Latest in Sky Arts

Grierson Awards: Netflix And BBC Neck-And-Neck Netflix was nearly neck-and-neck with the BBC at last night’s Grierson Awards, winning five gongs including for David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet in Best Single Documentary – Domestic. The streamer was only one behind the BBC’s six wins as the pair dominated on a…

EXCLUSIVE: Sky Studios and DBK Studios are partnering on a five-part short film series that will spotlight the UK's emerging black and diverse talent, with filmmakers including an assistant on Rapman's Blue Story and the lead actress from E4's Russel T Davies show Banana. The producers said Unearthed Narratives will…

Comcast-owned Sky has confirmed that Sky Arts, its premium arts channel, is to become a free-to-air network in the UK from September. The channel will launch on Freeview with a mission to bring “more of the arts to more people.” The move comes in an environment in which the BBC is scaling back originals on BBC Four…

EXCLUSIVE: Alison Jackson, the provocative artist behind the BAFTA-winning BBC show Double Take, is making a feature-length documentary about U.S. president Donald Trump for Sky Arts. Deadline can reveal that Jackson has spent time traveling America speaking to people who know Trump, including childhood acquaintances…

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…