Anthony Scaramucci To Host U.S. Edition Of ‘The Rest Is Politics‘
Anthony Scaramucci is getting into podcasting. The former White House Director of Communications will host an American edition of British podcast The Rest is Politics alongside Katty Kay, U.S. Special Correspondent for BBC Studios. Starting Friday (April 26) The pair will look to uncover secrets from inside Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s inner circles, and take a wider look at the intricacies of U.S. society and how they shape the world’s most important economy. New episodes will be released every Friday. Produced by football veteran Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger Films, The Rest is Politics launched in the UK in 2022, with former Downing Street Director of Communications and Strategy Alastair Campbell and former Cabinet Minister Rory Stewart at the helm. This week, hosts Campbell and Stewart were announced to be presenting UK network Channel 4’s general election coverage alongside The News Agents’ Emily Maitlis.
BBC Makes Play With ‘Chess Masters‘
The BBC has confirmed it has ordered Chess Masters, an eight-part competition series in which skilled chess players from all ages and backgrounds will compete to be crowned champion. Night Train Media-owned UK producer Curve Media will make the show, which is for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. Catherine Catton, BBC Head of Commissioning for Factual Entertainment and Live Events, ordered the show, with Camilla Lewis and Charlie Bunce the executive producers. The Commissioning Editor is Jasmyn McGuile. The BBC will be hoping the series does for its networks what Anya Taylor-Joy limited series The Queen’s Gambit did for Netflix. According to the producers, there are six million regular chess players in the UK, and celebrity fans including Anthony Joshua, Madonna and Will Smith. “When Taylor Swift waxes lyrical about chess openings in her latest album, you know chess has become cool,” said Malcolm Pein, Director of International Chess and External Relations at the English Chess Federation.
Erin Richards & Tom Cullen Star In Welsh Drama ‘Mudtown‘
Erin Richards (Gotham, The Crown) will lead the cast of Welsh drama Mudtown, with Tom Cullen (The Gold, Becoming Elizabeth), Matthew Gravelle (Broadchurch, Steeltown Murders), Lauren Morais (The Red King), Lloyd Meredith (The Red King, Gran Turismo) and Kimberly Nixon (The Salisbury Poisonings, Life and Death in the Warehouse) are also among the cast. The legal drama — co-commissioned UKTV crime network Alibi, Welsh pubcaster S4C and distributor All3Media International — centers around life at Newport’s Magistrates Court in Wales. Hannah Daniel, who stars in Welsh drama Keeping Faith, is writing alongside Georgia Lee, who also sits on the Bench as a Magistrate. Severn Screen is producing, and filming has already begun. Like Keeping Faith, it will be shot back-to-back in English and Welsh. All3Media International has international sales rights. The series will debut in 2025. For UKTV, the order comes after the commissions of drama series I, Jack Wright and Bookish, both of which Deadline told you about first.
Sarajevo To Honor Palestinian Director Elia Suleiman
Director and actor Elia Suleiman will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award and a dedicated ‘Tribute to’ Programme at the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival. Suleiman is known for films such as Divine Intervention, which won the Jury Prize and FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at Cannes in 2002, and It Must Be Heaven, which received a Jury mention on the Croisette in 2019. He has previously served as the President of the Jury at the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2016 and is currently an artistic advisor for the Doha Film Institute. “With his trademark wit, humor and profound insight, Suleiman navigates the complexities of our existence, shedding light on the absurdities of life with unmatched clarity and poignancy, portraying the spirit and identity of Palestine with a unique authorial style,” said Jovan Marjanović, Director of the Sarajevo Film Festival. “Now, in the darkest of times in his native land, his work serves as a beacon of understanding, reminding us of the power of storytelling to inspire meaningful dialogue.”
