What's new on BBC iPlayer this week - August 3, 2024

Join us as we look at what’s new on BBC iPlayer this week – Vienna Blood, Interview with the Vampire, Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure and more

Vienna Blood

Vienna Blood. Max Liebermann (MATTHEW BEARD), Oskar Rheinhardt (JUERGEN MAURER), Endor Productions / MR Film, Petro Domenigg. 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 only just returned from a lecture tour when Inspector Rheinhardt asks for help in what could be the most dangerous case of their career. Oskar and Max discover a conspiracy that leads to 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.”

WHAT’S NEW ON BBC IPLAYER THIS WEEK – AUGUST 3, 2024

Corridors of Power: Should America Police the World?

Corridors of Power: Should America Police the World? Barack Obama in the Oval Office, DrorMorehFilms. Copyright BBC Pictures.

US support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war ignored massacres, such as the widespread use of chemical weapons against both the Iranians and the Kurdish ethnic minority in Iraq, as Washington maintained its close relationship with Baghdad. But with the end of the Cold War, Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait turned his American ally into an enemy. Would the US now intervene to help the Kurds?

Rare archive footage and in-depth testimony from decision-makers provide insight into the inner workings of the White House, allowing for a deeper understanding of not just the “what,” but the “why.”

Featuring interviews with leading U.S. political figures, including Madeleine Albright, James Baker, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, and Hillary Clinton, the series, narrated by Meryl Streep and directed by Academy Award nominee Dror Moreh, focuses on a 25-year period that reveals how our past can dictate our future.

A Kanneh-Mason Playlist at the Proms 

Superstar siblings Sheku and Braimah Kanneh-Mason, accompanied by Brazilian guitarist Plínio Fernandes and the dynamic Fantasia Orchestra, perform an eclectic and surprising mix that ranges from Brahms to Bob Marley.

The concert features a diverse range of music inspired by Sheku and Braimah’s influences and Plínio’s Brazilian heritage. With songs born from folk, reggae, and soul, expect unique arrangements of much-loved hits such as “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Redemption Song,” “The Girl from Ipanema,” and Brahms’ “Hungarian Dances.”

The dynamic Fantasia Orchestra makes its Proms debut under its founder, Tom Fetherstonhaugh.

Country Music Summer Festival

Superstars Ashley McBryde and Jelly Roll host CMA Fest, with all the biggest moments direct from Nashville, TN, with performances by Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson, Keith Urban, Post Malone, Shaboozey and more.

Radio 1 Dance Weekend

As part of BBC Radio 1’s Dance Weekend, BBC Radio 1 returns to Ibiza and 528 for another huge night of the best dance acts – with a live stream on BBC iPlayer across 2/3 August and selected individual sets available on demand.

WHAT’S NEW ON BBC IPLAYER THIS WEEK – AUGUST 3, 2024

Streaming now on BBC iPlayer

Interview with the Vampire (Part Two)

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 bloody riveting.

Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure

Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure. Miriam with Zoe. Southern Pictures, Helen Barrow. Copyright BBC Pictures.

Miriam wants to embrace change and be open to reinventing herself if she wants 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 of 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.

WHAT’S NEW ON BBC IPLAYER THIS WEEK – AUGUST 3, 2024

Atomic People

Atomic People, a landmark film for BBC Two and iPlayer, explores the human fallout from the first and last atomic bombs used in an act of war. This unique film gathers the testimony of some of the last ‘Hibakusha’ – survivors of the two atomic bombs – before their voices are lost forever.

With an average age of 85, most Hibakusha were children when the bombs were dropped. Combining their personal accounts with archive footage, ‘Atomic People’ features a significant number of voices from this shrinking group – the only people left on earth to have survived a nuclear bomb – whilst exploring how their experiences continue to affect them to this day.

Lie with Me

What is fiction but a collection of memories, experiences, and ideas rehashed, shaped and embellished? Many writers will tell you that while their work is framed by their imagination, nuggets of reality creep into every story they write, including unspoken thoughts, past pain and lost loves. Adapted from Phillippe Besson’s autobiographical novel Arrête avec tes mensonges, Oliver Peyton’s exquisite adaptation adds new layers to Besson’s story as we follow the successful French author Stéphane Belcourt (Guillaume de Tonquédec and Jérémy Gillet) on a long-overdue trip back to his home town.

Oliver Peyton’s stunning screenplay alongside Poymiro, Rounaud, and Cahn dovetails moments of exquisitely timed comedy with deep emotional undercurrents in a movie that takes you from laughter to tears at the click of its fingers. Here, the performances of Guillaume de Tonquédec, Victor Belmondo, Julien De Saint Jean, Jérémy Gillet and the brilliant Guilaine Londez are simply sublime. Lie With Me is a stunning exploration of love found, lost and found again through blood memory, prose and a need for shared healing and individual closure.