All posts tagged: Sheridan

The Responder writer reveals inspirations behind new Sheridan Smith drama

The Responder writer reveals inspirations behind new Sheridan Smith drama

Published by Daniella Wilson

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. On the wall of Tony Schumacher’s bright, airy office in the heart of Liverpool, there hangs a collection of pictures, posters and things that tell the story of who he is. A montage of a man – a memento, trophy or talisman in every frame. There’s one of his book covers from when he wrote novels, a poster of a 1970s housing estate like the one he grew up on, his “Dad corner” full of photos and scrawly drawings. “I’ve got a five-year-old son,” he says, proudly. There’s a front page of the Liverpool Echo from when Everton won the FA Cup in 1966, a poster of his hit cop show The Responder, another for the 1938 Will Hay film Ask a Policeman (a gift from former colleagues in the police force), and a map of the Shipping Forecast. “I’ve always wanted to write something about the Shipping Forecast. It reminds me of being a taxi driver… listening at 1am and 5am.” Finally, there are two Bafta …

Michael Socha ‘worked his arse off’ for new Sheridan Smith drama The Cage

Michael Socha ‘worked his arse off’ for new Sheridan Smith drama The Cage

Published by Daniella Wilson

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. You did a two-hour audition for the role of Matty in The Cage. Surely, that isn’t how long they all last? Normally you get 15 minutes to half an hour, if you’re lucky. But I’ve known [director] Al McKay since we worked together on This Is England, so we’d had a chat about the intricacies of the character beforehand, which helped me figure out who Matty was. I take every audition seriously – I make sure I’m off-book [don’t need a script], make sure I understand the character – but I worked my arse off for The Cage. So in the audition itself, I got to play, to try stuff, to mess around. It was my favourite ever audition and when I left, I knew I’d done my best. Have you ever done an audition in which you felt you didn’t do your best – but were offered the part anyway? Yeah, and I don’t understand how – and that always gives me anxiety on the first …

Sheridan Smith’s ‘thrilling’ new BBC drama The Cage is your next crime drama binge

Sheridan Smith’s ‘thrilling’ new BBC drama The Cage is your next crime drama binge

Published by Daniella Wilson

The BBC has unveiled the official trailer for its upcoming crime drama, The Cage, starring Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha – and it could just be your next TV obsession.  The five-part series, which arrives on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday 26 April, comes from The Responder‘s BAFTA-winning creator Tony Schumacher, a former Merseyside Police officer, and is produced by the award-winning Element Pictures (Normal People, Poor Things). © James Stack/BBCSheridan Smith stars as Leanne in the crime drama Filmed in and around Liverpool and Merseyside, the story centres around Leanne (Smith), a casino cashier who starts skimming cash from the safe to save her family home. But when she discovers her boss Matty (Socha) is doing the same thing, both of their lives start to spiral out of control.  The newly released trailer shows Leanne, a single mum, and Matty, a gambling addict, form an unlikely partnership to keep their thefts a secret, but soon become entangled with brutal local gangsters and the police.  © James Stack/BBCMichael Socha plays Matty in the Liverpool-set …

Taylor Sheridan Should Build New Shows Around These Acting Legends

Taylor Sheridan Should Build New Shows Around These Acting Legends

Published by Jenni Sidey

No one attracts more legendary movie stars these days than Taylor Sheridan. In the eight years since he launched Yellowstone and a subsequent TV empire, the prolific creator has built shows around Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Sylvester Stallone, Billy Bob Thornton, Nicole Kidman, Demi Moore, and now Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, with Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, and Annette Bening set to soon join his ever-expanding universe soon. But who should be next? Once Yellowstone became a pop-cultural phenomenon, Sheridan seemed to have icons flocking to his ranch, many of them making their first-ever foray into ongoing-series television, all wanting what he’d given Costner. Perhaps it’s the former journeyman actor in Sheridan that helps him understand how to appeal to performers, by giving them the type of material actors long for but aren’t always offered. “There’s so much depth to the way he writes his characters,” Landman star Paulina Chávez recently told me. “Each of these characters has a very deep backstory — and they’re all messy. And I think that’s what makes …

‘The Madison’ Is Not a ‘Yellowstone’ Show; Sheridan Plans Many Seasons

‘The Madison’ Is Not a ‘Yellowstone’ Show; Sheridan Plans Many Seasons

Published by Daniella Wilson

[This story contains a major spoiler from The Madison‘s first three episodes.] If you were expecting a Dutton to walk into a scene of The Madison, you aren’t the only one. “We kept waiting for a script to drop where a Dutton would come,” Patrick J. Adams, who plays the man who married into The Madison‘s starring Clyburn family, tells The Hollywood Reporter about reading his first scripts of the Taylor Sheridan series. “That was certainly a question because that’s how it was in the world. And when we asked about it, it was like, ‘No, no, no. This is an independent thing. This is its own thing.’” The Madison was first announced back in 2023, when Paramount Network also confirmed that TV’s No. 1 series, Yellowstone, was plotting its endgame. The Madison then had a working title of 2024 and was described as the first-ever Yellowstone sequel. The present-day story was said to take place after the events of Yellowstone, and would continue exploring the Dutton family dynasty “with new characters and locations, as well as some existing characters.” …

The Madison reviews: Critics highlight ‘terrible jokes’ and ‘simplistic presentations of grief’ in new Taylor Sheridan drama

The Madison reviews: Critics highlight ‘terrible jokes’ and ‘simplistic presentations of grief’ in new Taylor Sheridan drama

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more The Madison, Taylor Sheridan’s latest western drama, has received lukewarm reviews as critics highlighted thin storylines, a simplistic depiction of grief and cartoonish presentations of life in New York. The series, which was originally expected to be a direct sequel to Sheridan’s hit ranching show Yellowstone but is now being treated as a standalone series, stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Stacy Clyburn, a grieving New Yorker who relocates her family to the Madison River valley of central Montana after an unexpected death. The Guardian’s Sarah Dempster awarded the series two stars, describing it as a “yawnsome homespun six-parter” that is stuffed “terrible jokes,” “cloying aphorisms” and “thuddingly simplistic depictions of grief.” Writing for Variety, Aramide Tinubu highlighted Pfeiffer’s “powerhouse performance,” and credited her for holding …

Taylor Sheridan Moves ‘Tulsa King’ Spinoff From New Orleans to Texas

Taylor Sheridan Moves ‘Tulsa King’ Spinoff From New Orleans to Texas

Published by Daniella Wilson

It appears Taylor Sheridan‘s Tulsa King spinoff, starring Samuel L. Jackson, won’t be taking place in New Orleans anymore. Paramount+ announced Tuesday that the spinoff, which was originally titled NOLA King and set in New Orleans, will now move to Texas and be called Frisco King. Sheridan has also been tapped to write all eight episodes of the first season. The spinoff will center on Jackson’s character, Russell Lee Washington Jr., who was first introduced in the third season of Tulsa King, starring Sylvester Stallone. “We are honored to have Taylor Sheridan write the first season of Frisco King and bring to life Samuel L. Jackson’s iconic character,” Matt Thunell, president of Paramount Television Studios, wrote in a statement. “Having him pen all episodes of the season with his singular voice will be a treat for fans of Tulsa King and audiences around the world.” Produced by Paramount Television Studios and 101 Studios, Frisco King is executive produced by Sheridan, Stallone and Jackson. David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin, Bob Yari, Christina Alexandra Voros, …

Taylor Sheridan TV Shows, Definitively Ranked

Taylor Sheridan TV Shows, Definitively Ranked

Published by Jenni Sidey

Perhaps no brand is stronger right now than that of Taylor Sheridan, the prolific Landman creator who’s been a driving force behind the success of Paramount+ and is now set to be NBCUniversal’s billion-dollar man. Growing frustrated with his career as a journeyman actor, Sheridan asked to be killed off from his series regular role on FX’s Sons of Anarchy, leading to one of the great “bet on yourself” stories. Fully devoting himself to writing, Sheridan scripted two of the best films of the 2010s, Sicario and Hell or High Water, landing an Oscar nomination for the latter, before making his directorial debut with the well-received Wind River. But he truly began building his empire in 2018 when his Kevin Costner-fronted Western drama series Yellowstone premiered on the Paramount Network. The momentum slowly built, and by the time season 4 arrived in 2021, Yellowstone was a pop-culture phenomenon, winning over audiences with the often-soap opera level drama surrounding the Dutton family and their vast, beautiful ranch. As the Yellowstone universe began expanding with the prequels …