UPDATED… Sky has ripped up this evening’s schedule for its music and arts channel following the death of Aretha Franklin. The British pay-TV broadcaster has reshuffled its programming on Sky Arts to fit in two documentaries about the Queen of Soul this evening. It will air Aretha Franklin: Music Icons, an "intimate…

Sky Arts has acquired Sounds Like Home, an inspirational documentary from Gunpowder & Sky about the power of music in connecting refugee voices and international artists from across the world. The film chronicles the story of Sofar Sounds' and Amnesty International's Give a Home project, a collection of musical…

EXCLUSIVE: Gemma Arterton is to play Marilyn Monroe in a one-off TV comedy set against the backdrop of the 1959 rom-com Some Like It Hot. The Their Finest star is to front Sky Arts' Marilyn Monroe and Billy Wilder, formerly known as It’s Me, Sugar,  alongside Rome's James Purefoy, who plays Billy Wilder, as part of…

Following a backlash from Michael Jackson’s family, Sky has decided not to air the episode of its upcoming comedy series ‘Urban Myths,’ which contains controversial footage starring Joseph Fiennes as the late pop star. In a statement, a company spokesperson said: "We have taken the decision not to broadcast…

Joseph Fiennes is barely recognizable – as himself, anyway – in full Michael Jackson drag in this first trailer for Urban Myths, Sky Arts’ upcoming (and, judging by this clip, pretty hilarious) eight-episode comedy series based on bizarre celebrity tall tales. Debuting January 19 in the U.K., Urban Myths offers such…

A four-part adaptation of short stories penned by Neil Gaiman, Likely Stories will be produced by Sid Gentle Films for Sky Arts. Nick Cave 20,000 Days On Earth helmers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard are directing. Jarvis Cocker is scoring the half hours which star George MacKay (Pride), Tom Hughes (The Game), Johnny…

UPDATE with more details: Joseph Fiennes is playing King of Pop Michael Jackson in a one-off TV movie/sketch comedy special for the UK’s Sky Arts, the network confirmed to Deadline today. Titled Elizabeth, Michael & Marlon, it’s the story of an alleged road trip undertaken by Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon…

Although he will no longer appear on the TV series, erstwhile Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson will be present at upcoming live tour shows. Top Gear Live events in Norway were cancelled for March 27 and 28 while Clarkson's fate at the BBC was still undecided, and the BBC then confirmed last week that Clarkson's contract…

Visual artist Jake Chapman is set to make his first foray into television drama with Mills And Doom: The Marriage Of Reason And Squalor. Sky Arts has ordered the four-part twisted romance to air this summer starring Rhys Ifans and Sophie Kennedy Clark (Philomena). Chapman is best known as one half of the Turner…

Continuing a steady stream of recent orders, Sky has commissioned two new dramas to air later this year. For Sky Living, Harlan Coben (Gone For Good, Tell No One) has created a new original story, The Five. This is the first original TV series penned by the bestselling author. Described as a 10-part roller-coaster…

Sky Arts HD is getting ready for its annual Playhouse Presents series which returns to the channel this May. The showcase is devoted to one-off comedies and dramas with talent lined up this year to include Matthew Perry, Billie Piper, Ben Wishaw, Mark Strong, Jo Brand, Simon Callow, Cara Delevingne, Lindsay Duncan…

The doctors are in, again. Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe have signed on for a second series of A Young Doctor’s Notebook & Other Stories. The Big Talk Productions mini will return later this year on Sky Arts in the UK. The first four-part series originally aired in December 2012 and was the most successful program in…