ITV’s Mr. Selfridge has been picked up for a third season. The Radio Times is reporting that ITV has ordered more of the period drama starring Jeremy Piven and Amanda Abbingdon.
The show documents the real life story of department store owner Harry Gordon Selfridge and his employees. Having revolutionized the shopping industry with his decadent store, Mr. Selfridge must now contend with a Britain that is on the brink of WWI. With a large ensemble cast, the series also stars Aisling Loftus, Polly Walker and Samuel West.
In the promo on PBS, Selfridge tells his staff, “It may be my name on the door, but you are the ones that matter.” He may as well have been talking straight to viewers.
Mr. Selfridge has struggled to lure viewers away from BBC1’s The Musketeers, which airs in the same 9 p.m. slot on Sunday nights. However with the BBC’s recent decision to cancel the rival show The Paradise and with season two set to premiere on PBS on March 30th, viewers may be starting to shop at Selfridge’s after all.
Mr. Selfridge airs on ITV Sundays at 9pm and will begin airing on PBS’ Masterpiece on March 30th at 9 p.m.
Originally published on For Your Excitement. 11 February 2014. Crime drama Chasing Shadows has three of their primary cast members set. ITV announced the addition of Reece Shearsmith, Alex Kingston and Noel Clarke to the four-part series, which will follow a missing persons unit hunting a group of serial killers.
Shearsmith plays DS Sean Stone, a brilliant investigator whose obsession with the deciphering codes and patterns of behavior comes in handy when pursuing serial criminals. However, his intensity and eccentric manner often lead him down the path to self-destruction.
Enter his level-headed partner, Ruth Hattersley, played by the always cool Alex Kingston. Ruth is assigned to work with Sean and though he first shirks her help, he finds that they make a great team. Whereas he lacks social skills, she connects with people easily, adding a new element to their investigations. Rounding out their team is Clarke as DI Prior.
Shearsmith’s credits include Psychoville and League of Gentlemen, which he co wrote with Who and Sherlock legend Mark Gatiss. He was also seen portraying Patrick Troughton in the recent Adventure in Space and Time, and Kingston is instantly recognizable as River Song on Doctor Who. Clarke is also Doctor Who alum famously playing tin dog Mickey Smith, more recently seen on the big screen in Star Trek Into Darkness. He is also a highly successful movie director with credits such as Kidulthood and 4,3,2,1.
ITV’s Director of Drama, Steve November, said of the production ”It’s a crime drama, but not a typical one as it is based around a missing persons unit. And it introduces two very individual and exciting new characters who we’re very much looking forward to seeing.”
Filming for Chasing Shadows begins this month. It is clear that ITV are looking for another highly successful drama after the worldwide success of Broadchurch, which starred The Doctor himself, David Tennant. Either Doctor Who is seen as a prime picking ground for awesome talent, which it is obviously, OR someone in the casting office is a Whovian.
Time will tell if the success of Broadchurch will be repeated, however so far the cast looks brilliant, and let’s hope the spoilers are kept to a minimum, sweetie!
