ITV has released its bumper line-up of new programming for winter and the new year and it's jam-packed with dramas. From psychological thrillers to book adaptations and crime and medical dramas, there will be something for everyone in the new year.
Fans of ITV's long-standing series Unforgotten were already aware the programme was returning in 2023 after writer Chris Lang revealed the cast has wrapped up production. Posting on Twitter he told his 22k followers: "So we finally finished production on S5 of @Unforgotten last week. All that is left to be done now is for it to be wrapped and tied with a bow, and then it'll be delivered to you in the new year. It's close team, it's so close. @TVSanjeev @SineadKeenan."
The cast, which is led by actor Sanjeev Bhaskar as DI Sunny Khan, will see a shake-up following the death of DCI Cassie Stuart in season 4. Cassie was played by Nicola Walker, but it will be Sinéad Keenan, known for Showtrial and Little Boy Blue, who will be taking over the reins in season 5. ITV bosses confirmed the Dublin-born actor will play the role of DCI Jessica James when the show returns in 2023. You can read more on this here.
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And while Unforgotten is returning, there are plenty of brand-new dramas hitting the channel over the winter and into the new year. Here's everything you need to know.
The Reunion
In 2023, Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd will lead an international cast in The Reunion. Set in the French Riviera, the drama is adapted from the best-selling novel by Guillaume Musso. It will follow three friends who reconnect at a high school reunion, bound by a tragic secret linked to a girl who went missing 25 years earlier.
ITV said: "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."
Without Sin
Line of Duty's Vicky McClure is also returning in Without Sin. The four-part psychological thriller explores the relationship which develops between a grieving mother and the man she believes murdered her daughter. BAFTA and RTS award-winning actress Vicky plays the leading role of Stella Tomlinson, whose 14-year-old daughter Maisy, is found dead at their family home with the bloodied, hooded figure of Charles Stone (Johnny Harris - The Salisbury Poisonings, Medici, Troy: Fall of a City) standing over her.
A synopsis reads: "The Nottingham-based drama focuses upon Stella’s life three years on from the death of her daughter and how she is still hostage to her grief. The loss of her beloved only child has created deep divisions in her life, as she struggles on a daily basis to come to terms with this.
"Wracked with guilt and remorse at the events of that night, she chooses to live a nocturnal existence as an Uber driver. She is estranged from husband Paul, who still lives in the family home. When contacted by Restorative Justice, and in an attempt to move on, Stella and Paul reunite to listen to a taped recording of Charles, who they believe wants to atone for his sins and apologise for murdering their daughter." Without Sin is released on ITVX on December 28 2022.
Stonehouse
Keeley Hawes and Matthew Macfadyen kick off 2023 on ITV1 and ITVX in Stonehouse, a brand-new drama about the life and times of the disgraced minister.
It will tell the story of how the high-flying member of Harold Wilson’s Government vanished from the beach of a luxury hotel in Florida in 1974, leaving a neatly folded pile of clothes as he swam into the sea, intent on faking his own death. Stonehouse will be shown first on ITV1 on January 2 2023.
Nolly
Meanwhile, Nolly, starring Academy Award-nominee Helena Bonham Carter and Mark Gatiss, will explore the all-powerful reign, and fall from grace, of the inimitable TV legend Noele Gordon, Queen of the Midlands, darling of the establishment until it turned on her and betrayed her.
Matthew Macfadyen said: "What happened to John Stonehouse is the stuff of legend. I’ve always been intrigued by what motivated him to fake his own death, and leave behind the family he loved and doted upon and a promising political career. John Preston’sscript truly captures the man and his colourful life."
The brand new three-part drama comes from BAFTA-winning Welsh writer Russell T Davies. The three-part drama will be released in February 2023
Maternal
Parminder Nagra (DI Ray, Blacklist), Lara Pulver (The Split, The Alienist) and Lisa McGrillis (King Gary, Mum) star in Maternal, a medical drama about balancing the intense demands of the NHS frontline with motherhood.
ITV said: "The series explores working motherhood with wit, warmth and humour, offering a unique perspective on our beloved overstretched NHS and the people who hold it together. Sometimes."
Writer Jacqui Honess-Martin added: "I am thrilled to bring this funny, warm and quietly political story to ITV. It’s been humbling to have the opportunity to hear the stories of so many brave and brilliant female doctors working in the NHS over the past two years and I know the incredible team working on this show will do them proud.”
You & Me
Also landing on ITVX is the new three-part contemporary drama You & Me. The series stars Harry Lawtey as Ben, a young northerner in London who finds his life changed forever when catastrophe strikes on the happiest day of his life. ITV said of the drama: "Full of compelling twists and turns, the series explores what it means to find love, lose love and try to love again." For more showbiz and television stories get our newsletter here.
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