10 h. ago Stranger Things creators reflect on filming 'really hard' series finale

The Duffer Brothers have opened up about the final episode of Stranger Things which arrives on Netflix this week

Culture

7 d. ago Better late than never! 18 characters whose late arrival lifted TV shows

From Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones to the Hot Priest in Fleabag and of course Dr Frasier Crane, we salute the game-changers who boosted later seasons of our favourite seriesWelcome. Nice of you to finally join us. Hope it was worth the wait. Yes, sometimes a late addition can improve a drama or comedy so much it becomes hard to imagine the show without them. Not every series gets the casting chemistry spot-on straight away. A select few of our favourite TV characters weren’t even on the show when it launched.We’ve selected 18 characters whose gamechanging arrival in later seasons lifted the whole show and added to its legacy. Behold the super-subs who came off the TV bench and scored a winner Continue reading...

Culture

1 week ago The Carpenter’s Son review – Nicolas Cage is predictably miscast in dull biblical horror

A grim, grave-faced look at Jesus realising he is in fact the son of God is a bafflingly acted and messily made boreIt’s hard to know how seriously one should take a film that casts Nicolas Cage as Joseph, the carpenter who acted as the adoptive father of Jesus. One might expect, with the actor still relying on his trademark California intonation and histrionic outbursts, that this would be another one of his late-stage career larks, like playing Dracula or himself. But in The Carpenter’s Son, a bafflingly serious stew of horror, drama and fantasy, it slowly starts to dawn on us that this is in fact, not a joke. What it is I couldn’t tell you but entertaining it most definitely isn’t.The film, from Egypt-born, London-raised writer and director Lotfy Nathan, is inspired by the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a text seen as heretical by some, which offers highly debated “insight” into the early years of Jesus. Nathan begins by clueing us into the fact that this isn’t your vicar’s Sunday sch...

Events

1 week ago Inside Kate and William's 'forever home': Prince gives a sneak peek of newly renovated Forest Lodge and shows off Kate's 'tastefully discreet' decor choices

The Prince of Wales appeared to show inside his family's new 'forever home' when he filmed a video urging young people to reflect on Armistice Day from inside a lavishly decorated room.

Politics

1 week ago Inside Kate and William's 'forever home': Prince gives a sneak peek of newly

The Prince of Wales appeared to show inside his family's new 'forever home' when he filmed a video urging young people to reflect on Armistice Day from inside a lavishly decorated room.

Politics

2 w. ago Stranger Things creators address Millie Bobby Brown bullying claims against David Harbour

The hit Netflix show’s bosses call viral reports of on-set harassment “wildly inaccurate” as Brown and co-star David Harbour pose together on the red carpet

Politics

2 w. ago Stranger Things creators address David Harbour bullying report as star reunites with Millie Bobby Brown on red carpet

Director and executive producer Shawn Levy said some of the stories within the report were ‘wildly inaccurate’

Politics

2 w. ago From fiasco to feted: the story of the Dream of Gerontius, the revolutionary music of The Choral

The Choral depicts an amateur choral society in wartime Yorkshire taking on Elgar’s trailblazing and controversial work. But how much does Alan Bennett’s fiction reflect actual fact?Nicholas Hytner’s new film, The Choral – in UK cinemas today – culminates in an unconventional rendition of Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. Alan Bennett’s screenplay is an affectionate portrayal of a choral society in a small Yorkshire town during the first world war. Searching for non-German repertoire, the chorusmaster Dr Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes) settles in desperation on Gerontius.Perhaps it is Elgar’s reputation as a pillar of the British establishment – he appears briefly in the film, a cameo from an extravagantly moustachioed Simon Russell Beale – that reassures Bennett’s fictional committee members that this will be a safe choice. But as Guthrie starts to teach the unfamiliar score, they realise Sir Edward’s patrician persona has deceived them. They expected something staidly English, but in...

Politics

3 w. ago Celebrity Traitors star Cat Burns admits she found it 'hard' filming series in 'surreal' insight

The singer has been a traitor on the BBC series since its very first episode

Events

3 w. ago Sir Keir Starmer warns of ‘tough but fair’ decisions in Budget

The Prime Minister said ‘hard and serious’ choices were needed to fix Britain’s financial woes.

Events

3 w. ago ‘I’ve tried to separate myself from this job’: The Witcher’s Anya Chalotra on fan abuse, Henry Cavill and saying goodbye to the show

After seven years in Netflix’s fantasy epic, the actor has cast her final spell. She talks about the genre’s toxic fans, welcoming new boy Liam Hemsworth to the cast – and what sorcery really sounds likeIt is a bittersweet day for Anya Chalotra. On the one hand, The Witcher, the fantasy epic in which she has played super-sorcerer Yennefer of Vengerberg since 2018, is about to return for a fourth series. All the hard work she and hundreds of others have done can finally be seen by millions of fans worldwide. The cast and crew wrap party is due to take place a few hours after we speak. It’s an exciting time for the actor. But on the other hand: “I wrapped The Witcher for good yesterday,” Chalotra says. “So forgive me if I can’t string a sentence together. It’s all very odd I cried a lot.”Refreshingly for a big-budget fantasy show, The Witcher will bow out with its story complete, rather than at some dissatisfying midpoint due to an unceremonious cancellation. And though...

Events

3 w. ago Stranger Things fans beg 'don't kill him' as series five trailer is released

Stranger Things fans have begged the creators of the show not to kill one of the characters off, but different people have different favourites they don't want to see the back of

Events

3 w. ago Stranger Things creators say they ‘blocked’ plots in Broadway play to avoid spoilers

The fifth and final season of hit Netflix series will be released in November

Politics