First off, a few people reported trouble with accessing Midsomer’s live YouTube event at the time they had indicated it would be held - but it looks like they have a replay HERE on Facebook for anyone who’s curious.
ITV has announced casting information for their upcoming true story dramatisation, Mavis Eccleston, and it’s going to be a solid lineup. The series tells the real life story of a woman who survived a joint suicide pact with her husband of almost 60 years, and Dame Penelope Wilton (After Life) will star alongside Jonathan Pryce (Slow Horses). Sian Brooke (Blue Lights, Trying) and Chris Reilly (Slow Horses) will play Dennis and Mavis’ children Joy and Kevin.
One additional note - if you haven’t been watching Widow’s Bay, we strongly recommend giving it a try if you like dark comedy paired with a bit of New England spookiness. It is American, but Welsh actor Matthew Rhys stars, and it’s really well done. All episodes of season 1 have now premiered, and it has been officially renewed for season 2.
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Prefer to order on Amazon instead of waiting for us to get more in from the printer? You can check out some of them HERE. We don’t ship outside the US, but it’s a great option for Canadians.
What we’re…
Watching: Snowdonia 1890 - This unscripted series follows families who set out to live as smallholders on Mount Snowdonia as though it’s 1890. With the difficult terrain and lack of technology, it makes for strangely compelling viewing, especially in this age of AI and constant tech.
Reading: Grimm Up North by David Gatward - My parents and granny are in town this week visiting us on the coast of Maine, so I’m grabbing this rec from my granny. She’s been reading it in the early mornings and evenings on the balcony of her Bailey Island vacation rental, and she gives it a big thumbs up. It’s been a while since I read it (I also enjoyed it), but it follows a detective who moves from Bristol to rural North Yorkshire, and it’s the first in a nice, long series with great character development.
THIS WEEK IN BRITISH TV
On BritBox, new episodes of Beyond Paradise continue weekly through July 14th (Tuesdays). On June 24th, A Woman of Substance premiered, with Brenda Blethyn starring in the rags to riches tale. They won’t have any additional premieres until July, when a new season of Escape to the Country premieres on the 10th.
On Acorn TV, the 29th brings us new episodes of season 19 of Murdoch Mysteries, season 5 of Harry Wild, Summertide, and Summerwater (FINALE). They won’t have any more new premieres until July 6th, when season 2 of Inspector Ellis premieres.
On PBS Masterpiece and PBS.org, new episodes of the final season of Grantchester (11) continue weekly on Sundays through August 2nd.
On Paramount+, Wild Cherry premiered on June 24th. The thriller follows a self-made businesswoman and her wealthy best friend - two women living in idyllic conditions until their teen daughters are implicated in a horrific scandal.
On Sundance Now and AMC+, the 25th brought The A-Z Killer, a docuseries about the 1992 murder of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common.
On BritBox Premier and BBC Select, the 25th brought season 2 of Queens That Changed the World, along with the true crime documentary Murder in Concrete. On the 29th, they’ll add 1776: American Independence.
“"Did they immediately turn to cannibalism? No, that took... 4 days.”
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