife.com‘s sister site TVLine. ”And Evelyn Napier (played by Brendan Patricks) comes back, as well. He was the one who brought the Turkish diplomat along. That was lovely to play scenes with Brendan again because we haven’t seen him since season one.

Of course, there’s one suitor — Gillingham, played by Tom Cullen – that appears to be leading the pack.

“Gillingham is an old family friend,” Michelle explains. “The sisters knew him when we were growing up, and we haven’t seen him since then. A party is organized at the house,...

Downton Abbey‘s leading lady was just as taken aback by the death of her on-screen hubby as viewers at home.

Although Michelle Dockery knew ahead of time that her co-star Dan Stevens was leaving the hit drama — and that his exit would be “finite” — watching the “brutal” goodbye was still a big shock, the actress tells TVLine.

But Dockery — and her character Mary — are both trying to move on as potential new suitors swarm around the widowed mother in Season 4, premiering Jan. 5 on PBS.

Related | Downton Abbey Season 4 Casts Paul Giamatti as Cora’s Brother

Tvline | Let’s get...

There's a pretty clear quasi-joke that comes through in Alain de Botton's first novel On Love, but it's delivered better in the film loosely based on that work (and Essays in Love), My Last Five Girlfriends . This is perhaps because it is actually delivered in the film, but that's to split hairs really. de Botton's novel, which was dealt with rather harshly by a good many critics upon its initial release, came to popularity in rather backwards fashion. With the quite serious success of How Proust Can Change Your Life, and The Consolations of Philosophy (titles to books I might have penned myself frankly), fans began exploring his earlier efforts, and On Love found new legs. My Last Five Girlfriends follows Duncan (Brendan Patricks) as he first commits suicide, then begins examining what went wrong with his last five relationships. There's a deliciously unfun, uninteresting motif at play in the film,...

My Last 5 Girlfriends, a British comedy, based on the international best-selling novel by Alain de Botton’s, titled, Essays On Love and directed by Julian Kemp, about a suicidal young man, Duncan (Brendan Patricks) who narrates us, as he looks back at his last 5 girlfriends, in order to try and understand what went wrong in each relationship.

Naomie Harris is one of the 5 girlfriends. Her name headlines the poster for the film (along with Brendan Patricks), so she either has a significant role, or she’s likely the biggest name in the cast, or both.

It’s a film we’ve previously profiled on this blog, back in March, and, after premiering in the UK in March, it’s now available for stateside audiences to view, via Amazon.com’s VOD service, where it’s available in both Sd and HD quality, for $5.99 per 3-day rental. Not a bad deal at all,...

I Love You Phillip Morris (15)

(Glen Ficarra, John Requa, 2009, Us) Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor. 97 mins

Jim Carrey doesn't just play gay here, he plays flaming, in-your-face, heels-and-hotpants gay. And it kind of suits him. A police officer-turned-con man, his character is led even further astray when he falls for a fellow prison inmate (McGregor), and their courtship is treated like a traditional Hollywood love affair – albeit one full of prison breaks, audacious deceptions and outrageous accessorising. Gleefully trashy, at times exhaustingly unpredictable, it's certainly a brave move.

The Scouting Book For Boys (15)

(Tom Harper, 2009, UK) Thomas Turgoose, Holly Grainger, Rafe Spall. 93 mins

High hopes have been pinned on this, with Skins scribe Jack Thorne and plenty of young talent on board. Set in a Norfolk caravan camp, it's the tale of a boy-girl friendship developing into something else – quite what is up for grabs when they hatch a fake-kidnapping plan.

A quirky relationship comedy based on Alain de Botton's 2001 novel. By Peter Bradshaw

Not so much a romcom as a relcom: a "relationship comedy" of the sort I associate with the 1990s, the world of Friends and Ally McBeal on TV: loads of quirky observational material and wacky fantasy gags. It's based on Alain de Botton's 2001 novel, Essays in Love, and structured around the Hornbyesque idea of revisiting (in your mind, at least) all your old girlfriends to find out why you're so rubbish at love. Brendan Patricks plays Duncan, a guy who is nerdy and conceited, passive-aggressive and thoroughly annoying – though I suspect he is supposed to be pretty lovable. Miserable about the way his romantic life has turned out, Duncan takes us through the story of all his former amours, a string of rather gorgeous women, including Jane March and Naomie Harris. There are some nice insights,...

Based on the international best-selling novel by Alain de Botton’s, titled, Essays On Love and made for the screen by Director Julian Kemp, the comedy introduces us to suicidal Duncan (Brendan Patricks) who narrates us, as he looks back at his last 5 girlfriends in order to try and understand what went wrong in each relationship.

Naomie Harris is one of the 5. Her name headlines the poster for the film (along with Brendan Patricks), so she either has a significant role, or she’s likely the biggest name in the cast, or both.

IMDb says this screened at Tribeca Film Festival last year, but I obviously missed it. It’s a Brit flick, and IMDb lists a UK released happening this weekend.

The trailer follows below. And underneath, watch as both Harris and Patricks discuss the film with AP News:

Here’s their interview:...

After seeing the gritty but flawed British film ‘The Scouting Book for Boys’, Reviewed here, I was looking forward to witnessing another British film in ‘My Last Five Girlfriends’ and hoped for another example of what British Cinema has to offer. Unfortunately it turned out to be a flat, underwhelming Rom-Com but something that would have definitely worked as a TV series.

Taken from Alain de Botton’s book ‘Essays On Love’ and made for the screen by Director Julian Kemp, the film introduces us to impending suicider Duncan (Brendan Patricks) who narrates and carries us through his story of looking back at his Last Five Girlfriends to try and understand what went wrong with each one. We venture through an abundance of flashy filming techniques and visual relationship metaphors in a fantasy dream like imaginary world learning of each girlfriend on the list, their plus and minus points and what caused it to fail.

To celebrate the release of My Last Five Girlfriends we're is giving away five copies of the film's soundtrack.

To celebrate the release of My Last Five Girlfriends (at cinemas March 19, cert 12A) Pure Movies is giving away five copies of the film’s soundtrack.

Devastated when his latest relationship hits the rocks, Duncan Anderson (Brendan Patricks) is on the brink of giving it all up. In a final attempt to find out where it all went wrong (and right) Duncan audits his last five girlfriends and the journey he takes is poignant, funny and at times, deeply bizarre.

Over the last two years Duncan has seen and tried it all; moulding himself into what he thinks is the perfect boyfriend, pretending not to care about ex-boyfriends that haven’t quite disappeared and letting go of his British reserve in the hope of becoming more appealing.

The trailer for Brit self proclaimed non-rom-com has been released over on Empire. The movie stars Brendan Patricks who decide that the best way to find true love is to quiz his last five girlfriends on why their relationships didn’t work out.

My Last Five Girlfriends is directed by Julian Kemp and is based on the novel by Alain de Botton. It also stars Naomie Harris, Kelly Adams, Jane Marsh, Edith Bukovics, Cecile Cassel and Michael Sheen and is released 19th March.

It promises to be a comedy about romance but not a romantic comedy, but you can judge for yourself from the trailer for My Last Five Girlfriends, which we've got for you exclusively.It stars relative newcomer Brendan Patricks as a likeable schmo who decides to quiz his last five girlfriends on what went wrong in order to figure out how to find love.The cast also includes Naomie Harris, Kelly Adams, Jane Marsh, Edith Bukovics, Cecile Cassel and the great Michael Sheen.My Last Five Girlfriends is out on March 19 here in the UK...

London -- Paramount Pictures International, the studio's overseas releasing arm, has wooed the U.K. rights to "My Last Five Girlfriends," a romantic comedy from British production label Willing Pilowsky Media.

Ppi said it plans to roll the Julian Kemp-directed movie in March next year.

The film took a bow at the Tribeca Film Festival in April and unspooled in the U.K. at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June.

It is the first production from Willing Pilowsky, a partnership between David Willing and Marion Pilowsky. L.A.-based Media 8 is handling international sales and will show the title during next month's American Film Market.

The film stars newcomer Brendan Patricks with Naomie Harris, Jane March and Cecile Cassel in the story of a man looking back at his former loves.

Ppi president Andrew Cripps said: "We are always on the look out for smart, locally produced films...

ML5G star Brendan Patricks with fans at a Tff 2009 afterparty. Credit: Tanya Codispodi And the hits keep on coming! More good news today on the distribution deals coming out of the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. This time around, word from Screen Daily that My Last Five Girlfriends has been picked up by Media 8 Entertainment. The second feature from writer/director Julian Kemp is a clever adaptation of the international bestseller On Love (by the entertaining French muser Alain de Botton), in which Duncan (newcomer Brendan Patricks) is a young man determined to find the secret to a healthy, strong relationship. Along the way, he mines his last five doomed romances for clues. The film was a crowd-pleaser at Tff '09, and we are delighted that a broader audience will get to enjoy this 'poignant and whimsical tale.' The La-based Media 8 has not released any details about the distribution plan,...

Editor’S Note: This is one of several interviews, conducted via email, with directors whose films are screening at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. “My Last Five Girlfriends” (Discovery) Director/Screenwriter: Julian Kemp Cast: Brendan Patricks, Naomie Harris, Jane March, Cécile Cassel, Kelly Adams, Edith Bukovics Synopsis: After his latest failed relationship, Duncan has hit emotional rock bottom. He just can’t understand what, or who, has caused all of his relationships to fail. …...

I know it looks dire as it's 28% lighter (at least so far) and minus an artistic director, but no fear, there's still more to come, and with what's been announced theirs some interesting sounding stuff, especially a film we wrote about briefly called Accidents Happen. Also premiering is the comedy Stay Cool and the Danish film Original, along with the North American premier of The Exploding Girl which we also wrote about.

Check the narrative features, world documentary, and discovery lineups after the break!

World Narrative Feature Competition

A compelling cross-section of bold creative visions from every corner of the globe come together in this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition. Presenting a diverse array of unique voices, this international film collection includes premieres from a wide range of directors, such as U.S. indie veterans the Polish brothers and Tony-nominated Conor McPherson, as well as exciting newcomers. Together, these...