Survivors’ Birmingham filming begins

Filming on the second series of Survivors is now underway, with sequences set in central Birmingham locations amongst the first to go in front of the cameras earlier this month.

On Sunday 14 June, several streets in inner-city Birmingham were closed to the public and dressed by the production crew to record sequences featuring the core series two cast. The Birmingham Mail (15 June) reported that the crew “made the most of the area yesterday – by filling the streets with tons of rubbish”, and published a photo of the litter-strewn area. As well as local journalists, the filming process was observed by several passers-by, tourists and fans of the programme.

Adrian Hodges ITV fantasy Primeval cancelled

Primeval, the ITV dinosaur fantasy adventure series created by Survivors’ showrunner Adrian Hodges, has been cancelled in a decision that appears to have come as an unwelcome surprise to the show’s producers.

Three series of the Saturday tea-time family-friendly genre show had been broadcast, and pre-production work was already underway on series four when ITV made its announcement.

ITV made clear that the decision to drop Primeval was part of a general reallocation of the drama spend that would see the channel focus most of its funding on post-9pm (and therefore post-watershed) programming.

Clearly stung by the shock move, a spokesperson for the show indicated that the producers would not have gone ahead with the series three cliff-hanger ending had they been made aware that the third series would be the show’s last.

Survivors cast pictured at charity social event – June 2009

Survivors cast members Phillip Rhys, Robyn Addison, Julie Graham, Max Beesley and Zoë Tapper all attended a charity fund raising event for the 5 Stars Scanner Appeal on 1 June 2009 held at The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, hosted by Ryan Giggs and fellow 5 Stars Ambassador Beesley.

The 5 Stars Scanner Appeal aims to raise £1m to buy a new MRI scanner for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital which can greatly enhance early detection and diagnosis of cancer – the appeal currently stands at £750,000 and aims to raise the remaining £250,000 by this summer.

A photo of the group can be seen on the Getty Images site (the free-to-view preview is watermarked).

More information about the Appeal can be found in a promotional video for the charity presented by Max Beesley.

In the photo from the charity event, Beesley is sporting a signature ‘Tom Price haircut’, far shorter than that on seen during his recent appearance on the Paul O’Grady show – an indication that filming on series two of Survivors is either imminent or already underway.

Thanks to Adam and Adrian H for locating the Getty Images photo of the event.

Max Beesley on the Paul O’Grady chat show

Survivors actor Max Beesley briefly discussed his character (Tom Price) and plans for series two during an appearance on the Paul O’Grady Show on Channel 4 on 21 May 2009.

The interview is available on the 4OD service until 20 June 2009. Beesley joins O’Grady 19mins into the show.

As Beesley is sporting a lengthier hair style than that required for the character of Price, this would suggest that filming on Survivors series two had not started at the time the interview was recorded.

Many thanks to Adrian H for alerting the blog on this one.

Scotland on Sunday suggests Survivors could be rescheduled

The Scotland on Sunday newspaper (10 May 2009) reports that series two of Survivors could be delayed or rescheduled by the BBC – becoming the “latest victim of swine flu”.

It suggests that the BBC could rethink the timing of the transmission of series two if the real-world context of a swine flu pandemic rendered the drama “a little too close to reality”.

A BBC spokesperson told the paper: “We can confirm a second series of Survivors was commissioned last year. We are monitoring developments with regard to swine flu and no transmission date has been set.”

Former BBC controller discusses Survivors’ H1N1 topicality

On Radio Four’s Front Row arts and culture review programme (4 May 2009), former BBC controller (and current ITV Director of Television) Peter Fincham discusses the challenge of commissioning and scheduling popular television drama that has strong contemporary relevance – including Survivors.

Asked by presenter Mark Lawson if he would have commissioned Survivors given the current unsettling context of the spectre of Swine Flu, he replies: “One side of you would say, ‘I’m rather nervous about this’; another side would say ‘Goodness me, isn’t this prescient of us? Haven’t we managed to get the zeitgeist exactly right?’. So it would be a difficult decision…”.

The interview, which features in the closing five minutes of the programme, is available on the BBC iPlayer.

Guardian muses on Survivors swine-flu insights

Writing in a Guardian Unlimited blog on Monday 27 April, Jonathan Wright muses (in a less-than-entirely serious way) on the question: What can Survivors teach us about living through swine flu?.

His bullet-point advice is as follows:

• Don’t trust politicians to sort things out
• Do give up social networking
• Don’t try to live the urban life
• Do remember that remorseless murderers will survive
• Don’t hang out with Freema Agyeman
• Do be glad this didn’t happen in the 1970s
• Don’t try to cut yourself off

Series two could see a return to the Doncaster Earth Centre

As well as making use of new locations in Birmingham city centre, the second series of the new Survivors could include new scenes filmed at the mothballed Doncaster Earth Centre – the home of Samantha Willis’s settlement.

Survivors producer Hugh Warren told the Doncaster Free Press that it was possible that the location could feature in the second series, although he was not in a position to confirm this either way.

More details on Survivors series two Birmingham locations

A few more details about the planned inner-city Birmingham Survivors series two filming locations have been published today in The Sunday Mercury.

The article reports that the programme will incorporate scenes involving the famous Birmingham landmarks The Rotunda and The Bull Ring. The report also suggests that all six episodes will be recorded in and around the city, and that much of the recording “will have to take place very early in the morning when the city centre is quiet enough to look deserted.”

The Sunday Mercury reports that production on the programme in the city, which is scheduled to begin in May, will last for four months.

It also indicates that there will be opportunities for local people to become involved in the production – either as members of the behind-the-camera crew, or on-screen as extras.

Survivors series two begins filming in Birmingham in May

A blog on the Conventry Telegraph (13 March 2009) reports that filming on the second series of the new Survivors will begin in May, at urban and rural locations in around Birmingham. Series one of Survivors, in contrast, was recorded at locations in and around Manchester and London.

The Geek Files blog text in full is as follows:

Survivors sci-fi series to film in Birmingham

SURVIVORS, BBC One’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure series, will begin filming a second series on location in Birmingham from May, it was announced today.

The new six-part series created by Adrian Hodges (Ruby In The Smoke, Shadow In The North, Charles II and Primeval) will broadcast on BBC One. It’s a remake of the original 70s TV series by Daleks creator Terry Nation and depicts the adventures of a group of people in the aftermath of a virus that has wiped out most of the human race.

Cast include: Robyn Addison (The Street; Casualty); Nikki Amuka-Bird (No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency; Five Days); Max Beesley (Hotel Babylon); Julie Graham (William And Mary; Bonekickers); Paterson Joseph (Jekyll; The Beach; Peep Show); Phillip Rhys (24; Nip Tuck; Flatland); Zoe Tapper (Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky; The Last Van Helsing); and young newcomer Chahak Patel.

All six episodes will be filmed in Birmingham. The first two episodes will be filmed in city locations, much of the latter episodes will be more suburban/rural. The BBC hopes to recruit local people as extras.

Nicolas Brown, director of BBC Drama Production, said: “We are very pleased to be shooting this series out of Birmingham. We are looking forward to working with everyone there to get the maximum impact on screen for this all-important second outing.”

Survivors series one to broadcast in New Zealand

The first series of the new Survivors will be shown in New Zealand following a deal between BBC Worldwide Australia and broadcaster Prime Television.

Survivors series one: DVD reviews

Reviews of the first series of Survivors DVD release appear in SFX (No 180, March 2009), SciFi Now (Issue 25, February-March 2009) and DeathRay (No 17, February-March 2009). DeathRay’s Guy Haley concludes his review with a call to the BBC to: “Bring it back as soon as, Auntie, because this is the best SF treat you’ve given us in in years.”

Survivors to be shown on BBC America

All six episodes of the first series of the new Survivors will be shown in the US on BBC America later in 2009, in a deal agreed with BBC Worldwide.

BBC America’s press release describes the series as follows:

The chilling new apocalyptic drama, Survivors, focuses on the world in the aftermath of a virus that has wiped out 99% of the human race. The lonely few who remain struggle to start over in a devastated world where everything that was once safe and familiar is now strange and dangerous. At the center of the story is a bewildered but resilient group of survivors led by Abby Grant (Julie Graham), a woman whose strength comes from a burning need to find out if her young son is still alive. This brave new world brings an opportunity for new beginnings, but also terrible dangers – not just the daily struggle for food and water, but a deadly threat from other survivors.

Survivors repeat showing on BBC HD continues

The repeat of the first series of the new Survivors on BBC HD (High Definition), which began on 15 January, concludes later this month – with episode five showing on Thursday 12 February at 22:00 and episode six following a week later on Thursday 19 February.

Julie Graham on GMTV this morning

As part of the promotional work to support the release of the first series of the new Survivors on DVD (the three-disc set was released yesterday), actress Julie Graham (Abby Grant) was interviewed on the GMTV programme on ITV1 this morning.

The online video of her appearance omits the brief extract from episode one that was shown as part of the live broadcast of the programme.

Survivors DVD released on Monday – trailers on Amazon and Play

The first series of the new Survivors is released on DVD tomorrow – Monday 26 January 2009.

Online video trailers to promote the release have been added to the Play and Amazon listings for the DVD. The Amazon promo can be viewed below:

Survivors DVD ads in genre press

Full-page, full-colour adverts for the upcoming Survivors first-series DVD release are appearing in the genre press (see example illustration below).

The adverts confirm the special features of the release as:

• Easter Egg
• A New World: The Making of Survivors
• Character Profiles
• Survivors FX Featurette
• Audio Navigation
• Audio Description (on feature only)

The DVD is still scheduled for release on 26 January 2009.

Zoë Tapper – SFX profile

A two-page profile of Survivors actress Zoë Tapper appears in the February 2009 edition of SFX (No. 179). The interview focuses, in the main, on Tapper’s work in the ITV’s supernatural Saturday tea-time yarn Demons.

Adrian Hodges discusses reception for series one and plans for series two

In an interview for the Total SciFi site showrunner and main scriptwriter Adrian Hodges discusses the reception of the first series of the new Survivors and his plans for series two.

There are no specific series two spoilers, but in the interview he reveals the following:

I read Terry Nation’s book very carefully, and I’ve read it again since, and I will read it again before I start working on the second series. There was a lot at the front of the book that I wanted to use directly or indirectly, and there was a lot in the second half that I wanted to use, but over a long period of time…

We will be resolving the cliffhanger relatively quickly, at least one part of it… All the characters are coming back, but I can’t say for sure how long Paterson [Joseph (Greg Preston)] is back for because that’s the cliffhanger…

[A]s the structure of the world begins to disintegrate, you’ll see more of the world collapsing. It will gradually become more tribal, in the sense that people will form alliances and groups.

Survivors – all six series one episodes available on iTunes

All six episodes of the first series of the new Survivors are now available for digital download from the iTunes shop.

Individual episodes cost £1.89 to download, or £11.34 for all six. (To use the service, you will need to download the free iTunes client and register an iTunes account).

Survivors - available for purchase on iTunes