Join us as we look at what’s new on BBC iPlayer this week, from The Zelenskyy Story to Dead & Buried, One Piece, Aftersun and more.
The Zelenskyy Story
The Zelensky Story – 72 Films ©BBC Pictures
This definitive box set series tells the extraordinary story of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a comedian who played the president, then became the actual President of Ukraine.
Spanning three episodes, the series chronicles Zelensky’s journey from a young actor and entertainer to one of the most recognisable leaders on the planet, presiding over a nation at war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Filmed over several trips to Ukraine, Series Director Michael Waldman is granted rare access to interview President Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska, who speak in unguarded terms about their extraordinary lives. What emerges is a portrait of a young couple plunged into an extraordinary situation – childhood sweethearts who got married and rose to stardom before being thrown into politics and into the heart of the biggest invasion in Europe since World War II.
As well as interviews with the family and their inner circle, the series includes new accounts from world leaders, including Boris Johnson, Nancy Pelosi, former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, and Advisor to the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak, who each give dramatic first-hand testimony of their dealings with Zelensky – and Putin – in the lead up to a full-scale military invasion.
Combining exclusive interviews with extraordinary archive footage never before broadcast in the UK, the series sheds new light on the origins of the war in Ukraine and the two men at its epicentre: Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
Speaking about The Zelensky Story, the series director, Michael Waldman, said, “Zelensky is now arguably the most significant figure on the world stage. He is at the epicentre of the 21st century’s most important political and military storm – a war which inevitably affects us all. Furthermore, his personal story is truly extraordinary. Who could be a more fascinating person to get to know?”
You can watch The Zelensky Story on BBC iPlayer from 4 September at 6 am, and on BBC Two weekly from 4 September at 9 pm.
What’s new on BBC iPlayer this week – Sep 1, 2024
Dead and Buried
Dead And Buried – Three River Fiction / Vico Films, Steffan Hill. ©BBC Pictures
The new four-part psychological thriller Dead And Buried, written by Colin Bateman, starts on Monday, 2 September, on BBC One Northern Ireland at 10.40 pm. The full series will be available on BBC iPlayer from 10 pm that evening.
The series features Annabel Scholey (Chuck Chuck Baby) and Colin Morgan (Dead Shot), Kerri Quinn (Hope Street), Waj Ali (Carnival Row), Owen Roe (Vikings), Niamh Walsh (Wreck), Michael Hanna (He’ll Have to Go) and Joanne Crawford (Blue Lights).
When out shopping with her son, young mum Cathy McDaid (Annabel Scholey) bumps into Michael McAllister (Colin Morgan), the man responsible for killing her brother Terry 20 years ago. Unaware that he had been released from prison and was living in the same town, Cathy pays her solicitor a visit and discovers the killer had been released years ago.
Taking to social media, Cathy uncovers the successful career and family life Michael has forged for himself since his early release from prison while she grieved for her brother. Unable to comprehend that he’s now a free man, teacher Cathy goes against the advice of her best friend, Sally Bowman (Kerri Quinn), and creates an online alias to befriend Michael, instigating a clandestine relationship with the man she despises and embarking on a campaign of harassment and deceit.
As Cathy’s obsession grows, dark fantasies of revenge and reality blur as she sets out on a campaign of psychological warfare to destroy Michael’s life. The series uncovers how far Cathy is prepared to go to seek revenge for her brother’s death and the catastrophic impact it has on all their lives.
Writer Colin Bateman said, “Dead and Buried is going to be intriguing for the audience because the audience has to work out who to trust because there are so many red herrings. You’re not quite sure what Cathy’s up to, or whether Michael is truly a reformed character, or if he still retains his capacity for violence.”
Laura Way, Director, said: “Dead And Buried entertains and compels, but Colin’s script also explores bigger issues unique to past and present Northern Ireland and its border counties, which gives the show more depth and layers than your typical thriller, exploring themes of cyclical violence and forgiveness.”
The series will also begin on Virgin Media in the Republic of Ireland on the same evening.
Amol Rajan’s Interviews: Tony Blair
Amol Rajan’s Interviews are back. As the new Labour government gets to work after its landslide victory and the first complete change in the party of government for 14 years, Sir Tony Blair sits down with Amol Rajan to share his thoughts on the future of Britain and Western democracy. Watch on BBC iPlayer Sep 4.
Sambre: Anatomy of a Crime
French crime thriller based on true events: Sambre: Anatomy of a Crime recounts the extraordinary legal case of a serial rapist who attacked women across three decades in the same location. Watch on BBC iPlayer from Aug 31.
What’s new on BBC iPlayer this week – Sep 1, 2024
One Piece – the legendary Japanese anime series arrives on iPlayer
Straw Hat Crew, get ready! The BBC has acquired the UK rights to over 1000 episodes of the English-dubbed versions of the legendary anime series One Piece.
One Piece is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation, based on Eiichiro Oda’s manga series of the same name, which is the world’s No. 1 manga, with over 500 million copies sold and more than 100 volumes published. One Piece has been on screens internationally since October 1999 and has celebrated over 1000 episodes. The long-running anime series is IMDB’s highest-rated TV show of 2024 so far, securing the top spot with an impressive 9.0/10 user rating.
One Piece is an adventure story that follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew – the Straw Hat Crew – as he explores the Grand Line in search of the mythical treasure known as the “One Piece” in order to become the next King of the Pirates.
The BBC is the only place in the UK where audiences can watch dubbed versions of One Piece, allowing fans to enjoy all the sagas, from East Blue through to the Land of Wano.
Fiona Campbell, Controller of Youth Audiences, iPlayer and BBC Three, said, “It’s a really exciting move to bring the One Piece franchise to UK audiences in the coming months. With its captivating storytelling, rich characters and global fanbase, One Piece has become a cultural phenomenon, and we’re so excited to see how the fanbase will enjoy this huge canon of episodes available in English only on iPlayer.”
BBC iPlayer, in partnership with BBC Three, will release all 10 Sagas between September and December, beginning with the first three sagas – East Blue, Alabasta, and Skypiea (206 episodes) – on 1 September. All 1085 episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer by the end of the year. This will be the first time dubbed series versions have been available in the UK.
Movies streaming now on iPlayer
Aftersun
For eleven-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio), a beach holiday in Turkey with her dad, Calum (Paul Mescal), marks the final summer of childhood innocence, while for her dad, the holiday coincides with his 31st birthday and the beginning of the end of everything that came before it.
Many films are born from memories, taking snapshots, grainy holiday tapes and creased photos as their source, but few are filmed as a series of childhood memories. Sophie and Calum’s holiday together holds moments of love, humour, and joy, but it also harbours darker moments that Sophie didn’t know how to process at the time, but now looks back on with age and experience on her side. Charlotte Wells’ artistically bold debut film is a stunning photographic essay of love, loss, joy and disappointment: a mosaic of memories forever burnt into celluloid. Aftersun is filmmaking at its most profound, beguiling and beautiful.
What’s new on BBC iPlayer this week – Sep 1, 2024
Psycho
Psycho is one of the greatest horror films ever made; it sparked a revolution in the horror genre that continues to be felt and seen today. Psycho would introduce a new style of suspense by playing with its audience’s psychological connection to the unfolding horror on screen. Following North by Northwest, Psycho would contain all of Hitchcock’s trademark elements. Yet, it also felt far removed from the technicolour of North by Northwest and Vertigo as Hitchcock painted his psychological thriller in black and white.
In an era when discussions of sexuality and sexual identity were still taboo, Hitchcock would lace Psycho with a series of provocative themes and subtext, challenging societal norms and sparking conversations about sexual repression, deviance, and identity. His muse was a young, delicate killer who sat in the shadows, his mental state one of internal division, uncertainty and loneliness. Hitchcock would challenge his audience by embracing several controversial and groundbreaking artistic choices that blurred the line between perpetrator and victim.
The audience was encouraged to feel empathy, pity and even love for the insecure and damaged Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) – a young man held hostage by the passing of his controlling and dominant mother. Throughout Psycho, Norman screams for release from his mother’s grip but is equally afraid to enter the world without her, even though she is dead. Norman’s sexuality and desires bind this complex psychological battle as he inhabits two worlds, one female and one male. Anthony Perkins gives us a nuanced portrait of an unseen childhood trauma that created two personalities that struggle for dominance and freedom.
Meanwhile, Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh, is a sexually liberated woman who defies the social norms of late 1950s and early 60s cinema. She engages in an extramarital affair, steals money and pursues her need for freedom and pleasure. In many ways, Norman and Marion are two sides of the same coin, one repressed and the other free. Psycho’s exploration of sexuality, freedom, repression and denial was groundbreaking as it gave birth to a new era of psychological thrillers.
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