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The Famous Five (2023 TV series)

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The Famous Five
Created byNicolas Winding Refn
Based onThe Famous Five by Enid Blyton
Screenplay byMathew Read
Priya K. Dosanjh
Mathew Bound
Directed byTim Kirkby
Asim Abbasi
Bill Eagles
Starring
Opening themeHidden Treasures by The Beyond
Country of originUnited Kingdom Germany
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producers
  • Tim Kirkby
  • Nicolas Winding Refn
  • Matthew Read
  • Will Gould
  • Frith Tiplady
  • Christina Bostofte Erritzøe
  • Kimberly Willming
  • Matthew Bouch
ProducerSophie MacClancy
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCBBC
KiKA
Release9 December 2023 (2023-12-09) –
present

The Famous Five is a British television series, an adaptation of the Enid Blyton series of books of the same name for the BBC and ZDF by Nicolas Winding Refn.

Cast

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Main and recurring

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  • Diaana Babnicova as George
  • Elliott Rose as Julian
  • Kit Rakusen as Dick
  • Flora Jacoby Richardson as Anne
  • James Lance as Quentin, George's father
  • Ann Akinjirin as Fanny, George’s mother
  • Kip as Timmy the Dog

Guest

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Production

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The news was broken in June 2023 that a reimagined adaptation of the classic Enid Blyton children’s book series The Famous Five for the BBC and ZDF was taking place by Nicolas Winding Refn as creator and executive producer. Episode one was announced to be written by Matthew Read, with Episode 2 written by Priya K. Dosanjh and Episode 3 written by Matthew Bouch and Read. Other executive producers include Read and Bouch, Will Gould, Frith Tiplady, Christina Bostofte Erritzøe, and Kimberly Willming. The series Producer is Sophie MacClancy.[1][2][3]

The series is set to be three 90-minute episodes. Tim Kirkby is a director of one of the episodes and executive producer on the project.[4] Other directors to helm an episode are Asim Abbasi and Bill Eagles. The project is executive produced by Refn for byNWR and Matthew Read for Moonage Pictures, in co-production with ZDF.[5]

Casting

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The main cast were revealed in July 2023. The Five would be played by Diaana Babnicova, Elliott Rose, Kit Rakusen and Flora Jacoby Richardson, completed by a Bearded Collie cross named Kip. Jack Gleeson was cast as Thomas Wentworth, Ann Akinjirin and James Lance were cast as parents of George, and Diana Quick was cast as Mrs. Wentworth.[6]

In February 2024, it was announced that Ed Speleers and Nora Arnezeder were cast as Mr. Roland and Sabrina Grover for Episode 2 and Jason Flemyng and Art Malik were cast as circus magician the Great Supremo and Sir Lincoln Aubrey for Episode 3.[7]

Filming

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Filming started in June 2023 with locations across the South West of England.[8] Principal photography took place in July 2023 in Cornwall, North Somerset, Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire, with filming locations including Port Isaac, Port Gaverne, Tyntesfield and Gloucester Cathedral.[9]

Broadcast

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The first episode was shown in the UK on CBBC and BBC iPlayer from 9 December 2023 with the second episode debuting on 29 March 2024.[10][11][12][13][7][14] The third episode was made available on 25 May 2024.[15]

In the US, the episodes will be available on Hulu from 31 May 2024.[16]

Episodes

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Series 1 (2023–2024)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"The Curse of Kirrin Island"Tim KirkbyMatthew Read9 December 2023 (2023-12-09)
22"Peril on the Night Train"Asim AbbasiPriya K. Dosanjh29 March 2024 (2024-03-29)[14]
33"The Eye of the Sunrise"Bill EaglesMatthew Read and Matthew Bouch25 May 2024 (25 May 2024)[15]

Series 2 (2024–2025)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
41"Mystery at the Prospect Hotel[17]"Asim AbbasiTBATBA

References

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  1. ^ Shoard, Catherine (26 June 2023). "Nicolas Winding Refn to reinterpret Enid Blyton's Famous Five for the BBC". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  2. ^ Roxborough, Scott (26 June 2023). "Drive' and 'Copenhagen Cowboy' Director Nicolas Winding Refn to Re-Imagine Kids Classic 'The Famous Five' for the BBC, Germany's ZDF". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  3. ^ Goldbart, Max (26 June 2023). "Nicholas Winding Refn Behind 'The Famous Five' Adaptation For BBC, ZDF". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  4. ^ Khomami, Nadia (26 July 2023). "Game of Thrones star Jack Gleeson to return to screen for Famous Five remake". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  5. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (26 July 2023). "Enid Blyton's 'Famous Five' BBC, ZDF Adaptation by Nicolas Winding Refn Sets Cast – Global Bulletin". Variety. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  6. ^ Rowen, Iona (26 July 2023). "BBC's Famous Five first look reveals cast – including Game of Thrones' Jack Gleeson". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b "The Famous Five guest stars revealed as new episode lands on BBC One this Easter". BBC. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Filming has begun on a brand-new series based on The Famous Five". BBC. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  9. ^ Morgan, William (1 July 2023). "Famous Five could solve mystery behind Gloucester Cathedral filming". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  10. ^ "BBC Christmas 2023 TV and iPlayer line-up brings the festive spirit to the UK". BBC. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  11. ^ "BBC reveals release date for Nicolas Winding Refn's adaption of The Famous Five". Royal Television Society. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  12. ^ Conlan, Tara (8 December 2023). "'Something magical': the Famous Five are back – thanks to a hyperviolent director". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  13. ^ Jeffries, Stuart (31 December 2023). "The Famous Five review – this Enid Blyton adaptation feels oddly like the Da Vinci Code". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  14. ^ a b "The Famous Five Series 1, Ep. 2/3 - Peril on the Night Train". BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  15. ^ a b "The Famous Five Series 1, Ep. 3/3 - The Eye Of The Sunrise". BBC. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  16. ^ "The Famous Five Official Trailer Hulu" on YouTube
  17. ^ "BBC unveils first glimpse of The Famous Five - Mystery at the Prospect Hotel". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
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