England, July 1945. The Labour Party’s landslide election triumph. Victory in the class struggle. Celebrations in every street.

Miss Julie descends into the servants’ kitchen of her father’s country mansion in search of the chauffeur John. Over one long midsummer’s night, Miss Julie’s world is turned head over heels.

This passionate tragedy was adapted by Patrick Marber from Strindberg’s Miss Julie. Marber is best known for his string of acclaimed plays including Dealer’s Choice, Don Juan in Soho and Closer, and his BAFTA-winning films Notes on a Scandal and Closer.

The supernatural drama, written by Skins scribe Jack Thorne, will focus on Paul (Iain De Caestecker), a young man who can see spirits of the dead known as ‘the Fades’.

Skinner told SFX: “The thing I found so exciting about working with Jack on developing the mythology of the show is that they’re Fades, and you’ve not seen Fades before. They’re not ghosts, they’re not werewolves [and] they’re not vampires.”

She continued: “I think a lot of fantasy shows draw on people’s received ideas of monsters and how those things work, [but] actually this is completely new.”

Skinner also said that The Fades will be “one of the scariest things that people have seen on TV in a long time”.

“I think one of the really exciting things is that over the course of the series, [the] mythology will develop and turn in every episode,” she added. “Just when you thought that you know what a Fade is, you’ll find out something else.”

Daniel Kaluuya, Lily Loveless, Tom Ellis, Johnny Harris, Daniela Nardini, Claire Rushbrook and Natalie Dormer will all appear in The Fades.

The series will begin on BBC Three this autumn.

Natalie Dormer, who memorably played the seductive and doomed Anne Boleyn on Showtime’s The Tudors, has been added to the fantasy drama’s regular cast.

Dormer will play Margaery Tyrell, a (minor spoiler alert) beautiful and shrewd young woman from the influential House Tyrell. She’s pledged to marry the late King Robert’s brother, Renly Baratheon, as part of House Tyrell’s support for his bid to seize the Iron Throne from King Joffrey.

The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that it has acquired U.S. distribution rights to W.E., Madonna’s directorial debut of a feature film. W.E. is a romantic drama co-written by Madonna and Alek Keshishian, produced by Madonna and Kris Thykier and executive produced by Scott Franklin (Black Swan). It stars Abbie Cornish (Limitless), Oscar Isaac (Drive), James D’Arcy (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World), Andrea Riseborough (Never Let Me Go), Natalie Dormer (“The Tudors”), Richard Coyle (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time), James Fox (Sherlock Holmes) and Laurence Fox (“Inspector Lewis”). The announcement was made by TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein and President of Production Donna Gigliotti.

Spanning six decades, W.E. juxtaposes a contemporary love story with that of King Edward VIII and American divorc?e Wallis Simpson.

“‘W.E.’ is about the nature of true love, and the sacrifices and compromises that are often made. I’ve wanted to tell this story for a very long time, and bringing it to life has been a great adventure for me. I’m looking forward to working with Harvey and The Weinstein Company on this film,” commented Madonna.

“Madonna has really come into her own as a filmmaker with ‘W.E.,’” said Weinstein. “She’s taken one of the most famous romances of the 20th Century and brought it to life in a smart, sexy and thoroughly modern way. It’s a terrific addition to our US release slate.”

Commented Gigliotti, “The advance footage for ‘W.E.’ was some of the most impressive I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait for American audiences to have the opportunity to see this film.”

The deal was negotiated for TWC by Weinstein, COO David Glasser and Michal Steinberg, Senior Vice President Business Affairs and Acquisitions; and by CAA, on behalf of the filmmakers.

W.E. tells the story of two fragile but determined women – Wally Winthrop and Wallis Simpson – separated by more than six decades. In 1998, lonely New Yorker Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) is obsessed with what she perceives as the ultimate love story: King Edward’s VIII’s abdication of the British throne for the woman he loved, American divorc?e Wallis Simpson. But Wally’s research, including several visits to the Sotheby’s auction of the Windsor Estate, reveals that the couple’s life together was not as perfect as she thought. Weaving back and forth in time, W.E. intertwines Wally’s journey of discovery in New York with the story of Wallis (Andrea Riseborough) and Edward (James D’Arcy), from the glamorous early days of their romance to the slow unraveling of their lives in the decades that followed.

BBC America – Natalie Dormer in Poe (ABC)
NOT PICKED UP: The period crime drama Poe initially looked like one of this season’s sure things, but it did not make ABC’s final schedule. But you need not stray too far from BBC America to get your Dormer fix: The Tudors star will appear in the network’s new supernatural series, The Fades.

Natalie Dormer (The Tudors, Silk, W.E.) is confirmed today for Jack Thorne’s (This Is England ‘86, Skins, The Scouting Book For Boys, Cast Offs) new supernatural horror, The Fades currently in production for transmission later this year on BBC Three.

Natalie Dormer says: “I am so excited to be joining an amazing cast and working on such a fantastic script!”

Natalie plays Sarah whose extraordinary ability to see the future puts her in grave danger of attack from The Fades. When she suddenly disappears and is feared dead, suspicion falls on ex-husband, Mark played by Tom Ellis.

Kate Harwood, BBC Controller Drama Series and Serials adds: “Following the success of Silk it’s great to have such a wonderful young actress back at the BBC playing such a different and challenging role.”