Jay Hunt Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Ben Frow, the man who has spent the past decade turning around the fortunes of Paramount-owned Channel 5, has labelled some shows on BBC One, BBC Two, ITV and Channel 4 “lazy,” “second-rate” and “mediocre.”

Emma Thompson (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande) and Ruth Wilson (Luther) have been tapped to star in Down Cemetery Road, a thriller series for Apple TV+, based on the book from Gold Daggar Award-winning author Mick Herron.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Apple TV+ has ordered a series adaptation of Mick Herron’s “Down Cemetery Road” with Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson attached to star, Variety has learned. This is now the second adaptation of Herron’s books to get the series treatment at Apple, with the other being the popular spy series “Slow Horses” starring Gary Oldman.

The BFI has upped Melanie Hoyes to Director of Inclusion.

Ellise Shafer During the reading of the U.K. government’s spring budget on Wednesday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt revealed a 40% corporate tax relief for film and TV studios through 2034. The plan also includes independent films shot in the U.K.

Alex Ritman Jay Hunt has been appointed chair of the British Film Institute. A hugely well-respected name in British TV, Hunt is currently the creative director for Apple TV+ in Europe, and has been a governor of the British Film Institute since 2020.

Apple TV+ Europe boss Jay Hunt, who has commissioned the likes of Slow Horses, Bad Sisters and Tiny World, is being lined up as the next chair of the BFI, according to a Sky News report.

Disney+ UK scripted exec Johanna Devereaux has swapped the Mouse House for Apple TV+.

Apple TV+ has greenlit its first project out of Germany.

EXCLUSIVE: Apple TV+ has axed its Uma Thurman-starring thriller series Suspicion after one season.

K.J. Yossman “Prehistoric Planet” – exec produced by Jon Favreau and narrated by naturalist David Attenborough – has been given a second season order from Apple TV+. The five-episode season promises new dinosaurs, habitats and scientific discoveries when it returns for a week-long event on May 22 as well as glimpses of fan favorites such as Tyrannosaurus rex. Favreau returns to exec produce alongside Mike Gunton and BBC Studios Natural History Unit while Hans Zimmer, Anže Rozman and Kara Talve for Bleeding Fingers Music provide a soaring prehistoric score. The show combines high tech wildlife filmmaking alongside state-of-the-art technology and insight from dinosaur and natural history experts with support from the photorealistic visual effects of MPC (“The Lion King”) applied to concept art created by Jellyfish Pictures (“The Book of Boba Fett”). The result is an immersive experience that transports the viewer back to the prehistoric age.

Prehistoric Planet will be back for a second season. Apple TV+ has renewed the award-winning natural history series from executive producers Jon Favreau and Mike Gunton and BBC Studios Natural History Unit (Planet Earth). Narrated by David Attenborough, the five-episode second season will premiere globally in a five-day week-long event beginning May 22 on Apple TV+.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe British Film Institute has announced five new board members including Netflix’s film chief Scott Stuber.Stuber joins the BFI’s board of governors along with eminent British industry exec and academic Monica Chada; producer Elizabeth Karlsen, co-founder of Number 9 Films (“Carol”); Laura Miele, vice-president and COO of interactive entertainment giant Electronic Arts; and writer, producer and director Edgar Wright (“Baby Driver,” “Shaun of the Dead”).The appointments were announced by U.K. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries.Each new BFI board member will serves a term of four years beginning in May 2022.“It’s a privilege to be appointed a Governor of the BFI, an institution I have long admired,” Stuber said in a statement “I wholeheartedly endorse their mission to promote the next generation of U.K. storytellers, widen access to screen culture and support the continued growth of this extraordinary sector,” he added, noting that, “Our industry is in a state of constant evolution and I look forward to playing my part in ensuring the BFI remains best situated to champion its past, present and future.”The BFI’s new board recruits join the current BFI board, which includes Michael Birshan; Idris Elba; Gerry Fox; Jay Hunt; Robin Saunders; Andrew Smith; Phil Stokes and Nell Whitley.Said BFI Chair Tim Richards: “I am honored to be welcoming five new incredibly talented industry professionals to the BFI Board of Governors.“Their knowledge and experience across film, television, games, technology and business combined with that of our existing governors, will be invaluable to the BFI and the industry as a whole.

The British Film Institute (BFI) has added five experienced executives to its Board of Governors.

K.J. Yossman Tome Hiddleston and Claire Danes starrer “The Essex Serpent” has confirmed its release date.The series, based on Sarah Perry’s novel of the same name, will debut globally on Apple TV Plus on May 13.

Also Read: 'Ted Lasso' Renewed for Season 2 on Apple TV+“The Essex Serpent” will be produced for Apple TV+ by See-Saw Films, and is commissioned for Apple out of the U.K. by Apple’s Heads of Worldwide Video, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, and Creative Director for Europe Worldwide Video, Jay Hunt.

By Jake Kanter