ITV January 2023 monthly highlights

ITV January 2023 monthly highlights

Coming to ITVX, ITV1 and BritBox UK in January

• A Murder in the Family streaming on ITVX from 05/01
• The Reunion streaming on ITVX from 12/01
• The Sex Lives of College Girls S2 streaming on ITVX  from 19/01
• Deep Fake: Neighbour Wars streaming on ITVX from 26/01           
• The Masked Singer returns!

ITVX

5th January

Exclusive:

A Murder in the Family

Each stand alone film in this new true crime series investigates three shocking murders, where the victim and perpetrator are family, telling stories of ordinary relationships that take extraordinary and ultimately tragic turns.

Using found footage - from victim’s social media videos and police bodycam film, text messages or call recordings, each story is pieced together from the victim’s point of view, without voiceover, allowing the victim, friends and family to tell their stories in their own immediate and intimate way.

Series:

Vampire Diaries Complete Series (2009 - 2017)

All eight series of the ever-popular The Vampire Diaries, starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder.

Films:

Austin Powers: International Man of  Mystery (1997) (available from 10th January)

In 1967, fashion photographer by day and super-agent by night Austin Powers (Mike Myers) is on the verge of catching his arch-nemesis, Dr. Evil (also Myers), when the latter has himself cryogenically frozen. Following suit, Powers unthaws thirty years later in the '90s to find Evil threatening the world once more. Can Powers recover from his culture shock in time to battle his old foe? With the help of sexy sidekick Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley), he just might. Featuring a huge ensemble cast including Will Ferrell, Seth Green, Carrie Fisher, Christian Slater, Priscilla Presley and Burt Bacharach, this hilarious and iconic spy movie parody, written by and starring Mike Myers, is undeniably groovy, baby!

12th January

Exclusive:

The Reunion (2022)

[[{"fid":"931141","view_mode":"wysiwyg","fields":{"format":"wysiwyg","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"wysiwyg","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-wysiwyg","data-delta":"1"}}]]

The French Riviera-set series adapted from Guillaume Musso’s bestselling novel “The Reunion” aka “La Jeune Fille et la Nuit,” stars Ioan Gruffudd, Ivanna Sakhno, and Grégory Fitouss, Dervla Kiwan, Vahina Giocante, Rupert Graves, Shemss Audat, Cosimo Fusco, and Salóme Gunnarrsdóttir. The story opens in the present day, at a high school reunion in the south of France where three former friends reconnect. They grew apart and lost touch, but they are still bound by a tragic secret tied to the disappearance of a high school girl who went missing 25 years ago in the region.

Series:

From Dusk Til Dawn Complete Series (2014-2016)

The legendary and notorious Gecko brothers return with Seth and his violent, unpredictable brother Richie on the run after Richie is haunted by visions of demons triggering a bloodbath during a bank robbery gone wrong. Heading for the Mexico border, the Geckos encounter former minister Jacob Fuller and his family, whom they take hostage by commandeering their RV. But when a run-in with a drug cartel reroutes the Geckos to a strip club populated by vampires they must all fight until dawn in order to survive.

Films:

American Gangster (2007)

Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe team with director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) in this powerful, epic story. Armed with ruthless tactics and a strict sense of honour, crime boss Frank Lucas (Washington) rules Harlem's chaotic drug underworld. When outcast cop Richie Roberts (Crowe) sets out to bring down Lucas's multi-million dollar empire, it plunges both men into a legendary confrontation.

19th January

Exclusive:

The Sex Lives of College Girls Series 2 (2022)

[[{"fid":"1110271","view_mode":"wysiwyg","fields":{"format":"wysiwyg","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"2":{"format":"wysiwyg","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-wysiwyg","data-delta":"2"}}]]

Created by Emmy®-nominated writer/producer Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble, The Sex Lives of College Girls follows four college roommates at New England’s prestigious Essex College. The new season picks up with the students returning after their Fall break, tackling the challenges thrown their way at the end of season one, and facing their next semester filled with new faces, parties and predicaments. The series stars Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, Reneé Rapp, and Alyah Chanelle Scott. Additional series regulars for season two include Mekki Leeper, Christopher Meyer, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Lolo Spencer, Renika Williams and Mitchell Slaggert.

Series:

Smallville Complete Series (2001-2011)

All ten series of the DC drama Smallville, starring Tom Welling as a teenage Clark Kent before he embraces his powers and understands his true calling as Superman.

Films:

Revolver (2005)

Action thriller from popular writer/director, Guy Ritchie. Jake Green (Jason Statham) is a hotshot gambler, long on audacity and short on common sense. He's rarely allowed to play in any casino these days because he's dangerous - he's a winner. One night Jake and his two older brothers, Billy (Andrew Howard) and Joe (Stephen Walters), are invited to sit in on a private game. A game that is fixed for Jake to lose to Macha (Ray Liotta), a top dog crime boss and casino owner who can't play for squat, but always wins because you just aren't allowed to lose to him. But Jake isn't afraid of Macha and not only beats him in a quick game of chance, but also takes every possible opportunity to throw insults. As Jake and his brothers leave the game, Macha puts out the order for a hit on Jake. However, a twist of fate gets Jake working for a pair of brothers, who just happen to have their own agenda for Macha.

26th January

Exclusive:

Deep Fake Neighbour Wars (2022)

[[{"fid":"1110276","view_mode":"wysiwyg","fields":{"format":"wysiwyg","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"3":{"format":"wysiwyg","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-wysiwyg","data-delta":"3"}}]]

Deep Fake Neighbour Wars will premiere exclusively on ITVX and will use the latest AI technology to make the UK's best new impressionists become the world's most famous celebrities. And they're all arguing.

Loved up Nicki Minaj and Tom Holland vs Mark Zuckerberg, Billie Eilish and Taekwondo teacher Beyonce, Mark Wahlberg and wannabe strongman Chris Rock. Some of the celebrities, all embroiled in petty silly neighbour disputes.

Series:

Freaks and Geeks (1999)

Created by writer-comedian Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow , Freaks and Geeks followed the Weir siblings–former math whiz Lindsay (Linda Cardellini of the Scooby-Doo feature films and ER) and her younger brother Sam (John Francis Daley)–as they navigated the perils and pleasures of a Michigan high school circa 1980.

Films:

Robin Hood (2010)

Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe reunites with legendary Gladiator director Ridley Scott for an epic action adventure in Robin Hood.

Discover the untold story of the man behind the legend as Robin, a heroic warrior, turns outlaw when he assembles a band of skilled marauders to confront injustice and lead an uprising against a weak and corrupt English King.

ITV1

Stonehouse (full series available on ITVX following episode 1 broadcast)

The life and times of disgraced Labour minister John Stonehouse are dramatised by acclaimed writer John Preston with BAFTA award-winning and Emmy-nominated Matthew Macfadyen (Succession, Quiz) in the leading role and co-starring Keeley Hawes (Honour, It's A Sin) as Stonehouse’s wife Barbara.

The MP for Walsall North left behind his loving wife Barbara and three young children as a shocked public and media presumed he had drowned or been eaten by sharks.

Charismatic, oozing with charm and brimming with confidence, Stonehouse had impressed Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Labour stalwarts from an early stage in his parliamentary career. From a working-class background, he’d graduated from the London School of Economics, was in the RAF during the War and seemed the ideal candidate for a life in politics.

As the drama unfolds, it becomes apparent his reputation as a devoted family man masked the truth, as he’d embarked on an extra marital affair with his secretary, Sheila Buckley, and acted as a spy for the Czech Secret Service in the 1960s.

His complex financial status and relationships eventually took their toll, with Stonehouse deliberately stealing the identity of a recently deceased constituent. Stonehouse applied for a passport in the dead man’s name and began to weave an elaborate conspiracy, seeking a new life in Australia. But his plans soon turned sour as Stonehouse was arrested by Australian police who had been under the mistaken impression that he was the fugitive peer Lord Lucan.

Brought back to the UK by Scotland Yard detectives, Stonehouse found that he was crucial to keeping the Labour government in power with its wafer-thin majority.

Vera

Award winning actress, Brenda Blethyn dons her infamous mac and hat to play the unorthodox, but brilliantly perceptive Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, in six new feature length episodes set against the backdrop of the North East.

DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) returns, leading her diligent team of detectives as they investigate some complex and murderous crimes. Kenny Doughty also returns as Detective Sergeant Aiden Healy, a strong and reliable partner to DCI Stanhope. Completing Vera’s team is Jon Morrison who plays DC Kenny Lockhart, Riley Jones who plays DC Mark Edwards and Ibinabo Jack as DC Jacqueline Williams. Paul Kaye returns for three of the new episodes as Pathologist Dr. Malcolm Donahue whilst Sarah Kameela Impey is introduced and joins the production as Pathologist Dr. Paula Bennett for the remainder of series twelve.

The six self-contained crime stories (two episodes from series eleven and four episodes from series twelve) have once again been inspired by the best-selling novels and characters created by acclaimed crime writer Ann Cleeves, who received the Diamond Dagger Award at the Crime Writers Association in 2017 for a lifetime achievement for sustained excellence.

The Family Pile ((full series available on ITVX following episode 1 broadcast)

The Family Pile is a brand new 6 x 30’ comedy from Hat Trick Productions that will air on ITV in January 2023.  The series will be a comedic exploration of one of life’s big milestones, via four sisters who have lost their parents and are packing up the family home to sell.

But even in grief their messy lives go on.   The series will star Amanda Abbington (Sherlock, Mr Selfridge), Clare Calbraith (Home Fires, Downton Abbey), Claire Keelan (Nathan Barley, No Heroics), and Alexandra Mardell (Coronation Street) as the sisters with Kieran O'Brien, Richard Pepple and James Nelson-Joyce.

Maternal ((full series available on ITVX following episode 1 broadcast)

Medical drama, Maternal, starring Parminder Nagra, Lara Pulver and Lisa Mcgrillis, written by Jacqui Honess-Martin, directed by James Griffiths and executive produced by Patrick Spence for ITV Studios comes to ITV1 this January.

The six part series is about three female doctors returning to post-pandemic frontline medicine after maternity leave and having to heroically balance the intense demands of the NHS and motherhood.

The drama will bring together leading actresses Parminder Nagra (DI Ray, Blacklist), Lara Pulver (The Split, The Alienist) and Lisa McGrillis (King Gary, Mum).  

Maternal explores working motherhood with wit, warmth and humour and offers a unique perspective on our beloved, overstretched NHS, and the people who hold it together. Sometimes.

The Masked Singer

Prepare to commence the New Year with more cries of ‘take it off!’ as The Masked Singer returns to ITV1.

The third season’s finale achieved an impressive 7.8m as viewers attempted to guess who was ‘hiding behind the mask’.Davina McCall, Rita Ora, Jonathan Ross and Mo Gilligan are heading back to their detective chairs as the nation’s favourite  guessing game begins all over again.

Joel Dommett returns to his hosting duties as he gets ready to introduce a new batch of unbelievably bizarre and unique characters to the stage who will leave viewers baffled and bewildered as the attempt to identify which famous face is behind the mask..  Last series saw international superstar, Natalie Imbruglia who was masquerading as Panda, crowned the winner, saw footballing legend Michael Owen unmasked as Doughnuts and chart topper Charlotte Church revealed to be Mushroom.

Hoping to join the exclusive Masked Singer winners’ club is a brand-new cast of celebrities playing twelve characters in the show’s signature extraordinary costumes, who will be taking to the stage to sing in disguise and stump the panel and viewers alike.

BRITBOX UK

BritBox UK will be launching the first fifteen series of Heartbeat, which chronicled the 1960s lives and adventures of the police constabulary, medical staff and residents of Ashfordly and Aidensfield,  on 5th January. The twelfth and thirteenth seasons of the ever popular Grange Hill will launch on 12th January, alongside the ground-breaking, splendidly silly and surreal comedy sketch series At Last The 48 Show and Michael Bentine’s Potty Time; the popular  children's puppet show from the 1970s.

This intensely claustrophobic thriller Witness Number 3, starring Nina Toussaint-White launches on 19th January, alongside all episodes of period crime drama Vienna Blood, starring Matthew Beard.

[end]