Oh dear, they're doing a "Hollyweird" ... trying to wring every cent
out of a franchise that they can. Rarely is it ever a good idea. :-(



Call the Midwife film and prequel series announced
--------------------------------------------------
The BBC has announced plans to make a Call the Midwife film
as well as a prequel TV series set during the Second World
War.

It comes as filming begins for the 15th series of the BBC One
drama, which follows a group of nurse midwives working in
London's East End from the late 1950s to the start of the
1970s.

The film will be set in an as-yet undisclosed overseas
location in 1972, and will feature characters from the
existing TV show.

Meanwhile, the separate prequel series will "delve into the
deeper past", showrunner Heidi Thomas said, offering a view
of life in Poplar, east London, during the Blitz.

The new, separate film and prequel projects will be written,
created and produced by Thomas and executive producers
Dame Pippa Harris and Ann Tricklebank, who will also oversee
the production of series 16 of the programme together.

The prequel series will feature "some familiar (if much
younger) faces", Thomas said.

She said that while she has "never run out of stories for our
midwives", she had found herself "yearning to delve into the
deeper past" than the years 1957 to 1971 which have been
covered by the show.

"The Blitz years in the East End were extraordinary - filled
with loss, togetherness, courage and joy," she said.

Meanwhile, the film will see the "much-loved" regular
characters "take a short break from Poplar and test themselves
in an unfamiliar landscape", Ms Thomas said.

The location of the film remains "top secret", she added - but
said it would look "absolutely fantastic" on the big screen.

The first series of the show was originally inspired by the
memoirs of Jennifer Worth, who worked as a midwife and nurse
in the community in Poplar.

Dame Pippa said the prequel series and film project were being
made partly for a "new, younger generation who have also fallen
in love with our characters and the challenges they face."

The 15th series will begin with a two-part Christmas special
which will see characters travelling to Hong Kong on a mercy
mission.


<https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93g3ldd20vo>

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