With Christmas almost upon us and 2021 looming around the corner, we’re taking a look ahead at some of the exciting Acorn TV UK January 2021 line-up. The new year sees us Finding Joy, series 2 exclusive UK premiere, a brand new season of Amy Huberman’s hilarious sitcom about an accidental social media influencer. We bring you Care, this lauded drama from award-winning writer Jimmy McGoverndelves into the British care system and stars acting greats Sheridan Smith and Alison Steadman. We’ll be Moving On with McGovern’s drama anthology, about a series of Brits facing life-changing moments, with an all-star cast including Anne Reid, John Simm and Jenny Agutter. We all want A Place to Call Home and we have Series 1 of the hit Australian period drama, starring Marta Dusseldop. And staying down under we give you Total Control, a gripping tale of a charismatic indigenous woman (Deborah Mailman), who is not prepared to be used as a political pawn and pits her wits against the Prime Minister(Rachel Griffiths). If that’s not enough, discover The Missing File, a gripping Israeli detective series.
Some of the Acorn TV highlights include:
Finding Joy series 2 which starts on the 11 Jan.
Irish superstar Amy Huberman returns with her hit comedy series, which she both penned and plays the lead as accidental social media influencer Joy. Following the hilarious first series, Joy is back with a bang in Series 2, that sees her really hitting her stride and leaning into the newfound fame.
From getting in touch with her teenage self, babysitting for bestie Olivia, tracing her roots, and dealing with romantic interest both wanted and unwanted, old and new, she is committed to living life to the fullest and Finding Joy.
Care staring 4 Jan.
“A dive into deep emotional waters” –Telegraph
This lauded drama from multi-award-winning writer Jimmy McGovern (Cracker, Anthony) shines a light on the British care system. Screen favourite Sheridan Smith (Cilla) plays a single parent who must become a carer, when her mother (Alison Steadman, Gavin & Stacey) suffers a debilitating stroke. She must fight tooth and nail for the help her family desperately needs.
Also in the 4 Jan is MOVING ON
SERIES 1 & 2 (with S3 & 4 arriving on Acorn TV Monday, 18th January)
Renowned scribe Jimmy McGovern brings a collection of powerful stand-alone dramas that focus on characters facing life-changing circumstances, all set in contemporary Britain. These gritty tales boast an all-star line-up of great British acting talent including: Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax, Sanditon), John Simm (Life on Mars, Doctor Who), Claire Skinner (Outnumbered, Vanity Fair), Andrew Tiernan (Marcella, The Pianist), Paul Copley (Downton Abbey, Queer as Folk), Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting, Wonder Woman) Jenny Agutter (The Railway Children, Call the Midwife), Ian Hart (The Terror, Noughts + Crosses), Sheila Hancock (Unforgotten, Delicious), Lesley Sharp (Three Girls, Capital), Paul McGann (Luther, Alien 3) and Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones, White House Farm).
FULL SCHEDULE JANUARY
Monday 4 January
A Place to Call Home Series 1
Set in rural Australia in the 1950s, this sweeping and romantic drama follows a privileged family’s confrontation with a changing era and one woman’s journey to heal her soul. Acclaimed actress Marta Dusseldorp (Jack Irish, Stateless) plays Sarah Adams, a nurse with a mysterious past who returns to Australia after 20 years abroad. Making her passage home aboard an ocean liner, Sarah becomes involved in the lives of the Blighs, a wealthy Australian family with secrets of their own.
Care
This powerful drama from acclaimed writer Jimmy McGovern (Cracker) follows Jenny (Sheridan Smith, Cilla) as she bears the dual burdens of being a single parent and carer when her mother (Alison Steadman, Gavin & Stacey) suffers a debilitating stroke, and she must fight for the help her family desperately needs.
Moving On Series 1 and 2
These stand-alone powerful stories from acclaimed writer Jimmy McGovern focus on people facing life-changing circumstances, all set in contemporary Britain. Starring Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax, Sanditon), John Simm (Life on Mars, Doctor Who), Claire Skinner (Outnumbered, Vanity Fair), Andrew Tiernan (Marcella, The Pianist), Paul Copley (Downton Abbey, Queer as Folk), Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting, Wonder Woman) Jenny Agutter (The Railway Children, Call the Midwife), Ian Hart (The Terror, Noughts + Crosses), Sheila Hancock (Unforgotten, Delicious), Lesley Sharp (Three Girls, Capital), Paul McGann (Luther, Alien 3) and Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones, White House Farm).
Monday 11 January
Finding Joy Series 2 (Complete Box Set now available)
Exclusive UK Premiere
Irish superstar Amy Huberman returns with her hit comedy series, which she both penned and plays the lead as accidental social media influencer Joy. Following the hilarious first series, Joy is back with a bang in series 2, that sees her really hitting her stride and leaning into the newfound fame. From getting in touch with her teenage self, babysitting for bestie Olivia, tracing her roots, and dealing with romantic interest both wanted and unwanted, old and new, she is committed to living life to the fullest and Finding Joy.
Love My Way Series 1
Frankie (Claudia Karvan, Newton’s Law, Jack Irish) is a tempestuous ball of mad life: she colours in for a living at a large daily newspaper. She lives with Tom (Brendan Cowell, The Borgias, The Letdown), a fallen star chef, now a cook at the local rehabilitation hospital. Just down the road in a much nicer house lives Tom’s brother Charlie (Dan Wyllie, Romper Stomper, No Activity), an emotionally stunted architect, surfer…and father to Frankie’s daughter Lou. Along with Charlie’s ambitious new wife Julia (Asher Keddie, Party Tricks, The Cry), this group of thirty-somethings must tackle life and love, truth and lies, all in a tangled web.
The Silence (2010 UK Miniseries)
Eighteen-year-old Amelia, played by deaf actress Genevieve Barr (Call the Midwife, Shameless), is struggling to integrate into a hearing world following cochlear implantation, when she witnesses the murder of a police officer. The subsequent investigation unravels a net of police corruption in this four-part miniseries.
Monday 18 January
Moving On Series 3 and 4
Jimmy McGovern’s gripping drama continue with stories about people facing life-changing circumstances. Starring Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax, Sanditon), John Simm (Life on Mars, Doctor Who), Claire Skinner (Outnumbered, Vanity Fair), Andrew Tiernan (Marcella, The Pianist), Paul Copley (Downton Abbey, Queer as Folk), Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting, Wonder Woman) Jenny Agutter (The Railway Children, Call the Midwife), Ian Hart (The Terror, Noughts + Crosses), Sheila Hancock (Unforgotten, Delicious), Lesley Sharp (Three Girls, Capital), Paul McGann (Luther, Alien 3) and Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones, White House Farm).
The Commitments (1991)
Alan Parker’s seminal film based on Roddy Doyle’s novel, is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year. This internationally acclaimed Irish-set film, that follows a group of disaffected youth who start a soul band in Dublin, saw the band continue touring after the credits rolled and led to a hugely successful stage musical, is now available to stream on Acorn TV. Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed, wheeler-dealer Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class, resulting in a tumultuous, touching and funny musical drama, that has firmly established itself as a classic.
The Missing File
Exclusive UK Premiere
Adapted from two international best sellers by award-winning author Dror A Mishani, this tense Israeli drama begins with a terrorist attack which preoccupies and distracts the entire Israeli security service from a seemingly unrelated missing person but could the two be connected? Will Detective Avi (Moris Cohen, The Missing, Into the Night) open his eyes to the truth staring him in the face?
Monday 25 January
Love My Way Series 2
Complicated family artist Frankie (Claudia Karvan, Newton’s Law, Jack Irish), her boyfriend chef Tom (Brendan Cowell, The Borgias, The Letdown, his brother and her ex Charlie (Dan Wyllie, Romper Stomper, No Activity), and his new wife Julia (Asher Keddie, Party Tricks, The Cry), continue to navigate the complex web of love and life in the second series of this Australian drama.
The Wipers Times
This feature length WWI drama tells the story of Captain Fred Roberts who discovered a printing press in the ruins of Ypres and used it to publish the satirical journal, `The Wipers Times’, that went on to become a huge success. Featuring an all-star line-up Ben Chaplin (Apple Tree Yard, The Thin Red Line), Patrick FitzSymons (Line of Duty, Vanity Fair), Josh O’Connor (The Crown, God’s Own Country), Julian Rhind-Tutt (Britannia, The Hour), Hugh Skinner (Fleabag, The Windsors), Ben Daniels (The Exorcist, House of Cards), Michael Palin (Monty Python, Vanity Fair), and Emilia Fox (Silent Witness, The Trial of Christine Keeler).
Total Control
Exclusive UK Premiere
Alex Irving (Deborah Mailman, Mystery Road, Jack Irish), a charismatic and contradictory indigenous woman, is thrust into the national limelight after a horrific event, and Australia’s embattled Prime Minister Rachel Anderson (Rachel Griffiths, Six Feet Under, Hacksaw Ridge), sees it as a publicity coup and picks Alex for the Senate. But Alex wants to be more than just a political stunt, she wants to make a difference. When the Prime Minister’s cynical calculations betray her, Alex is hellbent on revenge that will send the political establishment into meltdown.
Acorn TV is available on Amazon and via their website where you can also find out more details of shows and more.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
