The BBC has released the first three official images (see below) for the upcoming four episode third season of their drama series Luther, which is set to premiere on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US later this year.

Created by Neil Cross, Luther follows Detective Chief Investigator John Luther, a near-genius detective struggling to cope with his own demons as he investigates major crimes for the Metropolitan Police Service. The drama series is produced by BBS Drama Productions and stars Idris Elba, Warren Brown, Ruth Wilson, Paul McGann, Dermot Crowley, Michael Smiley, Aimee-Ffion Edwards and Nikki Amuka-Bird.. In the show’s third season, John Luther is back under intense pressure, with two conflicting crimes to investigate and a ruthless ex-copper determined to bring him down. Luther’s life is his job; that is until love crosses his path and offers him a chance of happiness.

(C) BBC/Steve Neaves

BBC One has released a new trailer for their upcoming drama The White Queen, which is a co-production with US premium cable network Starz. The series is slated to bow this Summer.

Based on the The Cousin’s War series of novels by Phillipa Gregory and developed for TV by Emma Frost, The White Queen is set in 1464, during the height of the War of the Roses, and tells the story of the women caught up in the ongoing conflict for the throne. The House of York’s young and devilishly handsome Edward IV is crowned King of England with the help of the master manipulator Lord Warwick “The Kingmaker.” But when Edward falls in love and secretly marries a beautiful young widow, the commoner Elizabeth Woodville, Warwick’s plan for control over the English throne comes crashing down around him. Frustrated by the new Queen’s influence he will stop at nothing to maintain his grip on the King. The ten-part drama series stars Max Irons, James Frain, Rebecca Ferguson, Janet McTeer, Amanda Hale, Faye Marsay, Aneurin Bernard, David Oakes, Juliet Aubrey, Eleanor Tomlinson, Frances Tomelty, Michael Maloney, Ben Lamb, Hugh Mitchell, Simon Ginty, Eve Ponsenby and Robert Pugh. Company Pictures is producing with John Griffin, George Faber, Charles Pattinson, Eurydice Gysel and Polly Hill serving as executive producers.

BBC One’s Trailer For The White Queen Follows Below:

The second (and final) season of NBC’s comedy series Whitney will receive its UK premiere on Comedy Central on Wednesday June 5th at 9:30pm, it has been announced,

Created by Whitney Cummings, Whitney takes a look at modern-day love & relationships and centers around Whitney and Alex, a happily – newly “married” couple who are surrounded by a quirky group of friends. The comedy series stars Cummings as a fictionalised version of herself, Chris D’Elia as Alex Miller, Maulik Pancholy as Neal, Zoe Lister-Jones as Lily, Rhea Seehorn as Roxanne, Dan O’Brien as Mark and Tone Bell as Reginald José. The show’s second season opens with Whitney and Alex, now a ‘married’ couple, celebrating their unofficial wedding day. Whitney is thrilled when her mum Candi pays a visit but she is brought to tears when Candi leaves abruptly to attend a party. Meanwhile best friends, Lily and Roxanne try to decide on an appropriate wedding gift for Whitney but can’t agree on what to get her, but which one knows best?

TVWise’s UK Premiere Dates page has been updated with this new information.

“Shows about ordinary people caught in extraordinary situations always resonate well with broadcasters, both in the UK and internationally and these are no exception”, said Emma Simpkins, Passion Distribution’s Director of Sales. “Our broadcasters love the global stories, repeatability and access to real footage each series boasts.”

Simon Crawford Collins’ independent production company Slim Film + Television, which was set up in November 2011 to produce high-end drama, scripted comedy and major international co-productions, has won its first commission. BBC Two has ordered a 90 minute one-off film titled Legacy, a gripping espionage thriller set during the height of the Cold War in 1970s London which will be produced by the indie. The drama will form part of BBC Two’s season of programmes exploring the history of the Cold War.

Based on Alan Judd’s novel, Legacy was written by The Politician’s Husband scribe Paula Milne and tells the compelling story of young spy Charles Thoroughgood who discovers the disturbing truth about his father’s complex past. The one-off was commissioned by BBC Two Controller Janice Hadlow and the BBC’s Controller of Drama Ben Stephenson. The executive producers are Lucy Richer, Simon Crawford Collins, Paula Milne and Alan Judd. Dredd helmer Pete Travis is attached to direct. BBC Worldwide is handling international distribution.

“My two guiding principles when I set up Slim was that I would only work on projects that I was absolutely passionate about and with people who I love working with. Legacy couldn’t tick those boxes more emphatically”, sais Simon Crawford Collins, Managing Director of Slim Film + Television. “Alan Judd’s brilliant novel was recommended to me by a senior intelligence officer as simply the best book to capture what it really felt like to be a spy during the Cold War. Paula Milne has written a wonderfully tense and intriguing screenplay based on this book and I’m delighted that Slim have brought Paula and Pete back together again – for the first time since Endgame.  I know they will collaborate to produce something truly exceptional.”

Ben Stephenson, Controller of Drama Commissioning at the BBC, added: “Legacy is a brilliant twist on a classic genre – a Cold War spy thriller with an emotional beating heart. We have worked with Simon for many years and we are delighted that the BBC has commissioned the first project to come out of Slim.”

Ashley Walters (Inside Men), John Dagleish (Lark Rise To Candleford), Harry Treadaway (Control), Sian Breckin (Donkey Punch) and Jenn Murray (The Fades) have joined the cast of BBC One’s upcoming five episode dramedy series Truckers. They join previously announce main cast member Stephen Tompkinson (DCI Banks).

Walter has been cast as Steven, one of the truckers; Dagleish as Martin, the manger of the haulage company; Treadaway as Glen Davies, the son of Malachi (Stephen Tompkinson); Breckin as Wendy, an outwardly tough and confident female trucker; and Murray as Michelle, the Transport Manager for the haulage company who is Martin’s eyes and ears on the yard.

Created by William Ivory, Truckers has been described as a bitter-sweet character-driven show about getting by in difficult times. The series follows a rogue’s gallery of irascible characters, men and women, all of whom work for the same haulage company driving 40 ton articulated lorries across the Midlands. In each episode a trucker undergoes a life changing journey and the audience is taken along for the ride. Company Pictures is producing, with Faye Dorn serving as series producer and (as TVWise previously reported) Sheree Folkson and Sue Tully directing. The executive producers are Polly Hill, Steve Lightfoot, John Yorke and William Ivory.

Speaking of the cast, Executive Producer Steve Lightfoot said: “William Ivory has written a group of wonderful blue collar characters who leap off the page, with lives we can all relate to – and this cast of exciting actors inhabit them brilliantly to bring these funny and moving stories to life.”

While Polly Hill, the BBC’s Head of Independent Drama, added: “It’s great to see Billy’s scripts attract such a terrific cast. This is a beautifully written series that is bold, funny and moving and we have a fantastic cast to pull this off.”

In addition to announcing a new dramedy series from Shameless creator Paul Abbott, Channel 4 has also announced that they have commissioned two new factual series: I Want A Council House , which explores the reality of those living on Britain’s social housing list; and My Last Summer, which will follow five people whom are terminally ill.

Produced by Studio Lambert (who just sold a new documentary series to BBC Three), I Want A Council House was filmed over six months in Tower Hamlets and Manchester, with the crew having access to the councils’ homeless persons’ unit and lettings teams. The three part series follows the day to day lives of the workers tasked with implementing the system and the stories of the people they deal with. Through these personal stories the series will address the housing headlines and challenge our preconceptions of the way housing is allocated and our view of the deserving and undeserving poor. The series will also follow the journeys of the families and individuals already on the housing list bidding for homes, the system by which the council decide who should get a property and the decision making process of those who are eventually offered a home. I Want A Council house is directed by Toby Paton and produced by Barnaby Peel and Jessica Spencer. The executive producer is Ros Ponder.

My Last Summer is a four episode series which will bring together a group of five strangers who are terminally ill and have been told they are dying. The group will meet regularly at a residential manor house in the Cotswolds to help support one another through the final stages of their life while they contemplate the reality of their own death. Putting the group all together in the same house will provide them with the opportunity to confront their hopes, fears and regrets and share what thoughts they have on their funerals, legacy and afterlife. They will also get the chance to meet one another’s close friends and families to discuss and understand how death affects those that are left behind. Love Productions is producing the series, with Kieran Smith, Richard McKerrow and Debbie Christie serving as executive producers.

Channel 4 has ordered a new dramedy series titled No Offence from Shameless creator Paul Abbott and his production company AbbottVision. The series, which has been described as a fresh take on the police procedural, has been given an order for 8 episodes and will shot on location in Manchester.

Created by Abbott, No Offence is set in a crumbling Victorian cop shop on the wrong side of Manchester and follows a group of bobbies on the front line, wondering what they did to end up here, in this force, on this side of town. Keeping these streets clean is a Herculean task, enough to demoralize even the keenest rookie.  But there’s a reason these cops are in this force. As the never ending rabble off the local estates pours in, Inspector Vivienne Deering, the station’s sharp, funny and hard as they come boss, and her team led by DC Dinah Kowalski and DC Joy Freers show they have what it takes to crack crime and to expose the addled, the skanky, the pimps, the petty and the really proper nasty bastards for the sewer rats they are. AbbottVision is producing with Abbott and Martin Carr serving as executive producers.

“I’m a big fan of well-told cop shows and jet-black social comedy, and I wanted to see how explosively we could bang two genres’ heads together”, said series creator Paul Abbott. ”No Offence is reared on wilder-than-average seeds and I’ve had a ball with the AbbottVision team in building this concept. It’s a tilted, hardcore blend of cop drama, family saga and social mayhem.”

Piers Wenger, Channel 4′s Head of Drama, commented: “No Offence is the best of what the world has come to expect from a Paul Abbott script: characters you can adore, gags which practically blind you with their brilliance and plots which, while appearing outlandish, challenge the way you think about the world. We’re delighted to announce the commissioning of this new series created and written by Paul and welcome him back to Channel 4.”

While Executive Producer Martin Carr added: “No Offence is a bold, witty and unusual show and we are delighted at the unconditional enthusiasm and support we have been given by Piers and his team to be as bold as we dare. No Offence is a completely new show, told in a way not seen before on television and Channel 4 is absolutely the right home for it.”

The BBC is getting into business with the production company behind Undercover Boss. BBC Three has given the greenlight to The Insiders, a new workplace documentary format, which will be produced by Studio Lambert.

In each self-contained episode of The Insider, five young candidates compete for a highly desirable, fast-track position in one of the UK’s most exciting companies. They live together for ten days while undertaking assignments and group tasks before one of them is selected for the job. The twist is that the candidates don’t know that one of their fellow competitors is actually one of the company’s senior managers.This person is ‘the insider’ and their role is to be the eyes and ears of the company; to see what the other candidates are really like and ultimately to decide who deserves the job. The Insider is produced by Studio Lambert, with Ros Ponder and Sam Bickley serving as executive producers. BBC Three has the worldwide premiere rights to the format. All3 Media International is handling global distribution.

“The Insider is an exciting new format for BBC Three where applicants for a dream job will go through an interview process like no other”, said BBC Three Controller Zai Bennett. “This show should reveal exactly what you need to do to get a job and what to avoid, especially when you think the boss isn’t looking.”

EXCLUSIVE: Allan Cubitt’s new thriller series The Fall, which stars Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) and Jamie Dornan (Once Upon A Time), opened big for BBC Two last night. The series premiered to 3.5 million viewers and a 15% share in its Monday night 9pm time-slot, with consolidated figures expected to raise that number even higher. With those numbers The Fall easily beat off all competition to win the slot. The impressive ratings also make the series the highest rated drama launch on BBC Two in nearly 8 years, since Rome debuted in 2005 with over 6 million viewers in the overnights (rising to 7.2 million consolidated).

Elsewhere at 9pm on Monday night, the final episode of BBC One’s documentary series The Prisoners attracted 2.7 million viewers and a 12% share; ITV’s comedy series Vicious pulled in 2.7 million viewers and a 12% share at 9pm; followed by fellow ITV sitcom The Job Lot which attracted 2.2 million viewers and a 10% share; the premiere of Channel 4′s documentary series Skint pulled in 2.5 million viewers and a 11% share; and the final episode of Channel 5′s Ben Fogle: New Lives In The Wild attracted an audience of 1.2 million viewers and a 5% share.

The strong figures for the series’ launch, while anticipated, is nevertheless good news for Janice Hadlow. BBC Two is betting big on the success of the series and now that The Fall has taken Line of Duty’s crown as the highest rated drama launch since 2005 there is little doubt, barring significant ratings declines, that the series will make it to a second season. A BBC source informed me some time ago that the series was already being eyed for a potential 5 episode second season and that series creator Allan Cubitt had been working on storylines for season 2 for quite some time. That source told me that the quality of both Allan’s scripts and the finished product made a second season order “a mere formality.” Another source tells me that the core cast, including series star Gillian Anderson, have all signed on for a second season and that as part of that deal Anderson will now executive produce alongside Stephen Wright, Allan Cubitt, Patrick Irwin and Justin Thomson-Glover. Should the series get a pick-up for season 2 the only hold up may be securing a window of availability for Gillian Anderson, who stars in NBC’s drama series’ Crisis and Hannibal, and Archie Panjabi, who is a series regular on the recently renewed CBS series The Good Wife.