Smilla’s Sense of Snow Coming To AMC+ In The US And Canada

Image: ITV

By Jon Donnis

Crime drama series Smilla’s Sense of Snow is heading to AMC+ in the US and Canada, following a new international distribution agreement between AMC Global Media, ITV Studios and Constantin Film.

The modern adaptation of Peter Høeg’s internationally acclaimed bestseller stars Filippa Coster-Waldau, Elyas M’Barek and Henry Lloyd-Hughes, with BAFTA winner Amma Asante directing. Amanda Collin, Morten Suurballe, Silver Wolfe, Set Sjöstrand and Alexandre Willaume also appear in the series.

ITV Studios holds worldwide distribution rights to the production, with the latest agreement adding the US and Canadian markets to the growing international reach of the series. The deal was brokered by Rob Kaplan, Senior Vice President of Sales for the US and Latin America at ITV Studios.

Set 30 years after Høeg’s novel was first published, the series brings its story into a near-future setting while retaining its focus on identity and origins. Its world also explores issues including the energy crisis, surveillance, climate change and growing nationalism.

The story takes place in Copenhagen in 2040, where Smilla Jaspersen lives an isolated life within a heavily surveilled society facing an impending energy crisis. Her world changes when she forms a bond with a young Inuit boy.

When the boy suddenly dies under mysterious circumstances, Smilla begins searching for answers. Her investigation takes her from Copenhagen to the icy landscapes of Greenland, where she becomes caught up in dangerous political power struggles.

As Smilla digs deeper into the circumstances surrounding the boy's death, her own extraordinary abilities become central to uncovering the truth, including the mystery surrounding her identity.

Smilla’s Sense of Snow is produced by Constantin Film and is directed by Amma Asante, whose previous credits include Belle, Mrs. America and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Love Is In The Blood Returns To Channel 4.0 For Second Series

Image: Ch4

By Jon Donnis

Channel 4.0 is bringing Love Is In The Blood back for a second series, with Adeola Patronne returning as matchmaker for another group of hopeful singles.

The digital entertainment channel has commissioned eight new episodes of the series in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). The branded entertainment series is produced by Word On The Curb and once again combines blind dating with blood donation.

The format sees two singletons matched together, with one having donated blood before and the other preparing to give blood for the first time. Separated by dividers, the pair will get to know each other without seeing one another, while also taking part in a blood donation that could help save lives.

Adeola will guide each date, putting the hopeful couples through a mixture of quick-fire questions and deeper conversations designed to explore their personalities, values and approach to relationships.

Questions will range from playful choices such as whether they believe in love at first sight or prefer a slow burn, through to more meaningful discussions as the dates attempt to establish whether they share the same core values.

At the end of each date, both participants will have to decide whether they want to finally meet face-to-face. If either person chooses not to continue, the pair must walk away without ever seeing the person they have been matched with.

The return follows a successful first series, which won Best Content Partnership or AFP at the 2026 Broadcast Digital Awards and Best Branded Content at this year's TellyCast Digital Video Awards.

With Adeola back in the matchmaking role, the second series will once again put romance and an important cause together, while leaving the final decision firmly in the hands of the people taking part.

Twice the Food, Half the Price: Rosie Ramsey and Nathan Anthony to Help UK Families Cut Food Costs

Image: Ch4

By Jon Donnis

Channel 4 has commissioned Twice the Food, Half the Price, a new six-part series from South Shore presented by Rosie Ramsey and Nathan Anthony, better known as @boredoflunch.

The series will focus on the financial pressure facing households across the UK as families continue to feel the squeeze of rising costs. Rosie and Nathan will work with families struggling with increasing food bills, showing them how changes to the way they shop, cook and plan meals can help make their budgets stretch further.

Across each episode, the pair will help a different family rethink their weekly food shop, using smart shopping, practical swaps and achievable recipes to demonstrate how they can spend less without sacrificing enjoyable and satisfying meals.

The series will cover food for every part of the week, including packed lunches, quick midweek dinners, fakeaways and meals for entertaining at home. Along the way, Rosie and Nathan will share practical ideas designed to be used in viewers' own kitchens.

Rather than simply focusing on individual recipes, Twice the Food, Half the Price will follow the families as they attempt to establish new habits around shopping and cooking. Their real financial circumstances will provide the backdrop as they discover whether the changes can make a lasting difference to their food spending.

With relatable family stories combined with practical ways to reduce the cost of meals, the series aims to show how making smarter choices in the kitchen could help households get more from their weekly food budget.

Fresh From the Noughties with Miquita Oliver Takes Gen Z Back to the 2000s

Image: Ch4

By Jon Donnis

The noughties are making a comeback as Channel 4 prepares to launch Fresh From the Noughties with Miquita Oliver, a new long-form episode exploring what Gen Z can learn from the style, culture and attitudes of the 2000s.

Hosted by T4 icon Miquita Oliver, the show follows three Gen Z participants as they step back into the world of the noughties. Alongside revisiting the era's distinctive fashion and culture, each participant takes part in a personalised "noughties reset" designed around some of the challenges facing them today.

The resets focus on modern struggles including confidence, friendship, dating and self-expression. The idea is to look beyond the aesthetics of the decade and explore whether some of the attitudes associated with the noughties could offer a different perspective on contemporary life.

Helping guide the participants is millennial stylist Ayishat Akanbi, who experienced the decade first-hand. Her role is to help each participant embrace a more confident approach to their individual reset, with lessons covering everything from making real-world connections to worrying less about perfection.

The experiment asks whether millennials can help Gen Z transform more than just their look, using elements of noughties culture to encourage changes in confidence and mindset.

NIVEA B&W Deodorant also features throughout the confidence-building journey, with its focus on helping protect clothes from white marks and yellow stains.

Fresh From the Noughties with Miquita Oliver will be released on Channel 4's YouTube on 21 September. The project, produced by Interstellar, will take the form of a long-form episode accompanied by social shorts, while a promotional TVC will also appear on Channel 4 streaming.

WAR: Sky Unveils Full Trailer For New Legal Drama Starring Dominic West And Sienna Miller

By Jon Donnis

Sky has released the full trailer for WAR, a new Sky Original legal drama from creator George Kay, the writer behind Lupin and Hijack. Set within the ruthless world of London's most prestigious law firms, the eight-part series explores ambition, betrayal and the lengths people will go to secure victory.

The series centres on two rival firms, Cathcarts & Sons and Taylor & Byrne, whose battle for dominance intensifies when they find themselves on opposing sides of a headline-grabbing divorce case.

At the centre of the legal conflict is the explosive split between British tech entrepreneur Morgan Henderson, played by Dominic West, and international film star Carla Duval, portrayed by Sienna Miller. With fortunes, reputations and careers at stake, both firms are prepared to stop at nothing to deliver a victory for their clients.

The case also draws ambitious young lawyer Jonathan "Johnny" Warren, played by Archie Renaux, into a world where professional rivalries quickly become personal. As Cathcarts & Sons and Taylor & Byrne go head-to-head, Johnny finds himself navigating a legal landscape where ambition is currency and betrayal can be part of the strategy.

Phoebe Fox stars as Serena Byrne, while James McArdle plays Nicholas Taylor, the partners in life and business behind Taylor & Byrne. Their rivals at Cathcarts & Sons are Nina Sosanya as Beatrice "Queen Bea" Ubosi and Pip Torrens as St John Smallwood.

The extensive supporting cast includes Celia Imrie, Nick Mohammed, Emma Laird, Aran Murphy, Archie Panjabi, Adrian Scarborough, Shaheen Jafargholi, Akiya Henry, Honor Swinton Byrne, Miles Jupp, Kartanya Maynard, Alexandra Mardell, Dylan Edwards, Mark Quartley and Steve Furst.

With two series already ordered, WAR is set to introduce viewers to a world of fierce courtroom battles and equally intense conflicts behind closed doors. The newly released trailer offers a glimpse at the rivalry between the two firms and the increasingly personal stakes surrounding the Henderson and Duval divorce.

WAR will premiere in the UK on 2 October on Sky and streaming service NOW, with series one consisting of eight weekly episodes.

The Friend Ship: Joe Marler and Joe Wilkinson Take Their Friendship on the Water

Joe Marler and Joe Wilkinson (Image: Zeppotron [a Banijay UK company] / BBC)

By Jon Donnis

The Friend Ship sees Joe Marler and Joe Wilkinson take their unlikely friendship on the road, although this time their journey will be spent on Britain’s waterways.

The six-part series, produced by Zeppotron, a Banijay UK company, follows the pair as they set off on a canal boat adventure combining Wilkinson’s love of canals with Marler’s enthusiasm for having fun. The result promises a very confined test of their friendship, complete with cramped cabins, canal locks and plenty of opportunities for their childlike sense of humour to take over.

The pair became firm friends while appearing on Celebrity Traitors, and The Friend Ship gives them the chance to spend considerably more time together as Wilkinson takes his new friend on a journey that fulfils a lifelong dream of his, ending at the Falkirk Wheel, the engineering landmark connecting two separate stretches of canal.

Their route will take them through North Wales, the West Country, Birmingham, the Pennines, London and Edinburgh. Along the way, they will stop to meet groups of friends from different walks of life while experiencing the slower pace of life on the canals.

Away from the sightseeing and silliness, the journey will also explore friendship, community and male loneliness. As Marler and Wilkinson get to know each other better, they will also discover more about the habits that can become particularly noticeable when two friends are sharing a confined space.

Filming is now underway, with transmission details for The Friend Ship to be announced.

A Course Called Ireland: Bill Murray Takes Golfing Road Trip Across Ireland

Tom Coyne and Bill Murray (Image: BBC/Stellify Media - (a Sony Pictures Television company) / Christopher Barr)

By Jon Donnis

BBC Two, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer have unveiled first-look images from A Course Called Ireland, a new six-part documentary series following Bill Murray on an unpredictable road trip around the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Produced by Skydance Sports and Stellify Media, the series sees Murray joined by extended family members Joel and John Murray, alongside celebrity friends including Chris O’Dowd, Joanne McNally and Jason Kelce. Long-time golfing companion and author Tom Coyne also joins Murray for the journey.

Golf provides the starting point, with Murray and Coyne playing their way across some of the island’s legendary courses. However, the series is about more than what happens between the first tee and the final hole. Along the way, the pair meet the people who give the island its character, with the journey exploring the stories, personalities and experiences that have helped shape Murray’s connection to his Irish heritage.

Each episode visits a different golf course and features a different guest, giving the six-part series a new setting and personality throughout its journey.

The BBC describes A Course Called Ireland as a celebration of life going gloriously off course, with golf serving as the excuse for Murray and his friends to explore the island and meet the people along the way.

The first episode of A Course Called Ireland will air on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer from Friday 23 October, before the series arrives on BBC Two on Sunday 25 October at 9.30pm.

Chris O'Dowd and Bill Murray (Image: BBC/Stellify Media (a Sony Pictures Television company))