Latest news with #Maigret
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Daily Mail
A tense thriller that still lets you savour the tastes of France: The best Classic Crime novels out now - An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker, Night at the Crossroads by Georges Simenon, And Cauldron Bubble by Brian Flynn
An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker (Quercus £22, 320pp) The latest adventure for Bruno Courreges, chief of police for a small hill town in the Dordogne, is an annual treat for readers who hanker after the good life. But in every paradise a serpent lurks. When Bruno comes across a dead woman in an abandoned car, all the signs point to suicide. Yet, the departed was a successful businesswoman. Complications and unanswered questions multiply when it emerges that she has left the firm she created to her business partners, with her husband getting nothing except the marital home. When the will is contested, Bruno finds himself up against corrupt lawyers and politicians who aim to bring his career to an inglorious end. With strong characterisation, Walker keeps up the tension while providing welcome breaks in the narrative for readers to savour the best in French food and wine. Night at the Crossroads by Georges Simenon (Penguin Modern Classics £9.99, 160pp) Georges Simenon was a prolific and fast writer. In 1931 alone, he published 11 Maigret novels. Night At The Crossroads has a youngish Maigret as the tough cop interrogating a murder suspect for 17 hours. But without result. Who, then, was it who dispatched a diamond merchant whose body has been found at a remote house outside Paris? Brought vividly to life by Simenon's sparse but highly readable style, the suspects include a pompous insurance agent, an over-familiar garage owner and a supposedly frail woman who rarely moves from her bedroom. All are hiding something from Maigret and from each other. The battle of wits builds to a terrific climax. And Cauldron Bubble by Brian Flynn (Dean Street Press £10.99, 284pp) A popular crime writer in the early post-war years, Flynn was displaced by the upcoming generation who favoured gutsier content. But this is to under-rate an author who had a sharp eye for detection as seen through the eyes of Anthony Bathurst, a gentlemanly private investigator on assignment to Scotland Yard. The plot hangs on the murder of a popular, elderly, genteel lady and her companion. Where is the motive for their untimely deaths? While unravelling the last days of the victims, Bathurst is led up several blind alleys. Moving along at a cracking pace, Flynn is perhaps overly keen to drop too many red herrings, including a whopper early in the book. But keeping up with a convoluted plot is all part of the fun.
Digital Trends
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
3 great BritBox shows you should watch in June 2025
It's not as if there are not enough shows to watch in America. If, for some reason, you find that you're not interested in what we're making stateside, then BritBox is the streaming service for you. The service takes the best content from the U.K. and compiles it in one convenient place, making it easier to watch everything from the latest British miniseries to compelling chat shows. If you find yourself struggling to decide what you should check out first, we've got you covered. We've pulled together three excellent titles that you should make time for this month: Recommended Videos We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+. 8 Out of 10 Cats (2014-2020) Jimmy Carr has never totally translated to American audiences, but his wry humor is on full display in 8 Out of 10 Cats. This panel show's distinct approach gives comedians a chance to wax philosophical on a variety of fairly existential topics. At the same time, contestants might be asked what the British public are thinking about in a given week. Although it's no longer as topical as it was while it aired, there are simply no interview shows quite like 8 Out of 10 Cats in the U.S., and that makes it a fascinating study of the cultural differences between the two nations. It's also just a really light, fun time. You can watch 8 Out of 10 Cats on BritBox. Maigret (2016-2017) Rowan Atkinson is best known to American audiences as a comedic performer, but Maigret gives us a chance to see what he's like when he takes a more dramatic turn. Here, he plays Jules Maigret, a French detective known around the world for his skill. The series, which is set in the 1950s, begins with Maigret investigating the murder of four French women in Paris. Atkinson knows how to be funny, but here, he plays the drama straight up and is excellent throughout. If you like classy period detective series, you'll probably like what Maigret has for you. You can watch Maigret on BritBox. Gardeners' World (1968-) This long-running series is exactly what it looks like. It's an examination of gardening life in the U.K. If you're looking for something exceedingly gentle, then this series is likely to fit the bill. The show's examination of plant life in the U.K. puts you in mind of some HGTV shows, but as you might expect if you've ever seen The Great British Baking Show, you're likely aware that this show is even gentler than that. Everyone is kind to one another, and the jokes are gentle and light. It's got none of the capitalistic edge that defines so many of its American counterparts. You can watch Gardners' World on BritBox.
Los Angeles Times
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Patience' introduces a quirky and charismatic sleuth on the spectrum
Once upon a time, PBS was virtually the only portal through which British mysteries came to America. Jeremy Brett's peerless Sherlock Holmes, two flavors of Miss Marple, David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, Roy Marsden and Martin Shaw successively as Adam Dalgliesh, 'Inspector Morse' and its prequel 'Endeavour,' Michael Gambon in 'Maigret,' Helen Mirren in 'Prime Suspect,' 'Rumpole of the Bailey,' 'Foyle's War,' the Benedict Cumberbatch contemporized 'Sherlock,' Alec Guinness in John LeCarre's 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,' 'Wallander' with Kenneth Branagh — classics, all. With the rise of cable, as channels looked abroad for content, there was eventually competition for shows, and in the streaming environment, with BritBox and Acorn TV wholly devoted to bringing U.K. content to the U.S., there is even more. Meanwhile, PBS, which used to run 'Mystery!' under its own flag, now has it booked as part of 'Masterpiece.' Yet it still nabs some genre gems, often with something conceptually extra, recently including the meta 'Magpie Murders' and its sequel, 'Moonflower Murders.' Now comes 'Patience,' an ingratiating episodic series premiering Sunday, whose title character, played by Ella Maisy Purvis, is autistic (as is Purvis herself). Adapted by Matt Baker from the French series 'Astrid et Raphaëlle,' it stars Purvis as Patience Evans, a civilian clerk working in the seemingly uninhabited and endless archives of the York police department, where, by wheeling some shelves together, she has fashioned herself a little fortress of solitude in which she hides out with some pet mice. In the opening two-part episode, she detects a pattern linking a new and old murder, which brings her into the orbit of detective inspector Bea Metcalf (Laura Fraser), her juniors Jake Hunter (Nathan Welsh) and Will Akbari (Ali Ariaie) and their boss Calvin Baxter, played by Mark Benton, whom BritBox watchers will recognize from 'Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators,' if considerably cleaned up and a little lighter. While Bea sees the merits of bringing Patience into the investigation, Jake rejects her, both as an outsider and as 'temperamentally unsuitable for this kind of work,' though — spoiler alert — he will come around. (It's a friendly show.) 'I don't care if she's autistic,' says detective Bea, 'I just care if she's right.' (She is — mostly.) For her part, Patience tells Bea, 'Your deductive leaps of logic can be haphazard and your notes are cursory,' but she admires her clearance rate, the best in the country. Whether diagnosed (or diagnosable) or not, the quirky sleuth has been a feature of detective fiction since Holmes first whipped out a magnifying glass. Fans and scholars have retrospectively diagnosed the character as being on the spectrum, and you can easily find essays and discussions as to whether Poirot's fastidiousness at least borders on OCD. There are arguments pro and con, but some fraction of the neurodivergent community is happy to claim them as their own. In this century, television has given us 'Monk,' 'Bones,' 'Professor T.' (also via PBS, and streaming from the website), the ongoing 'Ludwig' and broadcast shows 'Will Trent,' 'Elsbeth' and 'High Potential,' with heroes whose preternatural, if not pathological, focus amounts to a superpower. (Diane Kruger's Det. Sonya Cross on FX's 'The Bridge,' is often held up as particularly true to life.) Of course, all fictional detectives, whether social, antisocial or introverted, tend to be superhuman to some degree, whatever personal challenges they might face, with a more original, more acute perception than their colleagues. That's why we love them. The opening episodes offer a primer in autism, conducted mainly by Patience's godfather, retired Det. Douglas Gilmour (Adrian Rawlins), with whom she lives, and Billy Thompson (Connor Curren), who leads an autism support group. (Curren is also autistic.) If it's a little on the money in terms of dialogue, it's useful information given that many are aware of autism without knowing much about it — it shows up more on TV because it shows up more in the zeitgeist, and screenwriters are always looking for a new angle. (It's especially welcome here, given the ignorant remarks of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current secretary of health, on the causes and experiences of autism.) Still, the neurotypical viewer might wonder how accurately the series portrays neurodivergence, and indeed, within the community, which is nothing like homogeneous, one finds a multiplicity of views. (The series has already shown in the U.K.) That Purvis, now 21 and diagnosed at 17, is herself autistic, suggests that, while she's playing someone other than herself, the series is to some degree true to her own experience. Patience carries two umbrellas in case one breaks. (It rains a lot in England, you know.) Building up to approaching Bea, she writes out what she wants to say in a conversational flow chart. She won't cross a 'police line, do not cross' tape unless ushered through and she jumps from an elevator as soon as it becomes too crowded (and exceeds its legal capacity). She's incapable of small talk ('Are you just being polite or do you really want to know?' she asks Bea, when Bea asks how she is), but does point out that Bea's socks are mismatched and tells cute forensic specialist Elliot Scott (Tom Lewis) that 'Your surname's a first name and your first name's a surname,' though, to be picky about it, both names are first names and surnames. Still, it's the beginning of something. The mysteries are of the usual unusual sort common to cozy mysteries. (They can be a little sillier than they're meant to, but it's not fatal.) Why are apparently happy men killing themselves, on the fourth Friday of the month? One, set in a natural history museum, involves fossils; there's a locked room mystery (with a mystery writer for a victim), which delights Patience, an Agatha Christie fan, and there's a corpse that seemingly walks off a table in the morgue. Patience, who cannot resist an unsolved puzzle, is drawn reluctantly out of her shell, and Bea begins to notice things in her young son Alfie (an impressively individual Maxwell Whitelock) that remind her of Patience. There are times when characters act less than reasonably, or less intelligently than their official position might indicate. If Patience is fast in making calculations and connections, the others can seem slow off the mark, and although everyone is on the case — in cop shows, teamwork typically makes the dream work — she makes the breakthroughs that lead to a solution. Of course, the very logic of the series demands she be invaluable, and in this regard, it's no different from most mystery series, where one character is out ahead of everyone else in solving the crime. Not everything makes perfect, or even imperfect, sense. But as always, the plots are there almost as a pretext to spend time with the characters, and the whole cast is good company. But Purvis especially, in spite of Patience's self-containment, radiates quiet charisma — new-star power. A second season, happily, is already on the cards.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Maigret,' ‘7/7: The London Bombings' Headline Banijay Entertainment's Packed London TV Screenings Lineup (EXCLUSIVE)
Banijay Entertainment is set to impress at the upcoming London TV Screenings with one of the most extensive and diverse lineups in global TV in terms of both quality and quantity. This year's showcase, Banijay @ BAFTA 195 Piccadilly, open exclusively to buyers, will spotlight 13 scripted titles, 15 factual series, nine new unscripted formats, and six third-party shows featuring some of the most anticipated new programming on the market. The event will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 26, across three sessions and is expected to attract a record number of global buyers eager to explore Banijay's diverse offerings. More from Variety New Regency Drives Into Europe, Acquiring Smart Genre Crime Thriller 'Beyond' From CBS Studios, ARD, Syrreal (EXCLUSIVE) South Series Festival Awards: CBS Studios' 'Oderbruch,' Sophie Turner Starrer 'Joan' Win Major Prizes South International Series Festival: 10 Titles to Watch Leading the charge for Banijay is 'Maigret,' the first contemporary TV adaptation of the iconic detective novels by Georges Simenon, heading for PBS Masterpiece. Written by Patrick Harbinson ('Homeland,' '24,' 'The Tower), the market debut – produced by Playground, behind 'Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light' – introduces a fresh take on the legendary Parisian Chief Inspector Jules Maigret. This reimagining features a young, unconventional Maigret, a rising star but still with something to prove, played by Benjamin Wainwright ('Belgravia: The Next Chapter'), glimpsed in a debonair first look photo released earlier this week. Another highlight of Banijay's factual offerings is '7/7: The London Bombings,' a landmark docu-series marking the 20th anniversary of the devastating London bombings. This potentially powerful documentary, produced by The Slate Works for BBC Two and iPlayer, promises an in-depth, emotional look at the tragic events of July 7, 2005, which changed the city forever. The documentary will bring new insights and personal stories to light, making it a must-see for anyone with an interest in contemporary history or true-crime documentaries, Banijay noted. In formats, one potential highlight may be BBC-bound reality dating challenge '30 Dates and 30 Nights,' from Spain's Cuarzo Producciones, part of Banijay Iberia, and free-to-air broadcaster Mediaset, made for its VOD service Mitele Plus. Rarely may true love have been so intense. Over the titular time, the show's star – influencer Lucía Sánchez in the Spanish original – goes through 30 unique dates, mentored by the presenter Catalina Porto. 'From high-end dramas to gripping factual series, this year's line-up highlights the exceptional depth and quality of our burgeoning catalog,' said Cathy Payne, CEO of Banijay Rights. 'We cannot wait to come together later this month with our partners at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly for what has become an unmissable event in the TV industry calendar.' James Townley, Chief Content Officer, Development and Lucas Green, Chief Content Officer, Operations at Banijay Entertainment, added: 'The London TV Screenings is the perfect stage to showcase Banijay Entertainment's latest and most innovative IP, alongside reimagined hit formats. Creativity is brimming across our footprint, and with global partners seeking bold new formats, our portfolio of buzzworthy titles truly sets us apart.' Below, we take a detailed look at Banijay's plans for the 2025 London TV Screenings. Highlights from Banijay's U.K. scripted slate include the modern-day reimagining of the classic detective series 'Bergerac' by U&Original, produced by Blacklight TV. It's still set in Jersey, like the John Nettles classic, but one serialized case running across six addition, 'Half Man' weighs in as a deeply personal drama, from Emmy-winning 'Baby Reindeer' – creator Richard Gadd, co-produced by HBO. Other high-profile offerings include the psychological thriller 'Fear' for Amazon Prime Video, starring Martin Compston ('Line of Duty') and Anjli Mohindra ('Vigil'); the dark comedy 'Just Act Normal' for BBC iPlayer, and 'The Feud,' a domestic thriller for Channel 5. With a global eye, the catalog also features the eagerly awaited second seasons of 'Marie Antoinette' and 'Fallen' – international co-productions that highlight Banijay's commitment to diverse and compelling storytelling. Banijay is making waves with its range of hard-hitting and deeply engaging factual programming. The aforementioned '7/7: The London Bombings' is the headliner, but other standouts include 'The Drowning Pool,' a gripping true-crime series that promises to captivate audiences with its chilling narrative; 'Anatomy of a Murder' from Workerbee; ',' an investigative documentary about climate justice; and 'Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain,' a CNN Original series from Hyphenate Media Group. Unscripted formats are always a highlight at Banijay events, and the 2025 London TV Screenings are no exception. This year, Banijay offers a slew of exciting new formats, from 'Against All Odds,' a cross-country skiing competition from Meter/Jarowskij for SVT, to 'Mission Unknown: Atlantic,' a unique influencer-fueled adventure series from Banijay Productions Germany for Prime Video. Reality enthusiasts can look forward to highly anticipated reboots like 'Faking It' and 'Ladette to Lady.' Also set to feature in London are 'The Rest of Your Life,' a life-changing reality format for DR1, and the docu-format 'AI Love You' from Nordisk Film TV for TV 2. Banijay's innovation extends to the third-party portfolio as well, with the reality format 'My Name Is Gabriel' for JTBC and Disney+, 'Atypical Critics,' featuring autistic food critics, and 'Game of Wool,' a competitive knitting series for More 4. Recently announced series 'The Insider,' the first format to come out of a co-development deal between Endemol Shine Australia and Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), and a reinvention of 'Actor Vs Reactors,' both look set to spark excitement in several markets. Operating in a post-Peak TV ecosystem, Banijay, like so many other companies around the world, is adapting by embracing collaboration with international partners. As Banijay continues to expand its global footprint, the company remains committed to forging partnerships with key broadcasters, distributors and production companies in established and new/developing markets. This commitment is underscored by its impressive slate for international streaming platforms, with shows like 'Celebrity Bear Hunt,' co-produced by Banijay UK's Workerbee, The Natural Studios and Talkback for Netflix, 'Last One Laughing UK' from Zeppotron and Initial for Prime Video, created by Hitoshi Matsumoto and produced by Banijay Entertainment labels in 11 markets; and 'Carême,' a Shine Fiction (part of Banijay France) and VVZ Production for Apple TV+ that will be featured at this year's Series Mania. Banijay's London TV Screenings line-up is a testament to the company's ongoing commitment to delivering top-tier content that resonates with global audiences. From high-octane reality shows to thought-provoking documentaries and gripping dramas, Banijay is not only leading the charge in entertainment—it's setting the stage for what comes next in the ever-evolving TV landscape. As the company prepares to take the stage at the Screenings, its executives are champing at the bit to show off what they've got to offer. 'We are thrilled to showcase our incredible slate and to share these outstanding new projects with our partners,' Payne concluded. 'It's going to be an unforgettable event.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Grammy Predictions, From Beyoncé to Kendrick Lamar: Who Will Win? Who Should Win? What's Coming to Netflix in February 2025
