HBO Max Unveils ‘The Thaw’ Trailer
EXCLUSIVE: HBO Max has unveiled a trailer for Polish thriller The Thaw from writer/director duo Marta Szymanek and Xawery Żuławski. The Thaw will launch in all HBO Max territories on April 1 and the trailer comes a week after the streamer launched in Poland. The show starts with the body of a young woman being found in the icy waters of the Oder River. Newly-widowed Detective Katarzyna Zawieja (Katarzyna Wajda) leads the investigation to track down the killer and when it becomes evident that the victim gave birth shortly before her death, Zawieja, a young officer who never gives up easily, goes on a search for the missing newborn. Executive producers are Izabela Łopuch, Johnathan Young, and Antony Root and producers are Bogumił Lipski and Andrzej Beszta.
ITV Goes ‘Searching For Michael Jackson’s Zoo’
ITV is to go Searching for Michael Jackson’s Zoo in a feature documentary examining the fate of the exotic animals kept at his Neverland ranch. EastEnders star Ross Kemp is hosting the show about the private zoo that at its peak contained 124 exotic animals including zebras, giraffes, elephants, lions, tigers and Jackson’s famous pet chimpanzee Bubbles. Following Jackson’s death in 2009, the zoo was dismantled and the animals dispersed, and the show seeks to answer the question of where they ended up. The doc is being co-produced by UK indies Rare TV and Freshwater Films. “To the outside world, Bubbles the chimp was one of Michael Jackson’s closest companions,” said Rare TV CEO Alexander Gardiner. “The truth is much darker, as Ross Kemp reveals in this compelling but troubling documentary.”
Channel 4 acquires ‘The Great’ Season Two & Orders ‘Nazanin’ Doc
UK network Channel 4 has acquired the second series of Hulu’s Elle Fanning/Nicholas-Hoult starring period piece The Great and commissioned a documentary about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. The second run of The Great, which dropped on Hulu in the U.S. late last year, sees Catherine finally taking the Russian throne for her own but she quickly learns that dethroning her husband was just the beginning. The first series aired to critical acclaim and was also acquired in the UK by Channel 4. The network has also commissioned a single documentary on Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who returned to the UK this week after six years of being detained in Iran. Airing later this year, Nazanin, from filmmaker and journalist Darius Bazargan, is an intimate doc that shows never-before-seen footage of the people most closely caught up with Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case, namely husband Richard Ratcliffe and daughter Gabriella.
Edinburgh Reveals New Voice Awards Host
BBC Asian Network Breakfast Show host Harpz Kaur is to present next month’s fifth Edinburgh TV Foundation’s New Voice Awards, which will be held at the Curzon Soho. Kaur will preside over a nomination list including footballer Micah Richards and Unapologetic’s Zeze Millz. Broadcasters and indies are also nominated for the way in which they support new voices in the industry. Run by The TV Foundation, the charitable arm of the Edinburgh Television Festival, the New Voice Awards is part of an extensive programme of schemes and events designed to increase access to the TV industry, including flagship schemes The Network and Ones to Watch. “It’s so important to showcase the fresh creative talent, from all backgrounds across the UK, who are already making waves so early on in their careers,” said Kaur. “It’s brilliant to have these awards to celebrate such amazing new voices as they break into this industry and I’m really excited to be a part of that.”