TV Choice on BBC iPlayer this week: Vienna Blood, Interview with the Vampire and Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure.
Vienna Blood
Vienna Blood. Copyright BBC Pictures
The fourth series of gripping crime drama Vienna Blood – written by acclaimed screenwriter Steve Thompson (Sherlock, Prime Target, Deep State) and based on the bestselling Liebermann novels by Frank Tallis arrives on iPlayer Aug 4.
Filmed in English and on location in Vienna, series four is directed by Umut Dağ (House of Promises, Breaking Point), with Matthew Beard (The Imitation Game, Dracula, Magpie Murders) and Juergen Maurer (Vorstadtweiber, Tatort) reprising their roles as crime-fighting duo Doctor Max Liebermann and Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt.
The fourth series, unlike the previous three, features a single story – entitled “Mephisto Waltz”- told over two mysterious and thrilling episodes.
It’s Vienna, 1909 and the double murder of an arms dealer in police custody and a senior public official has shaken Vienna to its core. Doctor Max Liebermann has just returned from a lecture tour when Inspector Rheinhardt asks for help with what could be the most dangerous case of their careers. Oskar and Max uncover a conspiracy that reaches the heart of government. Can the Freudian psychoanalyst and detective do enough to stop a seditious mole known as ‘Mephisto’ from bringing the Austro-Hungarian Empire to destruction? And will their lives ever be the same again?
Matthew Beard said, “Working on Vienna Blood is a lot of fun. You’re working in this beautiful city with these incredible actors and great directors. For me, a returning season has been a joy because you get to come back and see these people again, which is a real treat. As soon as I put the costume on and see the call sheet, we’re in a new location and another amazing place with incredible history. I take hundreds of pictures on my phone of everywhere we go because it’s such a stunning office. That’s certainly been a highlight for me.”
Sue Deeks, BBC Head of Programme Acquisition, said: “This is such an exciting event – a Vienna Blood case so big it needs to be told over two thrilling episodes. What a treat we have in store!”
Carlo Dusi, Managing Director of Endor Productions, said: “We could not be more proud of this special new season that we have produced with our friends at MR, which brings a thrilling new storyline with the highest of stakes to fans of Vienna Blood. There could be no better showcase for the combined talents of our wonderful writer, Steve Thompson; brilliant director, Umut Dag; and incredibly talented cast and crew, led as ever by the unique pairing of Matthew Beard and Juergen Maurer. It has been an honour and a pleasure to work again with our partners at ORF, ZDF, BBC, PBS and Red Arrow Studios International in bringing the luminous characters and world originally created in Frank Tallis’s Liebermann Diaries to the screen, and we are sure that audiences will not be disappointed.”
Interview with the Vampire (Part Two)
Interview with the Vampire. Louis de Pointe du Lac (JACOB ANDERSON), Claudia (DELAINEY HAYLES),© 2024 AMC Network Entertainment LLC. All Rights Reserved, Larry Horricks.
Sink your teeth into part two of AMC’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s blood-soaked saga of immortality, love and revenge, starring Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones). The second part of this stunning contemporary adaptation builds on the thrilling first instalment as Louis de Pointe du Lac (Anderson) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles) travel through Europe following the bloody conclusion to season one. But as they meet a host of new vampires, their past haunts them like a permanent shadow. Meanwhile, in present-day Dubai, Louis’ relationship with the ancient (Armand) Assad Zaman comes under the scrutiny of journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), who may not be the only one listening to their story unfold. Epic and sweeping in its visual beauty and performances, Rolin Jones’ adaptation of the Anne Rice classic is proudly queer, gloriously gory and riveting.
Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure
Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure. Miriam with Zoe. Southern Pictures, Helen Barrow. Copyright BBC Pictures.
Miriam Margolyes wants to embrace change and be open to reinventing herself to stay relevant and connected. So, to give herself a kickstart, she is returning to Australia in search of new possibilities. This time, she’ll meet a whole host of colourful characters and head to three places she’s always wanted to explore: Perth, Broken Hill and Byron Bay. All three are iconic locations that epitomise the things she loves about Australia, but are they also, like her, in the throes of change?
Speaking about the new series, Miriam said, “I wanted to make this series because the more I live in Australia, and the more I make documentaries here and enjoy doing so, I feel that there’s still more to unpack and mine – I really want to mine the people, because it’s the people that make the place. So, the more people that I can meet, especially at a time in my life when I feel that I’m, as it were, in transit from one stage to another stage of life, I get an excitement from it. And I will want to make even more. It’s an inexhaustible subject, Australia, because the people are coming and going, and the country is in flux. And it’s a very interesting time to investigate.
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