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Hotel Portofino season 4 is the hoped-for return to the British period drama set along the Italian coast. Premiering in January 2022 on BritBox, Hotel Portofino is an Italian-set TV show about a British family, the Ainsworths, who own and operate a hotel for wealthy clients in the resort town of Portofino on the Italian Riviera, a narrow strip of coast along the picturesque Ligurian Sea. Along with the trouble that comes with running a hotel, the Ainsworths must contend with the growing turmoil brought on by the rising Fascist movement threatening the country.

One of the best shows to appear on PBS Masterpiece for American viewers, Hotel Portofino had its second season premiere in February 2023 and its third in April 2024, with the season 3 finale coming in May 2024. The show stars Natascha McElhone as Bella Ainsworth, Oliver Dench as Lucian Ainsworth, Mark Umbers as Cecil Ainsworth, and Olivia Morris as Alice Mays-Smith,...

It looks like Bella (Natascha McElhone) doesn’t just have the right person as the architect for the hotel’s spa but also for herself in Season 2 of the 1920s drama. TV Insider has an exclusive sneak peek of the October 22 episode of Hotel Portofino, and Bella and Marco (Giorgio Marchesi) definitely share a moment. Bella joins Marco as he’s working, and he asks if she’s made a decision about the building work. Not yet, so he’ll “carry on until you tell me otherwise.” He then comments on the “new arrival at the hotel”… her husband, Cecil (Mark Umbers), who had been in London. They’d been apart for nine months, which seems long to Marco, though he does say, “It’s none of my business.” Still, he can’t help but remark that she’s barely spoken of him. “Just as you’ve barely spoken of your wife,...

When the sumptuously filmed 1920s drama Hotel Portofino returns, the sunny skies of Italy’s Riviera mirror the mood of Bella Ainsworth (Natascha McElhone), proud owner of the upscale title hostelry. She’s promoted former nanny Constance (Louisa Binder) to assistant manager and befriended appealing architect Marco (Giorgio Marchesi), who’s building the hotel’s spa. But dark clouds hover, starting with the reappearance of Bella’s dodgy and unfaithful husband, Cecil (Mark Umbers). He’s been in London since he struck his wife in Season 1. “It’s forced her to confront a lot of things that have been bubbling below the surface and this is sort of the breakdown of their marital relationship, though it’s not easy for Bella,” says creator Matt Baker. “We’re introducing this season, the possibility of life and relationships for Bella after Cecil,” he adds, hinting at a “chaste” love interest for Bella.

Juliet Stevenson has joined the cast of crime drama “Professor T,” production partners Eagle Eye and Beta Film announced at MipTV in Cannes Sunday. The companies also said that they have greenlit a second season of period drama “Hotel Portofino.” Eagle Eye’s Walter Iuzzolino said his firm was working on two further shows with Beta, yet to be revealed.

Stevenson will play the therapist to the titular character, played by Ben Miller, in “Professor T,” which is shooting its second season in Cambridge and Belgium. Beta sold the show to more than 100 territories worldwide, most recently to Brazil (Globo TV), South Korea (BBC Studios), Switzerland (Ch Media TV) and Iceland (Syn), among others.

“Professor T” plays in numerous European countries, including Italy (Rai), France (France Television) and Spain (Movistar Plus+), and beyond in Latin America (HBO Max), Australia (BritBox) and Japan (Nhk).

“Hotel Portofino” is one of Britbox U.

A steady drip of deals keeps coming out of MIPCOM as the Cannes-set global television market begins to wind down.

Among the notable series deals have been pre-sales of the PBS/ITV upstairs/downstairs drama Hotel Portofino, which Beta Film has sold to public broadcasters across the Nordic territories and to the Netherlands. Natascha McElhone (Californication, Designated Survivor) stars in the period drama focused on a British family who emigrate to open a high-end hotel in Italy in 1920, just as Benito Mussolini’s Fascists are on the rise. Mark Umbers and Anna Chancellor co-star alongside Italian talents Daniele Pecci, Lorenzo Richelmy and Rocco Fasano....

A steady drip of deals keeps coming out of MIPCOM as the Cannes-set global television market begins to wind down.

Among the notable series deals have been pre-sales of the PBS/ITV upstairs/downstairs drama Hotel Portofino, which Beta Film has sold to public broadcasters across the Nordic territories and to the Netherlands. Natascha McElhone (Californication, Designated Survivor) stars in the period drama focused on a British family who emigrate to open a high-end hotel in Italy in 1920, just as Benito Mussolini’s Fascists are on the rise. Mark Umbers and Anna Chancellor co-star alongside Italian talents Daniele Pecci, Lorenzo Richelmy and Rocco Fasano....

Jan Mojto’s Munich-based sales and production powerhouse Beta Film, whose Mipcom slate includes “Sisi” and “La Fortuna,” has closed pre-sales across the Nordic Region and in the Netherlands’ for the PBS-ITV period drama series “Hotel Portofino.” The British show, created and written by Matt Baker, stars Natascha McElhone, whose credits include “Ronin,” “Californication” and “Designated Survivor.”

“Hotel Portofino” has been acquired by Dr for Denmark, Svt for Sweden, Nrk for Norway, Yle for Finland and Syn for Iceland, as well as Dutch national broadcaster Npo. Further negotiations with several international broadcasters are underway.

In previously announced deals, ITV, BritBox, Sky Italia and Foxtel in Australia joined the drama, produced by Eagle Eye in association with Beta Film, while PBS Distribution took North American rights.

The six-hour series, centered around a British family who emigrate to open a high-end hotel in Italy, captures the long-established literary tradition of...

Documentary

In a recent study conducted by Sky marking the one-year anniversary Sky Documentaries, two in five Brits admit to watching more documentaries over the last 12 months than ever before. With those numbers in mind, the broadcaster has unveiled five new original commissions and released a first trailer for its highly anticipated upcoming docuseries “Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie,” announcing that the series will premiere on Sky Crime and streaming service Now on Sunday, June 20.

“Murder at the Cottage” is produced, directed and features six-time Oscar nominated director Jim Sheridan, who spent more than a decade documenting the 25-year-old case of French film and TV producer Sophie Toscan Du Plantier, wife of filmmaker Daniel Toscan du Plantier, who was murdered at her holiday home in Schull, West Cork.

New documentaries announced by Sky include:

“Mother Teresa: For the Love of God?”, a look at the...

Ronin and Californication star Natascha McElhone is to headline a period drama set on the Italian Riviera, which has pre-sold to ITV/BritBox (UK), Sky Italia (Italy), and Foxtel (Australia). Titled Hotel Portofino, PBS Distribution has taken North American rights.

Eagle Eye Drama, founded by the team behind foreign-language streamer Walter Presents, houses the project. Production has commenced in Italy and Croatia on the show, which also stars Mark Umbers (Home Fires) and Anna Chancellor (Four Weddings and a Funeral).

Hotel Portofino features McElhone as Bella Ainsworth, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist who moves to Italy to set up a quintessentially British hotel in the town of Portofino. Umbers plays her charming but dangerous husband, Cecil, while Chancellor stars as Lady Latchmere, the hotel’s most influential but hard-to-please guest.

Created and written by former ViacomCBS international comms chief Matt Baker (Before We Die), the series features a classic ‘whodunit’ mystery woven throughout,...

ITV and BritBox have picked up the U.K. rights to Hotel Portofino, a historical family drama, set in the 1920s on the Italian Riviera, with a whodunnit.

PBS Distribution, which operates the PBS Masterpiece and other streaming services, has picked up the North American distribution rights. Rights to the series have also been snapped up by Sky Italia in Italy and Foxtel in Australia.

The show is the first original commission from London-based production firm Eagle Eye Drama, Filming this summer, the show stars Natascha McElhone (Ronin, Californication),

Mark Umbers and Anna Chancellor. ITV’s head of drama Polly Hill will oversee production.

McElhone playa Bella ...

ITV and BritBox have picked up the U.K. rights to Hotel Portofino, a historical family drama, set in the 1920s on the Italian Riviera, with a whodunnit.

PBS Distribution, which operates the PBS Masterpiece and other streaming services, has picked up the North American distribution rights. Rights to the series have also been snapped up by Sky Italia in Italy and Foxtel in Australia.

The show is the first original commission from London-based production firm Eagle Eye Drama, Filming this summer, the show stars Natascha McElhone (Ronin, Californication),

Mark Umbers and Anna Chancellor. ITV’s head of drama Polly Hill will oversee production.

McElhone playa Bella ...

One of the reliefs of moviegoing is that you only have a one in a million chance of being in a theater with Madonna. But another is that if you’re a rabid stage fan and happen to constantly miss all the great stuff being produced in the U.K., Fathom Events is giving viewers a chance to see some of their most acclaimed works in a comfy movie house for only a fraction of the price, and the West End’s celebrated revival of the 1981 Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical Merrily We Roll Along will be rollin’ along to about 460 U.

Stage actors – with minimal scope for makeup or prosthetics between scenes – tend to find it easier to age down than up

There are various ways of measuring a play: the number of characters or scenes, the presence or absence of an interval, and the average length of speeches. But Di and Viv and Rose – the Amelia Bullmore tragi-comedy currently having a second, sold-out run at the Hampstead theatre in London – suggests a new statistic: story years.

In 120 minutes of action, Bullmore follows three college friends across almost three decades (1983-2010), which places the play just ahead of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along (which covers 23 years, 1957-80, in the Maria Friedman production that is deservedly about to transfer from the Menier Chocolate Factory to London's West End). These shows travel through history so rapidly that the Simon Stephens play Port, which recently opened at the National, feels almost laggardly...

To celebrate the centenary of Terrence Rattigan’s birth his estate has commissioned playwright David Hare to write a new companion piece to accompany Rattigan’s one act masterpiece The Browning Version. Hare’s new play, South Downs, premiered with The Browning Version at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester to rave reviews and now makes its transfer to the west end.

South Downs and The Browning Version work very well together; Hare identifies key themes in Rattigan’s work and constructs his own narrative to reflect these. Both plays centre on a socially awkward and lonely lead and the meaning and implication of rules within a ridged schooling system.

Whilst both plays do share many common themes, it is also through their differences that the plays create a connection. Hare chooses to write about the boys at school, not the masters like Rattigan, and adds an interesting autobiographical element to South Downs.

Kim Cattrall has been nominated for a coveted theater award. The "Sex and the City" star's turn as Amanda in "Private Lives" sees her considered for the Best Actress in a Play prize at the 11th Whatsonstage.com Awards.

She will face competition from "End of the Rainbow" star Tracie Bennett, Helen McCrory for her role in "The Late Middle Classes", "Ruined" star Jenny Jules, Nancy Carroll from "After the Dance" and "All My Sons" actress Zoe Wanamaker.

The Best Actor in a Play award will be contested by Benedict Cumberbatch from "After the Dance", Kim's "Private Lives" co-star Matthew Mcfadyen, "Hamlet" and "Measure For Measure" star Rory Kinnear, "Deathtrap" and "London Assurance" actor Simon Russell Beale, "The Real Thing"'s Toby Stephens and "All My Sons" star David Suchet.

"All My Sons" received more nominations than any other production, being considered for accolades in six different categories. The most...

BBC One has announced plans to screen a re-work of Henry James's The Turn Of The Screw. The one-off 90-minute drama, scheduled to air this winter, features a cast including Cranford's Michelle Dockery, The Royal Family's Sue Johnston and Mark Umbers, who previously starred in Mistresses. The story follows young governess Ann (Dockery), who is sent to a country house to take care of two orphans, Miles (Josef Lindsay) and Flora (Eva Sayer). (more)...

TORONTO -- The bon mots fly fast and furious in A Good Woman, which transplants Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan to a new place and time.

But while screenwriter Howard Himelstein and director Mike Barker have done a workable job of drawing the Wilde social satire out of the drawing room, the film never quite manages to travel at the same buoyant velocity as the acerbic wit.

The tone trouble and problematic casting (more about that later) prevent the adaptation from being considered truly Oscar-worthy -- that's referring both to the statuette and Mr. Wilde -- though the delicious dialogue and opulent backdrops still make for a reasonably pleasant viewing experience.

Reverting to Wilde's original title for his play, A Good Woman has been moved up to the 1930s and relocated to the decidedly airier Amalfi coast in Italy.

Several of the characters, meanwhile, now have become Americans.

That would include Robert (Mark Umbers) and Meg (Scarlett Johansson) Windermere, a young newlywed couple in good standing who have left New York's sticky summer behind for some sensible vacationing on the Italian Riviera.

Having the same idea is Mrs. Stella Erlynne (Helen Hunt), a woman of a certain age with a certain reputation to match, who has seemingly exhausted her supply of the wealthy, married New York men who served as her meal ticket.

It doesn't take long before the penniless vamp appears to have landed Robert as her latest conquest, and their frequent sightings together have set the tongues of the sunbathing aristocracy a-flapping.

Meg's discovery that Robert has been issuing a number of checks to Mrs. Erlynne would seem to confirm those rampant rumors, and she receives little solace in the enamored attention paid to her by eligible Lord Darlington (Stephen Campbell Moore).

Of course, things, as it turns out, aren't quite as they appear.

Director Barker (1999's Best Laid Plans), along with cinematographer Ben Seresin, production designer Ben Scott and costume designer John Bloomfield, get the look and feel of the picture up to Merchant Ivory snuff, but there's a prevailing wistfulness hanging over the entire enterprise that has the effect of signaling that weightier third-act twist earlier than necessary.

As for the cast, while Johansson seems to have a natural affinity for period dress, Hunt fares less successfully in the role of the calculating seductress.

She effectively conveys Mrs. Erlynne's vulnerability and pain later on, but Hunt never seems entirely comfortable in her character's skin when she's required to play the shameless vamp with a knack for insinuating herself into the beds and checkbook registers of men who should know better.

As her quite willing next victim, the very wealthy but lonely Tuppy (Tom Wilkinson) nails the required tragicomic pitch with a great deal of self-effacing charm.

A Good Woman

Beyond Films

Credits:

Director: Mike Barker

Screenwriter: Howard Himelstein

Based on the play Lady Windermere's Fan by: Oscar Wilde

Producers: Alan Greenspan, Jonathan English, Steven Siebert, Howard Himelstein

Executive producers: John Evangelides, Mikael Borglund, Hilary Davis, Jimmy De Brabant, Michael Dounaev, Liam Badger, Duncan Hopper, Rupert Preston

Director of photography: Ben Seresin

Production designer: Ben Scott

Editor: Neil Farrell

Costume designer: John Bloomfield

Music: Richard G. Mitchell

Cast:

Mrs. Erlynne: Helen Hunt

Meg Windermere: Scarlett Johansson

Tuppy: Tom Wilkinson

Lord Darlington: Stephen Campbell Moore

Robert Windermere: Mark Umbers

Contessa Lucchino: Milena Vukotic

No MPAA rating

Running time -- 93 minutes...