Wands at the ready! The high school edition of Broadway and West End's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been released for worldwide licensing from Broadway Licensing Global. The new edition, specifically designed for high school and secondary school productions, will be ready for performances beginning next fall.
Read MoreThe BBC and Masterpiece PBS have revealed first-look images from Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, the hotly-anticipated miniseries sequel to the 2015 Emmy-nominated Wolf Hall.
Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis reprise their roles as Thomas Cromwell and King Henry VIII in the adaptation of the book by Hilary Mantel, the final novel in her acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy. If Wolf Hall was about Cromwell’s rise from humble beginnings to become Henry VII’s chief advisor and one of the most powerful men of his age, The Mirror and the Light traces his final years, when King Henry’s reign is teetering on the edge.
Read MoreThe Mirror & the Light is the final instalment of late author Hilary Mantel’s trilogy charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, chief advisor to King Henry VIII in sixteenth century England.
The first two novels were adapted for the BBC and PBS Masterpiece in 2015 by writer Peter Straughan and director Peter Kosminsky, via Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment and All3Media’s Company Pictures.
Read More“All Creatures Great and Small” has been renewed for Seasons 5 and 6, Masterpiece on PBS announced. Each season will include six episodes, in addition to Christmas specials.
Colin Callender CBE, executive producer and CEO of Playground said of the show’s renewal, “Kindness and decency are increasingly rare qualities these days, so it is a blessing to be able to return to the sanctuary of Skeldale House and James Herriot’s beloved characters who represent all that is the best in us. There are no villains in ‘All Creatures’ — just everyday folk trying to get through the day with dignity with the help of a supportive community, family and friends. It’s a lesson for modern times.”
Read MorePlayground Entertainment and FilmNation’s six-part series set in Drumbán, a fictional village in rural Ireland full of misfits. Hailing from the mind of Moone Boy creator Chris O’Dowd Small Town, Big Story centres around a rural town of rattled misfits on the border of Ireland and another world, and what happens when a Hollywood production rolls into town, throwing a spotlight on a secret that’s been kept hidden since the eve of the Millennium. The series stars Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon) and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men).
O’Dowd said: “I bloody love television, and am most engrossed by stories that bring the remarkable to the everyday. I hope we’ve made a beautiful show that an audience will find funny and will keep people on the edge of their seats…and beyond.”
Small Town, Big Story is one of several original and exclusive titles coming up next on Sky in 2024.
Read MoreCasting has been announced for The Hardacres, a major new 6 x 60’ period drama for Channel 5 from Playground, the award-winning production company behind the internationally acclaimed hit series All Creatures Great and Small. Currently filming on location in Dublin and Wicklow, Ireland, the new series is based on CL Skelton’s best-selling series of novels ‘The Hardacre Saga’. The novels are the number 1 bestseller in the Amazon Family Saga Kindle charts in the UK, US and Australia and Top 15 Bestseller across all Amazon Kindle titles in the US and UK. Global partners Banijay Rights will handle international distribution for the series. The Hardacres is a sweeping rags to riches story that follows the lives, loves and fortunes of the working class Hardacre family as they move from a grimy fish dock to a vast country estate in 1890’s Yorkshire.
Read MoreWolf Hall is coming back and bringing Harriet Walter, Timothy Spall and Harry Melling along for the ride. The trio are joining the cast alongside the likes of Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Jonathan Pryce, Kate Phillips and Lilit Lesser in the period drama for the BBC and Masterpiece PBS. The six-part series is currently filming across the UK. Succession star Walter will play Lady Margaret Pole, while Mr Turner star Spall is the Duke of Norfolk and Melling (The Queen’s Gambit) plays Thomas Wriothesley.
Read MoreEXCLUSIVE: Masterpiece has dropped the trailer for season 4 of All Creatures Great and Small, returning Jan. 7 to PBS.
Season 4 sees Nicholas Ralph reprise his role as young country vet James Herriot, now happily married to Helen Herriot, played by Rachel Shenton (For Her Sins). Samuel West (Slow Horses) returns as James’ erratic mentor Siegfried Farnon while Anna Madeley (Patrick Melrose) continues as Mrs. Hall, matriarch of Skeldale House. Patricia Hodge (A Very English Scandal) also reprises her role as the eccentric Mrs. Pumphrey, and Derek as her Pekingese Tricki.
Read MoreMasterpiece PBS and the BBC are set to begin production on Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, an adaptation of the final novel in Hilary Mantel’s award-winning trilogy.
Mark Rylance will reprise his role as Thomas Cromwell, while Damian Lewis will return as King Henry VIII. Also returning are Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey, Kate Phillips as Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour and Lilit Lesser as Princess Mary, the daughter of Henry and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light will trace the final four years of Cromwell’s life, completing his journey from self-made man to the most feared, influential figure of his time. Further returning and new cast members will be announced at a later date.
Read More“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” will launch a North American tour in September 2024. Dates, venues and casting will be announced. This will mark the first touring production of the Tony Award-winning play. “Developing a first-class touring production of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ has long been an ambition of ours,” said producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender in a statement. “We are delighted that our wonderful and deeply gifted creative team have found a way to make it possible to bring the magic, spectacle and thrills of our astonishing show to audiences across North America, and we can’t wait for audiences to see it.”
Read MoreEight-time Grammy winner Gloria Estefan is writing the music and lyrics for an original stage musical called Five Notes about Paraguay’s Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, the singer announced today.
In an Instagram post, Estefan said she’s collaborating with her daughter Emily Estefan for the music, with the book written by playwright Karen Zacarías. Dear Evan Hansen director Michael Grief will direct Five Notes, according to Estefan.
Read MoreChristina Hendricks and “House of the Dragon’s” Paddy Considine have been tapped to lead “Small Town, Big Story,” a new Sky Studios drama from Chris O’Dowd.
O’Dowd (“State of the Union”) created and will direct the six-part dramatic comedy, which tells the story of the effect on a small Irish village when a Hollywood production begins shooting on its doorstep and rattled residents struggle to keep a long-buried secret under wraps.
Read MoreThe play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, will soon be available for licensing for school production. Producers Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions have partnered with Broadway Licensing Group to develop a version of the Broadway and West End show for high schools and secondary schools starting in 2024. The producers are working with the creative team to create a shortened version of the play, which currently runs more than three hours on Broadway, and to create new special effects that can realistically be achieved by the schools.
Read More“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” the first Harry Potter story to be presented on stage and the eighth story in the series, celebrates its seventh anniversary at the Palace Theatre at London’s West End on July 30, where it is now booking to May 19, 2024.
Read MoreParamount-owned Channel 5 in the UK has commissioned rags-to-riches family drama The Hardacres, based on author CL Skelton’s series of novels The Hardacre Saga.
The six-part series is being produced by New York- and London-based prodco Playground (All Creatures Great & Small), in association with Screen Ireland, Red Berry Productions and Newgrange Pictures. Banijay Rights is handling international distribution.
Read MoreThere was an Australian bidding war for “Harry Potter & The Cursed Child”.
The theatre production continues the life of cross-generational hero Harry Potter thanks to an agreement between his creator J.K. Rowling and the play’s originators/producers Sonia Friedman and Sir Colin Callender.
Read MoreHogwarts fans arrived at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre on Thursday in full uniform, flaunting robes and wands in celebration of the one-year anniversary of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
The event came a day after the City of Toronto officially proclaimed May 31 Live Theatre Day. City Councillor Gary Crawford kicked off the afternoon reading a statement on behalf of council and Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie.
Read MoreNew York- and London-based production company Playground Entertainment has promoted Scott Huff and David Stern to joint MDs, giving them oversight of day-to-day operations as founder and executive chairman Colin Callender continues to focus to corporate strategy, coproductions and talent relationships. Huff and Stern will be charged with accelerating the growth of the transatlantic company, which has produced projects including BBC Two drama Wolf Hall, BBC/Starz crime series The Missing and Amazon’s King Lear adaptation starring Anthony Hopkins.
Read MoreThe Broadway production of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" has recouped its initial capitalization, Broadway News has learned. According to a spokesperson for the production, the play made back its Broadway investment "late last year (2022).
Read MoreHarry Potter and the Cursed Child has a magical plan to celebrate its 5th anniversary on Broadway.
The spellbinding Tony-winning play — which first premiered in London before opening on the Great White Way in April 2018 — will mark the milestone occasion with five days of surprises, including in-theater giveaways, special guests and even a special in-person lottery.
PEOPLE can also premiere a series of new photos from the production, which capture some never-before-seen moments from the show.
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