Media Murder for Monday

It's the start of a new week (and a new year!) and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment) is the latest addition to the John Wick spinoff film, Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas. Production on the film is currently underway, with Len Wiseman directing from a screenplay penned by Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 4). Previously announced ensemble cast members include Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus. The story is set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4 and follows ballerina-assassin Rooney (de Armas) as she hunts the assassins who killed her family.

Netflix revealed the title for its long-simmering Luther standalone movie that returns Idris Elba as the complicated detective in the crime drama that ran for five seasons on the BBC. Luther: The Fallen Sun, will arrive on the streamer in March 2023, with Jamie Payne directing from a script by series creator, Neil Cross. The film is being billed as a "continuation and re-imagination" of the BBC series, which scored 11 Emmy nominations during its run. The story follows a gruesome serial killer who is terrorizing London, while brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther sits behind bars. Haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who now taunts him, Luther decides to break out of prison to finish the job by any means necessary.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

NBC has picked up drama pilot, The Irrational, starring Jesse L. Martin, to series. Written by Arika Lisanne Mittman, The Irrational is based on Dan Ariely’s bestselling novel, Predictably Irrational. The show follows Alec Baker (Martin), a world-renowned professor of behavioral science who lends his expertise to an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, law enforcement, and corporations with his unique and unexpected approach to understanding human behavior. Maahra Hill, Travina Springer, Molly Kunz, and Arash DeMaxi also star.

In a "sizzle reel" for upcoming HBO and HBO Max programming, HBO unveiled the first footage from True Detective: Night Country, the long-anticipated fourth season of its Emmy-winning crime drama anthology True Detective. The new season, coming in 2023, stars two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster (The Silence of the Lambs) and actor-boxer Kali Reis (Catch the Fair One) and picks up after the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, as the six men that operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, Detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Reis) will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice. The promo reel also teases such upcoming shows as The Last of Us, The Idol, and White House Plumbers, as well as new seasons of series like Perry Mason, Succession, and Barry.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

The latest episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features Debbi Mack's interview with crime writer, Tessa Lunney, about her Kiki Button series set in 1920s Paris and experiencing the joys of bohemian living, if only vicariously. 

On the latest Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine podcast, Kevin Egan draws on his career as a clerk in Manhattan's supreme court for many of his stories. "Term Life," from the June 2014 issue, is another example of his mastery over crime fiction that thrills and entertains. This time, his recurring character Fox is out to save the life of a local judge.

Crime Time FM chatted with Simon Stephenson about his novel, Sometimes People Die; working in the National Health Service; scriptwriting in Hollywood; entering writing competitions; editing; medical serial killers through time; and the murder house. And in the show's 2022 finale, Jeffery Deaver (Lincoln Rhyme/Colter Shaw) spoke with Victoria Selman about "pulling the rug out from under your reader so often they’ll be sending you their chiropractor’s bills"; Hamilton tees; and "getting a character in."

Red Hot Chili Writers interviewed global crime writing superstar, Jane Harper, author of The Dry, to discuss Outback Noir and to pontificate on the merits of sexy Christmas underwear.

On Read or Dead, Katie McLain Horner and Kendra Winchester discussed books they didn’t manage to get to in 2022.

All About Agatha closed out 2022 with Maureen Johnson, the talented writer of YA mysteries very much inspired by Agatha Christie.