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The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
From Shetland to Vigil and Rebus - which TV shows are returning?
It has been a beloved staple since 2013 and the good news is that BBC Scotland's popular murder mystery drama will be back for a landmark 10th series. Filming for Shetland, based on the books of Ann Cleeves, began earlier this year, with Ashley Jensen and Alison O'Donnell reprising their roles as DI Ruth Calder and DI Alison 'Tosh' McIntosh respectively. The six-part run will see our intrepid crime-fighting duo travel to the clachan of Lunniswick to investigate the death of an elderly woman. Also returning are Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson, Lewis Howden as Sgt Billy McCabe and Anne Kidd as forensic pathologist Cora McLean, with Amandaland and The History Boys actor Samuel Anderson joining the cast as procurator fiscal Matt Blake. Confirmed guest stars include Clive Russell (The Witcher), Ellie Haddington (Guilt), Niall MacGregor (The Bombing of Pan AM 103) and Greg McHugh (Only Child). Status: expected to air later this year. Dept.Q One of the best things on telly in 2025 so far, Dept. Q won a loyal legion of aficionados. Adapted from the novels of the same name by Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen, the Netflix drama saw Nordic noir transformed into Tartan noir with pitch-perfect prowess. Frank Scott, director/writer of The Queen's Gambit, who championed its leap from books to screen, said at one stage a version set in Boston was considered, 'but it just didn't feel right.' Edinburgh was sublime as the setting for the twisting plot and dry humour of Dept. Q Throw in a stellar cast – led by Matthew Goode as the brilliant and incorrigible DCI Carl Morck – and we had ourselves gripping, bingeworthy viewing. Will Dept. Q get a second run? The actors and key creatives are certainly making all the right noises. Fingers crossed for renewal news soon. Status: unconfirmed. Gregor Fisher and Greg in Only Child (Image: BBC) Only Child Gregor Fisher and Greg McHugh playing a chalk-and-cheese father and son make for a comedy gold double act. Only Child, created and written by Bryce Hart, debuted on BBC Scotland and BBC One last November. Described by actor McHugh as 'a humorous look at the circle of life', it was packed with warmth, laughs and wholly relatable scenarios. It has been confirmed for a second outing which will see Ken and Richard Pritchard (Fisher and McHugh) bicker their way 'through everything from driving lessons and explaining what a QR code is to buying your own coffin.' Status: expected to air in 2026. Read more The Rig There are still multiple loose threads to tie up in Prime Video's sci-fi thriller. Fans of the show, which stars Martin Compston, Iain Glen and Emily Hampshire, have been left on tenterhooks since the start of the year, when the second series aired. As yet, there is no word on whether The Rig – which centres around the peril-stricken crew of a fictional North Sea oil rig – will be given a third run. Filming schedules may prove the biggest obstacle, with many of the main cast committed to meaty projects. Compston has Paramount+ thriller The Revenge Club, ITV's Red Eye 2 and BBC's Line of Duty in the works, while Hampshire is tied to Marvel's Vision Quest for Disney+ Status: unconfirmed. Two Doors Down is a firm favourite with many viewers (Image: BBC) Two Doors Down It has been almost two years since the BBC sitcom starring Elaine C Smith, Alex Norton, Arabella Weir, Doon Mackichan and Jonathan Watson last appeared on our screens. Many believed that the loss of co-creator Simon Carlyle, who died in 2023, would spell the end for the hit TV show. However, Gregor Sharp, who created and wrote Two Doors Down alongside Carlyle, has penned a new Christmas special, which will air this December. The cast, including Smith, Norton, Weir, Mackichan and Watson, will all return alongside fellow favourites Graeme Stevely, aka Grado, Joy McAvoy, Jamie Quinn and Kieran Hodgson, seeing the residents of Latimer Crescent congregate to celebrate the festive season. As Sharp deftly puts it: 'Christmas is a time for getting together with friends and family and then becoming low level irritated by them.' Status: due to air in December 2025. Karen Pirie Based on the Inspector Karen Pirie novels by Val McDermid, the long-awaited second run of the ITV crime drama reached its compelling finale earlier this month. Starring Lauren Lyle as the titular police detective investigating cold case murders, the first two series were adapted from McDermid's works The Distant Echo and A Darker Domain. The debut instalment saw Pirie reopen an investigation into the 1996 murder of a teenage barmaid in St Andrews, whose death had become the subject of a true crime podcast. The second series focused on the 1984 kidnapping of an oil fortune heiress and her baby son. There is still plenty of material to draw from in the seven-strong book series, with an eighth Karen Pirie title, Silent Bones, set to be published in October. Status: unconfirmed. Rebus Outlander star Richard Rankin will reprise his role as John Rebus for a second series of the critically acclaimed, contemporary reimagining of Sir Ian Rankin's crime books. Adapted for TV by Gregory Burke – whose past work includes the seminal National Theatre of Scotland play Black Watch – the gritty Edinburgh-set drama lays bare Rebus's formative years and the events that shaped him. Filming is tipped to begin next year. Rebus creator Sir Ian Rankin, who has written 25 full novels about the no-nonsense detective, serves as an executive producer on the BBC show. He is thrilled to see it recommissioned. He said: 'Season one of Rebus ended on a cliffhanger. Only screenwriter Gregory Burke knows what happens next. So, I'm hugely excited that season two will soon be with us. Rebus is back – mean, moody and as magnificent as ever.' Status: expected to air in 2027. Balamory The pastel-hued, fictional Scottish town of Balamory has been dusted off from mothballs after a two-decade hiatus, with filming for the reboot of the classic BBC children's series under way. Much-loved characters Miss Hoolie, PC Plum, Penny Pocket and Edie McCredie – played by Julie Wilson Nimmo, Andrew Agnew, Kim Tserkezie and Juliet Cadzow respectively – will be back alongside a clutch of new characters. Originally shown from 2002 to 2005, Balamory became a childhood staple for many youngsters. According to the BBC, this reincarnation will see it 'lovingly reimagined for today's families, retaining its original spirit while introducing fresh elements to captivate young viewers'. Status: expected to air in 2026. Outlander is written by Diana Gabaldon (Image: unknown) Outlander Filming for the eighth and final series of Outlander – based on the best-selling novels of Diana Gabaldon – wrapped last autumn and now begins the long goodbye. The historical drama, starring Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe, first aired in 2014. It has enjoyed global popularity and sparked a tourism boom for Scotland, where the hit show was made. Many avid viewers will be sad to see it end. Yet, there is still life in the Outlander universe: a new spin-off prequel, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, launched earlier this month. Status: Outlander is expected to air in early 2026. Watch Outlander: Blood of My Blood on MGM+ via Prime Video now. Dinosaur The debut series of the BBC Three comedy drama – co-created by and starring Glasgow-born comedian, writer and actor Ashley Storrie – won two Bafta Scotland awards, seeing it recommissioned for a second run, with filming under way this summer. Dinosaur follows an autistic woman in her thirties and takes its name from Storrie's character Nina who works as a palaeontologist at the fictional Natural History Museum of Glasgow. The cast includes Greg Hemphill, Sally Howitt and Kat Ronney. Status: expected to air in 2026. Granite Harbour is set in Aberdeenshire (Image: BBC) Granite Harbour DCI Lara 'Bart' Bartlett and her marvellous collection of neckerchiefs are back, with a third series of BBC's Granite Harbour in production. Hannah Donaldson plays Bartlett, alongside Romario Simpson as her right-hand man DC Davis Lindo. The new three-part run will see the pair investigate a suspicious death in Aberdeenshire, as tricky details about 'a complicated cross-community romance' emerge. Status: expected to air in 2026. Vigil A Trident nuclear submarine and under-attack air force base were the backdrops for previous instalments of pacy BBC thriller Vigil. The upcoming third series is set to unfold at a remote Arctic research station where a covert British special forces mission has been shot dead. Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie return as DCI Amy Silva and DI Kirsten Longacre respectively. Their latest case: find the killer and diffuse a potential international flashpoint, centred around a deadly land-grab for untapped resources in the changing polar climate. Status: expected to air in 2026. Susan Swarbrick is a columnist and freelance writer who specialises in celebrity interviews, TV content and musings on popular culture. Follow her on X @SusanSwarbrick and Bluesky @
Business Wire
29-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Media Advisory: Groundbreaking and Check Presentation for Transitional Housing Development in
OPELOUSAS, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Representatives from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and Catalyst Bank will celebrate the start of construction on a transitional housing project that was helped by a $2 million FHLB Dallas Affordable Housing Program grant awarded through Catalyst Bank. They'll join The Refinery Mission and elected officials for a groundbreaking and check presentation for The Rig, a housing development in Opelousas, Louisiana, at 10:00 a.m., Friday, August 1, 2025. The Refinery Mission's new transitional housing development will serve men rebuilding their lives in the face of addiction, homelessness and other challenges. The Rig will provide 57 beds for low-income men in the area and on-site programming. The media is encouraged to attend the groundbreaking and check presentation. Learn more about the AHP.
The Herald Scotland
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Dept Q studio to become Edinburgh Festival pop-up venue
Lewis Walker's show - which will explore 'the human search for authenticity in a world based on repetition' – will close the Edinburgh Art Festival programme this August. Read more: Other art festival art festival will be staged at the Royal Botanic Garden, the sculpture garden attraction Jupiter Artland, St Giles' Cathedral and The Grange cricket club. Walker's hour-long performance at the Leith warehouse complex will offer a rare public opportunity to see inside the warehouse complex which has been used by screen industry giants Amaxon, Sony and Netflix for major productions since the official launch of the studios five years ago. Part of the FirstStage Studios complex in Leith will be opened for this year's Edinburgh Art Festival. (Image: Supplied) Previous productions include two seasons of supernatural thriller The Rig, which were set in the and the Arctic Circle, the feature film The Outrun, for scenes set in London's nightclub scene and the time travel fantasy saga Outlander, for a final series set during the American Revolution. Most recently, FirstStage was used for extensive filming on the Dept Q, the Edinburgh-set crime thriller, which has been a global ratings winner for Netflix. The studios complex was the base for the production for most of last year and was used the filming of key scenes, including those set inside a fictional Edinburgh police headquarters. Walker's show has been jointly commissioned by the art festival and the Serpentine Galleries in London, will be staged in the former industrial building in Leith months after it was performed in a 19th century chapel in London. The art festival's programme states: 'Bornsick reflects the idea that we inherit illness, born into a system that shapes us before we can define ourselves. The gymnastics and dance performance sees a body built, piece by piece: a character assembled through learned movements, imposed behaviors, and artificial layers. 'Through conditioning, we create a machine. Through unlearning, we return to the animal. The cycle continues, revealing that there is no final, fixed truth, only endless adaptation. Bornsick suggests that humanhood is a paradox; we search for something real, yet everything we are is borrowed.' Art festival curator Eleanor Edmondson said: 'Lewis Walker will close the festival with Bornsick, transforming the cavernous warehouse space of FirstStage Studios in Leith into a site of emotion and collective resonance. 'Rather than offering a fixed narrative, Walker channels what feels urgent and relevant in through movement — allowing meaning to unfold through the audience's own experience. Their practice is grounded in deep care, holding collaborators and participants with attentiveness and generosity.' Walker said: 'Bornsick reflects the idea that we inherit illness born into a system that shapes us before we can define ourselves. 'The gymnastics and dance performance explores identity as a compulsive act of referencing, an endless cycle of borrowing and reshaping of what came before.'
The Herald Scotland
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
The warehouse powering Edinburgh's new era of screen success
But a new era of screen success for the city is now being propelled behind closed doors on the edge of the city's docklands – in a former wave power plant, which was originally built 25 years ago by an engineering company. Matthew Goode and Alexej Manvelov star in the new Edinburgh-set thriller Dept Q. (Image: Netflix) Launched by former record company film producer Bob Last and actor director Jason Connery, son of the Edinburgh-born screen legend Sean Connery, FirstStage is now said to be generating tens of millions of pounds for the economy every year and allowing the city to capitalise on the streaming platform boom. New Netflix series Dept. Q, which stars Leah Byrne, Matthew Goode and Alexej Manvelov, was shot at FirstStage Studios in Leith. (Image: Netflix - Department Q) The conversion of the vast blue warehouse complex into a long-awaited permanent film studio for the city got underway just as the global screen industry was being put into lockdown by the pandemic - and hosted its first major production as soon as Covid restrictions were lifted across the UK. Five years later, FirstStage Studios has played host to some of the biggest players in the lucrative world of 'streamers,' including Amazon, Netflix and Sony, and transformed Edinburgh's ability to play host to productions. Two seasons of the supernatural thriller series The Rig were shot at FirstStage Studios in Leith. (Image: FirstStage Studios) These include two seasons of the supernatural thriller The Rig, which were set in the North Sea and the Arctic Circle, the feature film The Outrun, for scenes set in London's nightclub scene and the time travel fantasy saga Outlander, for a final series expected to be set during the American Revolution. But its most recent production is being seen as another game-changer for the city's screen industry – with FirstStage used for the first time for a new nine-part thriller set in modern-day Edinburgh which is hoped to become a long-running series. The feature film The Outrun was partly shot at FirstStage Studios in Leith. (Image: Bob Last/FirstStage Studios) Locations across the Scottish capital were deployed for the latest Netflix thriller Dept. Q, which focuses on a new cold case unit set up in the heart of a police headquarters in the city. Although detective Carl Morck and his team appear to be based in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, the inside of the atmospheric HQ and its grimy basement were created from scratch at FirstStage, along with other elaborate sets that feature in the show. A pit that can be used for underwater filming sequences is one of the key assets at FirstStage Studios in Leith. (Image: FirstStage Studios) The Downton Abbey and Crown actor Matthew Goode and a host of Scottish screen stars, including Shirley Henderson, Kate Dickie, Mark Bonnar, Jamie Sives and Leah Byrne, spent around six months making Dept. Q in Edinburgh – with around half of the film done inside the Leith studio. Eagle-eyed viewers may also be able to spot locations as varied as the City Chambers, the Signet Library, Greyfriars Bobby's Bar, Mortonhall Crematorium, Wester Hailes, the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena near Ratho and the Codebase building, on Castle Terrace, which stands in for the exterior of the police HQ. Launching the show in Edinburgh, writer-director Scott Frank, creator of the hit Netflix series the Queen's Gambit, described the extensive shoot on Dept. Q - which is based on Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen's novels - as 'the happiest experience' of his career. He said: 'You have great crews, you have great people and everything about shooting here is easy. 'The weather is interesting. It's the only place I've ever been where you can all four seasons in one day. 'The studio was wonderful. We had some pretty big sets and, partially because of the weather, we shot around half the show there. It was terrific. I loved working there.' Successive generations of Scottish screen industry leaders had lobbied for years for the country to create its own studio facilities. But the long-held dream did not become a reality until the Scottish Government and its screen agency agreed to help support Sony and Starz to find a home for its new show Outlander, which began filming in 2013 in a warehouse complex beside the M80 motorway in Cumbernauld. Four years later, the Leith Docks site, which was lying empty after a wave power company had gone into administration, was used for the first time by Marvel Studios while they spent around seven weeks shooting scenes for the blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War in the city's Old Town. Within months of the superhero being released, the Scottish Government and its Screen Scotland agency had launched a bid to create a permanent studio facility there, with Bob Last and Jason Connery announced as the successful team to take the project forward in March 2020. Bob Last said: 'When I was an independent film producer there was a lot of talk about studios, but I wouldn't have been able to afford to use one if it had been there on the budget of an independent film. 'There wasn't really enough demand for a studio until the streamers started making the level of content that they did. I saw that they were completely changing the way that people consumed content. 'When I was introduced to this building it was the first time that I felt there was a viable way of providing the scale that these huge shows needed. If we were going to attract shows to Scotland it was all going to be about competitive cost. "There used to be a lot of talk about building new studios from scratch in Scotland. But the cost of that would have meant that any such studio would have priced itself out of the market. 'We've been extremely busy since we opened pretty much on the first day of lockdown. We've had Amazon, Sony and Netlix shows in now, and have also been doing a rolling programme of work on the building, which has all sorts of unique and extraordinary elements. 'The pit that we use as a tank is one of the most interesting assets we have. If you were building a studio from scratch it would be insanely expensive to build, but it has turned out to be extremely useful. 'We also have 60 tonne and 20 tonne cranes, which have also been used by productions. You would never install them in a studio.' Chloe Pirrie is one of the stars of the new Netflix series Dept. Q, which is set in Edinburgh. (Image: free)The Scottish Government's film and TV agency Screen Scotland describes FirstStage Studios as a 'unique proposition' due to its size and facilities. The complex, which covers 8.9 acres, boasts 115,000 sq ft of shooting space up to 82 ft high, as well as offices, workshops and on-site parking for more than 200 vehicles. A spokesperson said: 'FirstStage has a number of key advantages. "It is one of very few UK-based studios to host a tank for underwater shooting, which has been used in productions including The Rig and The Outrun. 'Because of its height, FirstStage also has the capacity for very large set builds, and the large backlot as well as production offices and ancillary buildings on site. 'On its opening in 2020, once Covid restrictions were lifted it immediately became home to The Rig, Amazon's first UK drama commission. Created by Portobello-based writer David Macpherson, it perfectly highlighted the versatility and quality of the studio. An incredibly ambitious project, it was shot entirely in Scotland, and largely inside the FirstStage studio and surrounding lot. "Dept. Q from Netflix has built further on the potential first realised by The Rig and has again shown that FirstStage can deliver against the expectations and requirements of large-scale international productions.' Bob Last said: "If we knew the budgets of our customers we wouldn't be able to talk about them. "When a big show comes in here they will spend a lot of money in the city. We can have 200 people working here at the same time. "We are certainly anchoring tens of millions of pounds in direct spending ever year." Rosie Ellison, film commissioner at Film Edinburgh, the city's long-running film office, highlighted the transformation of the screen industry since the advent of the Leith studio. 'Edinburgh used to pick up a couple of days of or maybe a week or two of filming on productions. 'A production based at FirstStage might be here for a full six months of filming, plus another two or three months of preparation, plus another month or so winding down the production. 'The economic impact of a production and the opportunities it creates are very different to what they were before we had the studio. Productions are spending a lot when they are here, they are hiring local services and creating jobs for our young people to get involved in the industry. 'Dept Q was based at FirstStage, but they were also out and about every month, making use of our urban, rural and coastal locations, different kinds of architecture and office spaces. All sorts of landscapes will appear in that show, including places that people have never been seen on screen before." FirstStage Studios in Leith has been up and running for more than five years. (Image: FirstStage Studios)Hugh Gourlay, supervising location manager on Dept. Q said: "We filmed in something like 13 of the city's 17 council wards. 'There's such a variance in the architecture in Edinburgh: you've got the New Town, the medieval parts, the narrow closes, the wide streets, and the high-rise flats of parts of the city." For Bob Last, the city itself is a major selling point to help attract big-budget productions to FirstStage. 'Ware now on that global map because of the shows that have been here. When people are sitting in LA going down a list of studios we are on that list. That's where we need to be. "For us, Edinburgh as a city for someone to come and live and work in for six months is a massively important asset. There are five stars hotels near the studio and Michelin-starred restaurants literally walking distance away. 'These kind of shows are bringing people in from a global talent pool. If you're going to live and work somewhere for six months Edinburgh is a pretty cool place to do that.' Speaking at the Dept Q premiere in Edinburgh, showrunner Scott Frank said: 'When I came to Edinburgh I immediately knew we had to shoot here. I felt instantly inspired. 'It made me want to work even more in terms of the story to make it work more for Edinburgh. It was a really easy decision to film here. 'I loved living here and it was very easy to work here. I found Edinburgh very inspiring. 'I would love to come back. We'd all love to come back. We really enjoyed ourselves and I think we all got very close. I think we have a really good way of doing the second season. I hope people watch the show and we get to do it again.'
Scottish Sun
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Line of Duty's Martin Compston breaks silence on hit BBC drama's return – insisting it will ‘be for the right reasons'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LINE of Duty's Martin Compston has broken his silence on the hit BBC drama's return - saying it will be 'for the right reasons'. The Sun exclusively revealed Line of Duty would be returning next year for a seventh series. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Line of Duty's Martin Compston has broken his silence on the hit drama returning Credit: AP 4 The show aired from 2012 up until 2021 Credit: BBC 4 Viewers best know Martin for playing DS Steve Arnott Credit: BBC The six-parter will reportedly see Martin, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar all reprise their beloved roles for filming in January. When speaking to The Sun's TV Mag, the actor was grilled about rumours of the show making a comeback. Martin shared: 'We're always talking about possibilities and schedules and whatnot. "Everybody's got stuff going on at the minute, so I think anything, unfortunately, would be a way off. "You know, the day people stop asking about the show will be a sad day, so I'm delighted that people are still excited about it. "We'd all love to work together again at some point. We still all meet up. "I met with Jed [Mercurio, the show's creator], Adrian [Dunbar] and Vicky [McClure] in London before Christmas - we went out for dinner, to hear what everyone's up to." He added: 'It's amazing. It's the best feeling as an actor when you feel like the whole country's in the palm of your hand with what's coming next, and there's only a couple of you in that secret of who's surviving and what's going on. "But because we're all so close and we all want the best for the show, we wouldn't do it again just for the sake of it. "If it was just about doing it for the sake of it, we'd have probably done another three series by now. Line of Duty stars spark new episode rumours as they reunite for night out "We really care about the quality of it. So if we come back, it would be for the right reasons. "It won't just be: 'Get another one done.' It'll be because Jed thinks there's a story to tell." A TV insider previously told The Sun: 'This is the news Line of Duty fans have been waiting for since the sixth season left them deflated when it aired back in 2021. 'The BBC almost immediately requested more episodes to continue the story, but the success of the show meant Vicky, Martin and Adrian were instantly snapped up for other projects. 'But after several meetings with Jed [Mercurio, creator and writer] and the production team, they've finally managed to clear space in their calendars next year to commit to making the show.' The Sun first revealed in 2022 that the show, which drew up to 13million viewers, would return. The stars have been attached to other projects - Martin with supernatural thriller The Rig, Vicky with bomb squad drama Trigger Point, and Adrian with jazz singer detective show Ridley. Many of the 13million who saw the sixth series felt it a huge anti-climax to learn buffoon Det Supt Ian Buckells (Nigel Boyle) was H, the elusive mastermind with links to organised crime. Fans had wondered if it was a genuine end after nine years of nail-biting storylines, or a red herring by creator Jed Mercurio. TV Mag is available for free every Saturday, only in The Sun.
