TV Drama

Black Mirror: Season 4 (2017)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Poster for Black Mirror MetalHead episode in black and white showing stylised image of main character running across the horizon. metal Head written in white

Black Mirror MetalHead © Netflix

Writer: Charlie Brooker

Director: David Slade

Starring: Maxine Peake, Jake Davies, Clint Dyer

Production Company: Zeppotron

Kent Locations Used: Harrietsham, Maidstone


Black Mirror is a Netflix drama series that focuses on unsettling visions of reality and tends to be satirical with its social commentary and dystopian storylines, each episode featuring a unique story.

The Series, now in its fourth season, was created and written by Charlie Brooker (10 O’ Clock Live) and has a number of high profile directors, such as Jodie Foster (Money Monster), each directing their own episode. Segments of Episode 5 MetalHead, directed by David Slade (Hannibal), were filmed at a private property in Harrietsham village near Maidstone in April 2017.

The episode, filmed entirely in black and white, stars Maxine Peake (The Theory of Everything) and follows a woman whose companions are mauled by a mysterious dog at a warehouse. MetalHead is a chase story set against the empty post‑apocalyptic landscape of the Scottish moors.

Fairbourne Reservoir East in Maidstone features as the empty house Bella (Maxine Peake) seeks refuge in towards the end of the episode.

The Maidstone area has been seen on screen in productions such as Eastenders Easter Special (2007) which filmed in Wormshill and Harrietsham and Children In Need: The Rickshaw Challenge (2015).

Black Mirror: Season 4 will be released on 29 December 2017 on streaming service Netflix. All six episodes will be available on the day, each of which will once again be a self-contained film.

Image of Maxine Peake sat in a remote rural location on the phone with a look of panic on her face

Maxine Peake in Black Mirror S4 MetalHead © Jonathan Prime Netflix

View the MetalHead trailer here:

MetalHead Official Trailer (0:45)

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

 

The Tunnel: Vengeance (2017)

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Actors Clémence Poésy and Stephen Dillane look on at camera in police building

The Tunnel: Vengeance – © Sky Atlantic

Writer: Emilia Di Girolamo

Directors: Anders Engstrom and Giles Bannier

Starring: Clémence Poésy and Stephen Dillane

Production company: Kudos

Kent locations used: The Production was based in the County and locations are across East Kent and France

The Tunnel: Vengeance returns for its final and third series this December. The six-part crime-thriller is set against the backdrop of a refugee crisis in Europe, which leads British detective Karl (Stephen Dillane) to partner with Elise (Clémence Poésy) from the French National Gendarmerie. Together they investigate crimes such as the setting alight of a fishing vessel transporting refugees across the Channel. The series examines themes of terrorism, refugees and the rise of far-right political groups.

In March 2017, the production team, which was based in Sandwich, filmed across East Kent, with locations including Reculver, Botany Bay, Ramsgate Royal Harbour and the Port of Dover.

East Kent is home to spectacular coastal landscapes and historic towns, and boasts excellent transport links to London and western Europe. East Kent has been used for filming by productions such as Liar (2017) and Humans: Series 2 (2016).

Don’t miss the return of The Tunnel: Vengeance, with all the episodes available on Thursday 14 December on Sky Atlantic at 9pm.

 Watch the series teaser here:

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

Bhikari (2017)

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Bhikari movie poster- Image of man lying on floor next to drawing of elephant god

Bhikari

Writer: Guru Thakur

Director: Ganesh Acharya

Starring: Swwapnil Joshi, Rucha Inamdar

Kent Locations Used:  Kingsgate Bay, Botany Bay

Bhikari follows the story of a rich young man whom having finished his higher education in London, returns to India where his mother hands over the family business to him. However, unfortunate events lead Samrat to face difficult choices in order to save his mother’s life.

The film is was written by Guru Thakur, a popular lyricist and screen-writer, and directed by Ganesh Acharya (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, PK), and stars Swwapnil Joshi (Mumbai Pune Mumbai, Duniyadari) and Rucha Inamdar (Children of War, Under the Same Sun)

Both Kingsgate Bay and Botany Bay in Thanet were used as locations as backdrops for dance sequences for the feature.

Botany Bay is has stunning white cliffs and chalk stacks and is great for rock pooling. Over the years, Botany Bay has also featured in productions such as Thaandavam (2012), Humans: Series 2 (2016) and True Love (2012).

Kingsgate Bay is known for its beautiful sandy beach and sea caves. Kingsgate Bay has featured in films and television series such as Mr Selfridge Series 4 (2016) and Whistle and I’ll Come to You (2010).

Bhikari will be released on Amazon Prime for viewing on demand in January 2018.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

Una (2017)

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Una (Rooney Mara) standing in warehouse looking forward

Una (C) WestEnd Films

Writer: David Harrower

Director: Benedict Andrews

Starring: Rooney Mara, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Tobias Menzies, Indira Varma, Tara Fitzgerald

Production Company: Bron Studios, Film4 Productions, Jean Doumanian Productions, WestEnd Films

Kent Locations Used: Dungeness, Greatstone, Lydd

Looking to resolve her past, Una (Rooney Mara) confronts Ray (Ben Mendelsohn ), her former neighbour, at his work place, seeking answers. As buried secrets and forbidden desires start to surface, they begin to threaten the stability they have found in their new lives.

Una (Rooney Mara) and Ray (Ben Mendelsohn) staring at each other

Una (C) WestEnd Films

The film is based on the play “Blackbird” that was written by David Harrower. Benedict Andrews (National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire) directed and Rooney Mara (A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Social Network) takes the lead role alongside  Riz Ahmed (Jason Bourne, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Ben Mendelsohn (The Dark Knight Rises, Bloodline) Tobias Menzies (Casino Royale, Atonement), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones, Hunted) and Tara Fitzgerald (Legend, Brassed Off).

The production chose to film in Kent in June 2015, using Dungeness, Greatstone and Lydd which feature as a remote hideaway location.

The Dungeness, Greatstone and Lydd coastal area boasts a unique and large expanse of sandy beach backed by dunes and the largest shingle desert in Europe. Ginger and Rosa (2012), The Poison Tree (2012) and Parade’s End (2012) have previously used the area for filming.

Una is released in cinemas from Friday 1st September 2017.

 

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

Strike – The Cuckoo’s Calling/The Silkworm (2017)

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Cormoran Strike (TOM BURKE) walking down street with hands in pockets

Strike – Cormoran Strike (TOM BURKE) – (C) Bronte Films – Photographer: Steffan Hill

Writer: Ben Richards (The Cuckoo’s Calling)

Director: Michael Keillor, Kieron Hawkes, Charles Sturridge

Starring: Tom Burke, Holliday Grainger, Kerr Logan

Cormoran Strike (TOM BURKE), Robin Ellacott (HOLLIDAY GRAINGER) standing on bridge looking at camera

Strike – The Cuckoo’s Calling – Cormoran Strike (TOM BURKE), Robin Ellacott (HOLLIDAY GRAINGER) – (C) Bronte Film & TV Ltd – Photographer: Steffan Hill

Production Company: BBC, Bronte Film and TV in association with HBO

Kent Locations Used: Penshurst Place, Sevenoaks

Strike – The Cuckoo’s Calling is a brand new seven part BBC drama based on the best-selling detective series written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. There are the first of three adaptations of the respective novels The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm and Career of Evil.

Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke), a war veteran turned private detective works and lives in his tiny office in London’s Denmark Street. In The Cuckoo’s calling, business is not great for Cormoran when Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger) is mistakenly sent to assist him with his paperwork just as super model Lula Landry (Elarica Johnson ) supposedly takes her own life by jumping from a Mayfair balcony.

Following his investigation of the Lula Landry case, The Silkworm takes up the story when Strike is tasked by Leonora Quine (Monica Dolan) to locate her husband, the notorious writer Owen Quine, who has disappeared without a trace.

The Cuckoo’s calling was adapted by Ben Richards (Outcasts, Spooks) and Tom Edge (Lovesick, The Crown) and directed by Michael Keillor. The cast is led by Tom Burke (Only God Forgives, Third Star) and Holliday Grainger (Cinderella, The Finest Hours) with support from Kerr Logan (Game of Thrones, London Irish) as Matthew Cunliffe.

The production filmed at Penshurst Place as well as in a private residence in Sevenoaks.

Lady Bristow (SIAN PHILLIPS) lying on sofa talking to John Bristow (LEO BILL),

Strike – The Cuckoo’s Calling – John Bristow (LEO BILL), Lady Bristow (SIAN PHILLIPS) – (C) Bronte Film & TV Ltd

Penshurst Place is a 14th Century Manor House with preserved interiors, including the unique medieval Baron’s Hall as well as 11 acres of Elizabethan walled gardens. The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (2016), Wolf Hall (2015) and Merlin have previously filmed at Penshurst Place.

Sevenoaks is a historic town in West Kent just outside the gates to Knole Park. It is the home of Sevenoaks School which supported the production and has one of the oldest lying foundations in England, laid down by William Sevenokes in 1432. The town has previously featured in Future Tense: The Story of H.G. Wells (2016).

 

Strike – The Cuckoo’s Calling will screen on BBC One on Sunday August 27th & Monday 28th August at 9pm, concluding the following Sunday 3rd September.

The Silkworm will follow with two episodes on 10th and 17th September.

Career of Evil, the final, two-part instalment is due to be release in the New Year.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

 

Harlots (2017)

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Charlotte Wells (Jessica Brown Findlay) in period costume, handing something small to Daniel Marney (Rory Fleck-Byrne)

Charlotte Wells (Jessica Brown Findlay) and Daniel Marney (Rory Fleck-Byrne) © Monumental Television

Created by: Alison Newman and Moira Buffini

Written by: Moira Buffini, Jane English, Cat Jones and Debbie O’Malley

Starring: Samantha Morton, Jessica Brown Findlay, Lesley Manville, Eloise Smyth, Dorothy Atkinson, Alexa Davies and Bronwyn James

Production Company: Monumental Pictures, Independent Television (ITV)

Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Already hotly debated in the press, ITV’s risqué eight part series, Harlots, takes us back to London 1763 when one in five women sold their body. The story follows brothel owner Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton), her daughter Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay) and their rival, Madam Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville).

Marie-Louise D’Aubigne (Poppy Corby-Teuch) and three friends sitting in a row of chairs with curtains behind

Marie-Louise D’Aubigne (Poppy Corby-Teuch) and friends © Monumental Television

The series was inspired by Jack Harris’ stories collected in Harris’s List of Convent Garden Ladies, a directory that contained a list of prostitutes, with their age, price and ‘specialities’.

The new drama stars Samantha Morton (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Rillington Place), Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey and Victor Frankenstein), Lesley Manville (Secrets & Lies, Another Year and Maleficent), Eloise Smyth (Ill Manors and The Frankenstein Chronicles), Dorothy Atkinson (Call the Midwife and Mr Turner), Alexa Davies (X + Y and Raised by Wolves) and Bronwyn James (Cut and Moving On).

The Tarred Yarn Store was featured as a tavern in various episodes.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular filming location with variety of Georgian and Victorian architecture, maritime environment, dry dock, cobbled streets and industrial buildings. Call the Midwife (2012-present), SS-GB (2017) and The Crown (2016) are just a few of the productions that were filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Harlots premiers on ITV Encore on Monday 27th March at 10:00pm and on Hulu on Wednesday 29th March

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

SS-GB (2017)

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Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer staring at the camera with barbed wire behind him on a red background

Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer (SAM RILEY) © Sid Gentle Films

Writers: Robert Wade and Neal Purvis

Starring: Sam Riley, Kate Bosworth, Aneurin Barnard, Rainer Bock, Jonathan Cass, James Cosmo, Maeve Dermody, Lars Eidinger, Kit Connor and James Northcote

Production Company: Sid Gentle Films, BBC

Kent locations used: The Historic Dockyards Chatham

Set in the 1940s, in an alternate world where the Germans won the Battle of Britain, BBC’s new five part series SS-GB follows Scotland Yard detective Douglas Archer (Sam Riley), who is investigating a murder in German-occupied England. The gripping new drama is an adaptation of Len Deighton’s 1978 novel and will be split into five parts.

Writers Robert Wade and Neal Purvis both studied Film and Photographic Arts at the University of Kent. Since then they have forged a successful career writing screenplays together, with their first success being the controversial drama Let Him Have It (1991). Both writers have also co-written five James Bond films, including Quantum of Solace (2008) and Skyfall (2012), which was the UK’s highest grossing movie!

Archer (Sam Riley) and Harry Woods (James Cosmo) standing in an office room

Episode 1 Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer (SAM RILEY), Harry Woods (JAMES COSMO) © Sid Gentle Films

SS-GB brings together a fantastic cast including, Sam Riley (Maleficent, Control), Kate Bosworth (Still Alice, Superman Returns), Aneurin Barnard (Citadel, The Truth About Emanuel), Rainer Bock (War Horse, Inglorious Basterds and Unknown), Jonathan Cass (Transformers: The Last Knight, Kingsman: The Golden Circle), James Cosmo (Braveheart and Troy), Maeve Dermody (Black Water, Marcella), Lars Eidinger (Clouds of Sils Maria, Everyone Else), Kit Connor (Get Santa, Mr Holmes) and James Northcote (The Imitation Game).

Exterior street scenes were shot at The Ropery and Anchor Wharf and also around the church and South Stables. The Tarred Yarn store was featured as a mortuary and there was also a small scene in The Commissioners House garden.

Set over 80 acres with more than 100 Victorian and Georgian buildings, The Historic Dockyard Chatham is one of Kent’s most popular film locations and has previously been used for the BBC TV series Call The Midwife (2012-present), The Crown (2016) and most recently The Halcyon (2017).

SS-GB premiers on Sunday 19th February 2017 at 21:00pm on BBC One

 

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

The Halcyon (2017)

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The Halcyon cast standing in a hall on a small staircase,

The Halcyon © ITV

Writer: Charlotte Jones

Starring: Kara Tointon, Steven Mackintosh, Alex Jennings, Olivia Williams, Jamie Blackley, Edward Bluemel, Hermione Corfield, and Matt Ryan

Production Company: Left Bank Pictures, ITV

Kent Locations Used: The Ropery and Anchor Wharf at The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Set in the 1940s, ITV’s The Halcyon charts the lives of staff and guests in a five-star hotel during World War II. The story is told from the point of view of Joe O’Hara (Matt Ryan), an American journalist and illustrates how the war permeated all areas of London life; be it that of the guests seeking an escape from the war or the forbidden love affair of the hotel’s resident jazz singer, Betsy (Kara Tointon). Samuel Sim’s soundtrack punctuates the action with sultry jazz tunes, and will be released the day the show airs.

The Halcyon brings together an incredible ensemble cast, including Kara Tointon (Eastenders, The Sound of Music Live!), Alex Jennings (The Queen, Babel) and Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense, An Education), Steven Mackintosh (Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Sope Dirisu (Undercover, Humans) and Matt Ryan (Constantine, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour).

Exterior scenes of bombed London streets were shot at The Ropery and on Anchor Wharf, at  The Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent.

Set over 80 acres in the Medway area of Kent, The Historic Dockyard Chatham has more than  100 Georgian and Victorian buildings as well as cobbled streets and dock spaces. The Historic Dockyard Chatham has previously welcomed filming from The Crown (2016), Partners in Crime  (2015) and Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows  (2011).

The Halcyon premiered on Monday 2nd January 2017 at 21:00 on ITV

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

 

 

Close To The Enemy (2016)

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Kathy Griffiths (PHOEBE FOX) and Brigadier Wainwright (ROBERT GLENISTER) sitting in a car facing the camera

Kathy Griffiths (PHOEBE FOX), Brigadier Wainwright (ROBERT GLENISTER) © BBC Little Island Productions

Writer and Director: Stephen Poliakoff

Starring: Jim Sturgess, Freddie Highmore, August Diehl, Charlotte Riley, Phoebe Fox, Alfred Molina

Production Company: Little Island Productions in association with Endor Productions

Kent locations used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Dieter Koehler (AUGUST DIEHL) standing by an army vehicle

Dieter Koehler (AUGUST DIEHL) © BBC Little Island Productions

Set in the aftermath of the Second World War, Close To The Enemy tells the story of Captain Callum Ferguson (Jim Sturgess), an intelligence officer who is given the task of recruiting captured German scientist Dieter (August Diehl), to work for the RAF on the development of the jet engine by the British army.

The seven part series is written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff (Dancing on the Edge, The Lost Prince) and stars Jim Sturgess (Deception, Spike Island), August Diehl (Le jeune Karl Marx, Come What May), Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel, The Journey), Charlotte Riley (In the Heart of the Sea, Edge of Tomorrow), Phoebe Fox (The Hollow Crown, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death) and Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2, Love is Strange).

The Close To The Enemy production team chose to film at The Historic Dockyard Chatham on HMS Cavalier, inside and outside Slip 3 and the upper floors of the Ropery which doubled as the arrival halls at the docks.  They also used a drone to fly across the river where the boat arrives.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is set over 80 acres and contains over 100 Georgian and Victorian buildings as well as cobbled streets and dock spaces. Previously filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham was Call the Midwife (2010 – 2016), Downton Abbey (2013) and The Golden Compass (2007) among others.

Close To The Enemy starts on Thursday 10th November 2016 at 21:00 on BBC Two.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

 

Humans Series 2 (2016)

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Humans poster with the titles Humans 2.0 written on top of four cast members staring at the camera

Humans © Channel 4

Production Company: Kudos Productions, Matador Films

Starring: Gemma Chan, Emily Berrington, Colin Morgan, Katherine Parkinson, Carrie-Ann Moss, Tom Goodman-Hill

Kent Locations Used:  Westgate-on-Sea – West Bay Café, Piggy Bank nursery, Station Road Birchington, Botany Bay, Norfolk Road, Cliftonville

Set in a parallel present, Humans returns for a second series and explores how the latest family gadgets, highly-developed robotic servants called “Synths”, affect and transform human lives, not always for the better.

Series two picks up several months after the end of the first series – Niska (Emily Berrington) is still missing and her fellow synths – Mia (Gemma Chan), Leo (Colin Morgan) and Max (Ivanno Jeremiah) are still trying to find their place in the world amidst unconfirmed reports of synths behaving erratically.

Humans Ed (Sam Palladio) standing in front of beach huts at Westgate-on-Sea

Humans Ed (Sam Palladio) at Westgate-on-Sea © Channel 4

The award winning first series of Humans attracted an average of 4.8million viewers, becoming Channel 4’s highest rated drama in 20 years.

The series stars Gemma Chan (Secret Diary of a Call Girl Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit), Emily Berrington (The Inbetweeners 2 24: Live Another Day), Colin Morgan (Merlin The Fall), Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd, The Boat That Rocked), Carrie-Ann Moss (Jessica Jones, The Matrix) and Tom Goodman-Hill (Mr Selfridge, Everest).

The production team filmed in Thanet between April and June 2016 using locations including Westgate-on-Sea – West Bay Café, Piggy Bank nursery, Station Road in Birchington and Botany Bay and Norfolk Road in Cliftonville.

Westgate-on-Sea is a coastal town near Margate which offers a sandy beach, arcades, Dreamland amusement park, shops and restaurant plus the renowned Turner Contemporary gallery. Botany Bay is in Thanet and is a popular film location due to its blue flag beach almost 200m long with stunning chalk cliffs and rock pools. The Thanet area has previously featured on screen in productions such as The Lady in the Van (2015), True Love (2012) and Ruby Blue (2007).

Humans series 2 starts on Sunday 30th October at 21:00 on Channel 4.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.