Latest news with #assassin
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Assassin': After 7 seasons of 'The Good Doctor' Freddie Highmore shines with Keeley Hawes in British show
A retired assassin and her estranged son find themselves unexpectedly on the run in twisty, heartfelt crime thriller A high stakes, deadly adventure, told with appealing sarcastic and witty dialogue, the U.K. series The Assassin (on Crave in Canada) is a unique take on the popular crime thriller genre. Starring Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore as a mother-son duo, this exciting show is full of dangerous twists, but a lot of heart. Created by Harry Williams and Jack Williams, who both worked on The Tourist and Fleabag, it's no surprise that the writing is the perfect foundation for this show. Something that really appealed to the actors. "They had just gone from strength to strength over the years, and I really enjoyed The Tourist, and so I started reading this and at that time Freddie's name was also mentioned. So really, the whole package was sort of very exciting," Hawes told Yahoo Canada . "And five lovely months in Athens, the tone of the show, the characters so well drawn, it was all a bit of a gift. While Highmore was quick to stress that he was excited about working with Hawes, an actor he really admires, he was also excited about getting on to a British show, particularly after filming The Good Doctor in Vancouver for a number of years. "I just long admired [Keeley's] work, and having been in Vancouver and doing a different show for a long time, it was so exciting to get back to working in a British environment with the icon that is Keeley, and also Harry and Jack, and their writing," Highmore said. "They're both just brilliant at bringing the high stakes." "I think underneath it, what really matters about the show is this mother and son duo, and how the two of them started off in a place that seems quite conflicted and messy and complicated, but hopefully figure out that, in some ways, they are quite similar. ... [It's] exploring this nuanced mother-son arc that's not stereotypical or trope-y." What is 'The Assassin' about At the beginning of The Assassin we meet Julie (Hawes), living on a Greek island now that she's retired from her work as an assassin. While she doesn't have a close relationship with her son Edward (Highmore), who lives in England, he's set to come visit her. But Edward arrives with questions about who his father is, which Julie is still not going to answer. It's during Edward's visit that Julie gets a call that brings her back to a job as a hitwoman, but that results in both Edward and Julie being on the run, with a web of secrets for both of them starting to unravel. It is particularly compelling to meet Julie when she's at a place where she's been away from her job for some time. "She has no intention of going back, ... but she sort of can't resist it, really, because it's just part of her DNA," Hawes said. "It's a really lovely setting off point, rather than meeting her in the middle of any action. So we're kind of not aware of what she's been doing at all. So that is part of the story in itself." 'What you need is that heart' While revealing much more will veer into too many spoilers, we'll tease that the witty banter between Julie and Edward is absolutely a highlight, especially paired with these really risky and deadly circumstances of the story. "I think the humour, even if it's not necessarily laugh out loud, I think there's always a sort of dark humour that is underneath it, and it just adds to the texture and nuance," Highmore added. "Brits and Canadians definitely kind of share a similar comedic sensibility, I think, and there's something that's sort of in that more deadpan humour that is funny, but without being too broad or trying too hard." "And I think we were always aiming for that as a tone, nothing that kind of completely undercut the tension of the scene, but just gave it another level. And with Keeley as a scene partner, it was just great fun to sort of mine that and to find that together." Ultimately, what's incredibly impressive about The Assassin is that it's a thrilling action-packed journey, but always keeps the heart of the mother-son relationship central in the story. "I love a bit of action, ... but what you need is that heart, I think, to keep people's interest," Hawes said. "I think that was what really hooked me when I first read the script. You love the fun stuff. It's great. You look forward to doing it. But actually, the scenes with Freddie are meaningful ... and we should be rooting for them." "There's something really authentic about them both. We don't see their best selves straight away, but we know that they are good people, and we're rooting for them and their relationship. And I think that's what will ultimately keep people watching, is to see their journey, along with the big set pieces. I think there's a set piece in almost every episode that's a huge, fabulous, exciting extravaganza. ... I love it, but it's that relationship that's at home to it, and that's why it works."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Assassin': After 7 seasons of 'The Good Doctor' Freddie Highmore shines with Keeley Hawes in British show
A retired assassin and her estranged son find themselves unexpectedly on the run in twisty, heartfelt crime thriller A high stakes, deadly adventure, told with appealing sarcastic and witty dialogue, the U.K. series The Assassin (on Crave in Canada) is a unique take on the popular crime thriller genre. Starring Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore as a mother-son duo, this exciting show is full of dangerous twists, but a lot of heart. Created by Harry Williams and Jack Williams, who both worked on The Tourist and Fleabag, it's no surprise that the writing is the perfect foundation for this show. Something that really appealed to the actors. "They had just gone from strength to strength over the years, and I really enjoyed The Tourist, and so I started reading this and at that time Freddie's name was also mentioned. So really, the whole package was sort of very exciting," Hawes told Yahoo Canada . "And five lovely months in Athens, the tone of the show, the characters so well drawn, it was all a bit of a gift. While Highmore was quick to stress that he was excited about working with Hawes, an actor he's really admires, he was also excited about getting on to a British show, particularly after filming The Good Doctor in Vancouver for a number of years. "I just long admired [Keeley's] work, and having been in Vancouver and doing a different show for a long time, it was so exciting to get back to working in a British environment with the icon that is Keeley, and also Harry and Jack, and their writing," Highmore said. "They're both just brilliant at bringing the high stakes." "I think underneath it, what really matters about the show is this mother and son duo, and how the two of them started off in a place that seems quite conflicted and messy and complicated, but hopefully figure out that, in some ways, they are quite similar. ... [It's] exploring this nuanced mother-son arc that's not stereotypical or trope-y." What is 'The Assassin' about At the beginning of The Assassin we meet Julie (Hawes), living on a Greek island now that she's retired from her work as an assassin. While she doesn't have a close relationship with her son Edward (Highmore), who lives in England, he's set to come visit her. But Edward arrives with questions about who his father is, which Julie is still not going to answer. It's during Edward's visit that Julie gets a call that brings her back to a job as a hitwoman, but results in both Edward and Julie being on the run, with a web of secrets for both of them starting to unravel. But it is particularly compelling to meet Julie when she's at a place where she's been away from her job for some time. "She has no intention of going back, ... but she sort of can't resist it, really, because it's just part of her DNA," Hawes said. "It's a really lovely setting off point, rather than meeting her in the middle of any action. So we're kind of not aware of what she's been doing at all. So that is part of the story in itself." 'What you need is that heart' While revealing much more will veer into too many spoilers, we'll tease that the witty banter between Julie and Edward is absolutely a highlight, especially paired with these really risky and deadly circumstances of the story. "I think the humour, even if it's not necessarily laugh out loud, I think there's always a sort of dark humour that is underneath it, and it just adds to the texture and nuance," Highmore added. "Brits and Canadians definitely kind of share a similar comedic sensibility, I think, and there's something that's sort of in that more deadpan humour that is funny, but without being too broad or trying too hard." "And I think we were always aiming for that as a tone, nothing that kind of completely undercut the tension of the scene, but just gave it another level. And with Keeley as a scene partner, it was just great fun to sort of mine that and to find that together." Ultimately, what's incredibly impressive about The Assassin is that it's a thrilling action-packed journey, but always keeps the heart of the mother-son relationship central in the story. "I love a bit of action, ... but what you need is that heart, I think, to keep people's interest," Hawes said. "I think that was what really hooked me when I first read the script. You love the fun stuff. It's great. You look forward to doing it. But actually, the scenes with Freddie are meaningful ... and we should be rooting for them." "There's something really authentic about them both. We don't see their best selves straight away, but we know that they are good people, and we're rooting for them and their relationship. And I think that's what will ultimately keep people watching, is to see their their journey, along with the big set pieces. I think there's a set piece in almost every episode that's a huge, fabulous, exciting extravaganza. ... I love it, but it's that relationship that's at home to it, and that's why it works."
News.com.au
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
The Assassin: ‘Challenging' detail behind gripping new show
IN LONDON There's not many genres that pop up on screen as often as the world of hired killers. But in Stan's original new series, The Assassin, from creators Harry and Jack Williams (the executive-producing duo behind Fleabag), there's an intriguing point of difference at its heart: the messy and strained relationship between a retired hitwoman and her son. Living on a remote Greek island, Julie – played by BAFTA-nominated actress Keeley Hawes, who previously starred in Line of Duty, Bodyguard and Miss Austen – has an awkward reunion with her estranged adult son, Edward (Freddie Highmore of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Good Doctor) who is visiting from England. Amid his increasing frustration at being stonewalled about his paternity, Edward suddenly finds himself on the run with his emotionally distant mother when her dangerous past catches up with her. The entire six-part series really hinges on the on-screen dynamic between the pair, because the secret sauce, as it were, is the fact that amid some fairly spectacular violence and gory imagery, there's genuine comedy. Both Hawes and Highmore knew from the start they had to nail that tone. 'We met over Zoom, just to say hello, we had a day going through the scripts … and then we had a coffee - and we just got along so well,' Hawes, 49, told 'I think what made it so easy was that [our rapport] was just there innately, and we just understood what the other was trying to do,' Highmore, 33, agreed. 'I think starting from that point means you can be even more free to try new things, to try and seek out different dynamics in there and try and find different nuances.' The banter between the pair unexpectedly provides comic relief during tense moments, but without managing to 'undercut' the atmosphere too much. 'There's something very British about the sense of humour, and Australian too, in that it's a bit more underplayed and isn't leaning into the broadness as much … It's the sly little comments that get stuck in there, but don't take you out of the high stakes that are going on around them,' Highmore said. Referring to the first screening of the series in London earlier this month, Hawes admitted she was relieved to hear 'lots of big laughs'. 'It's always a nice surprise when things work out!' she said. The actress is no stranger to on-screen action, but her physicality was really put to the test in The Assassin, where she took on a lot of her character's many, many stunts. It was 'quite challenging' at times, she explained, but after so many years in the industry, it was a welcome new test of her skills. '[I was] looked after by such brilliant people and really, they're the ones that make you look good,' Hawes explained, crediting the dramatic on-screen result to the stunt team and post-production. 'There's a scene in the trailer where I sort of get this guy, and I kind of throw him over into the side of a car and then I shoot him. 'But I'm standing there cool as a cucumber, I haven't broken a sweat, and this man is literally spinning himself upside down and throwing himself into a car and I'm doing very little.'
The Guardian
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Assassin: Keeley Hawes' sweary, funny mum-as-a-hitwoman drama is like nothing else
Telly assassins have many good qualities, as well as one obvious red flag. We admire their prowess, method, patience and improvisation. We may be jealous of their efficiency, or their extraordinarily brief phone conversations, some of which merely involve listening to the words 'Is it done?' or 'Call me when it's done.' The Assassin (Friday 25 July, Prime Video) features a supremely confident title and many of these aspects. It is also funny. The set-up is low-key. Journalist Edward Green visits his estranged mother Julie on a Greek island. Following an attempt on her life, which she settles with brutal efficiency, he discovers she is actually a deactivated hitwoman. Fleeing across Europe, he attempts to learn about her past as they untangle a giant conspiracy threatening their lives. There's also a mystery around who his father is, so it's a bit Mamma Mia, too. 'Are you really not going to tell me why you're some kind of perimenopausal James Bond?' Edward boggles, after she dispatches another assailant. Actor Freddie Highmore spends a lot of time in this mode, trailing his mother with anxiety and admiration, like a live-action Rick and Morty. Keeley Hawes has more fun as the reluctantly maternal asset, whether kicking a child's football into the sea or stabbing someone in the neck. David Dencik, as a shrewd IT specialist, has a Peter Lorre skittishness, while Alan Dale makes a villainous boss, though I still think of him as Jim from Neighbours. Acting schmacting. The Assassin opens with an intense, one-shot sequence of a younger Julie carrying out a mission, like something out of The Raid. Later fight scenes are more cartoonish, which isn't to say sanitised: fingers are as disposable as Ikea pencils. There's a blood specialist credited, so corners are the one thing not being cut. While the physicality of the performers isn't on a par with the best of this type of action, it is able to wield humour with violence – and that is a very specific set of skills. I don't usually like killing capped with a zinger. My taste is for the clean lines of Chad Stahelski-choreography, or the scrappy but character-revealing grit of a film like Nobody. Snappy dialogue undermines reality, in the same way as physics-defying choreography. That's why it's better to choose one. The Assassin, though, understands visual wit. That intense opening sequence is capped by Julie, still at the kill site, checking a pregnancy test and swearing. In another scene, she uses a cheese fork as a lethal weapon, elsewhere a sauna as an interrogation device. There are shades of last year's Mr & Mrs Smith, which similarly explored domesticity through extreme conflict. Still, I'd be happy with a little less conversation, a little more action. The scenes between the Greens play best. Julie has lied about her job his whole life – although as half-truths go, calling herself a 'headhunter' is pretty good. Edward repeatedly calls out her casual deception, violence and ease with backstabbing. Accurate but painful, she concedes. 'That should be on your business card,' he responds. For her part, she thinks her son is boring and pale. On the run across Athens, France and Libya, he's unlikely to remain either. But can motherhood be exciting enough for Julie? It's a provocative question. Sign up to What's On Get the best TV reviews, news and features in your inbox every Monday after newsletter promotion There is a traditonal MacGuffin, in the form of 'Chantaine': a secret guarded by Jim from Neighbours, which connects all the characters in some way. Four episodes in, we don't know what Chantaine is. It might be an AI, assassin training program, a password or a white wine. Moreover, many of the actors pronounce the word so it sounds like 'Sean Penn'. There are frequent scenes of characters demanding 'What is Sean Penn?' which is distracting. These types of shows generally feature a monastic, taciturn, near sociopathic lone wolf, almost invariably male. By centring on a retired, middle-aged mother's relationship with her son, the show kicks away most of the genre's crutches, forcing itself to do something new. All in all, its confidence is earned. For contract killers and mothers alike, there's no room for diffidence.
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Assassin to Washington Black: the seven best shows to stream this week
Julie (Keeley Hawes) is icy, sardonic and dissolute. She's also the absolute antithesis of maternal so she hasn't been looking forward to the arrival of her adult son Edward (Freddie Highmore), who is visiting her on the Greek island she calls home. Not that Edward is relaxed about it either – he wants information about his elusive family background. Julie is also a former assassin. Flashbacks suggest she was a ferociously efficient one too. But how retired is she really? When her past catches up with her and the pair's prickly but sunny sojourn is interrupted by bloody chaos, they're forced to go on the run. Brutal action set pieces and equally brutal dialogue makes for slick, nasty fun. Prime Video, from Friday 25 July Adapted from Esi Edugyan's Booker-nominated novel about slavery and emancipation, this drama flattens out some of the book's more fantastical edges and loses a little magic but it's still nicely realised. It follows Washington as a child (Eddie Karanja), enslaved but under the wing of white saviour Titch (Tom Ellis), and the older Washington (Ernest Kingsley Jr) as a free man, obsessed with building a flying machine and in cahoots with Sterling K Brown's Medwin Harris. The performances are engaging and it asks serious questions about freedom in a world where Black people are constrained by their history. Disney+, from Wednesday 23 July It's the fourth and final season of this bright and breezy flashback comedy drama which delights in its sunny setting and retro stylings. As we return to Las Colinas resort, it's 1986 and all is not well. Máximo (Eugenio Derbez) has been promoted and is now head of operations – but this has happened at a challenging time with rival resort Alma del Mar having taken over top spot in the Acapulco hotel pecking order. Cue much agonising and a twist when the identity of Alma's new manager is revealed. Will Máximo be able to steady the sinking ship? Apple TV+, from Wednesday 23 July It was only a matter of time before the streaming platforms latched on to the magic combination of real-life human triumph and tragedy (not to mention the inexhaustible subject matter) represented by documentaries exploring the work of the emergency services. This series – from the makers of Channel 4's 24 Hours in A&E and tonally fairly similar – follows the staff of the four major trauma centres in London as they deal with whatever comes through their door over a three week period. It is inevitably stirring, moving and heart-in-mouth nerve-racking. Netflix, from Wednesday 23 July Sign up to What's On Get the best TV reviews, news and features in your inbox every Monday after newsletter promotion 'It's like Coachella for youth groups.' While it's just about possible to identify with this description of the Teen Mania evangelical movement that swept parts of the US towards the end of the 90s, the clips in this three-part documentary series are more akin to the Nuremberg rallies. There's hysteria in the air that feels decidedly threatening. Sure enough, beneath the ecstatic veneer of these gatherings lurked sadistic boot camps, staged martyrdom drills and an apparent attempt to turn innocent teens into a fanatical army. Prime Video, from Wednesday 23 July A strange hybrid of talent show and luxury porn hate-watch, this reality series follows 12 (already successful) songwriters and producers including Jenna Andrews and Sevyn Streeter as they gather at a writing camp – which looks more like a swish resort from a dating show – to write songs, have minor breakdowns and figuratively scratch each other's eyes out. It's essentially a carefully staged clash of gigantic professional egos. While none of them desperately need this exposure, their unstoppable main-character energy means they can't help but buy in. Netflix, from Thursday 24 July A gritty Belgian thriller in which a tight-knit crew of firefighters find the existence of their station threatened after a fatal mistake caused by miscommunication after a leadership change. When the media gets involved and starts investigating individuals within the group, cracks start to emerge in the solidarity necessary to undertake such dangerous work. Can this motley but committed band regain the trust of their community and their internal unity? It feels generic but there are plenty of impressively realised stunty sequences to keep energy levels up. Channel 4, from Friday 25 July
