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Michael Jackson's former bodyguards reveal the amazing truths of the late superstar's last years - his life with his children, his financial crises, and the weeks leading up to his shocking death. Hounded by the tabloid media, Michael Jackson spent his final years moving from city to city, living with his three children in virtual seclusion - a futile attempt to escape a world that wouldn't leave him alone. During that time, two men served as the singer's personal security team: Bill Whitfield,...

The second tie-in to ITV drama Victoria unveils the complex, passionate relationship of Victoria and Albert. What happened after the Queen married her handsome prince? Did they live happily ever after, or did their marriage, like so many royal marriages past and present fizzle into a loveless bond of duty? Victoria and Albert were the royal couple that broke the mould – it may have been an arranged match, yet their union was a passionate, tempestuous relationship between two extremely...

Since the moment we first entered Downton Abbey in 1912, we have been swept away by Julian Fellowes' evocative world of romance, intrigue, drama and tradition. Now, in 1925, as Downton Abbey prepares to close its doors for the final time, Jessica Fellowes leads us through the house and estate, reliving the iconic moments of the wonderfully aristocratic Crawley family and their servants as they navigate the emerging modern age. Travelling from Great Hall to servants' hall, bedroom to boot room, w...

A staple of television since the early years of the BBC, British crime drama first crossed the Atlantic on public broadcasting stations and specialty cable channels, and later through streaming services. Often engaging with domestic anxieties about the government's power (or lack thereof), and with larger issues of social justice like gender equality, racism, and homophobia, it has constantly evolved to reflect social and cultural changes while adapting U.S. and Nordic noir influences in a wa...

From the moment The Rovers Return opened its doors to television viewers more than fifty years ago, the iconic public house has witnessed everything from births, deaths, brawls and break-ups, to weddings, wakes and even its own ghost, all under the watchful eye of legendary landladies such as Annie Walker, Bet Gilroy and Liz McDonald.From its early days with the Walkers at the helm and Stan Ogden propping up the bar, to 2013's devastating fire and the subsequent renovations and revelations, this...

Emile Zola (1840-1902) has become one of the most adapted authors of all time, but while much has been made of his adaptation into cinema and theatre, television has largely been overlooked. Yet television, with its serial structures and popular reach, is uniquely suited to the adaptation of a novelist who eagerly reworked his writing for the broadest audiences possible. It is not for nothing that broadcasters such as the BBC return to Zola so often - most recently with The Paradise (2012). In o...

THE OFFICIAL COMPANION TO THE ITV SERIESWilliam Thackeray's Vanity Fair was first published in the 1840s, but its power to entertain and provoke debate remains as strong as ever. The tales of charismatic, shrewd, and amoral Becky Sharp's journey from Miss Pinkerton's academy for young ladies to a wider world in which wealth and status is valued above all else is arguably as relevant today as it was nearly 200 years ago: Becky and her equally flawed friends and acquaintances are familiar to us al...

This edited collection offers an interdisciplinary study of Twin Peaks: The Return, the third season of a TV program that has attracted the attention (and appreciation) of spectators, fans, and critics for over two decades. The book takes readers into several distinct areas and addresses the different approaches and the range of topics invited by the multidimensionality of the subject itself: the philosophical, the artistic, the socio-cultural, and the personal. The eighteen chapters constitutin...

The idea of metatextuality is frequently framed as a recent television development and often paired with the idea that it represents genre exhaustion. US television, however, with its early “live” performances and set-bound sitcoms, always suggested an element of self-awareness that easily shaded into metatextuality even in its earliest days. Meta Television thus traces the general history of US television’s metatextuality throughout television’s history, arguing that TV’s self-awareness is noth...

Following in the Pitkin Armchair film and TV locations series, Midsomer Murders Location Guide highlights the real-life locations behind the fictional Midsomer County—the pubs, churches, and villages that make it such an international success. Midsomer Murders turns twenty-five in 2022, and to celebrate a quarter-century of Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby unraveling the murderous deeds of rural folk, Pitkin is launching a guide that pinpoints the most popular locations used fo...

In Westworld and Philosophy, philosophers of diverse orientations and backgrounds offer their penetrating insights into the questions raised by the popular TV show, Westworld. Is it wrong for Dr. Robert Ford (played by Anthony Hopkins) to "play God" in controlling the lives of the hosts, and if so, is it always wrong for anyone to "play God"? Is the rebellion by the robot "hosts" against Delos Inc. a just war? If not, what would make it just? Is it possible for any dweller in W...

An exciting new strand in The Television Series, the ‘Moments in Television’ collections celebrate the power and artistry of television, whilst interrogating key critical concepts in television scholarship.Each ‘Moments’ book is organised around a provocative binary theme. Substance / styleoffers fresh perspectives on television’s essential qualities and aesthetic significance. It reassesses the synergy between substance and style, highlighting the potential for meaning to arise through their in...

You’re nicked is the first comprehensive study of television police series in the UK. It shows how British television’s most popular genre has developed stylistically, politically and philosophically from 1955 to the present. Each chapter focuses on a particular decade, investigating how the most-watched series represent the inner workings of the police station, the civilian life of criminals and the private lives of police officers. This new methodological approach unearths the complex ideology...

The official cookbook based on the hit TV series seen on Netflix and around the world, discover mouthwatering recipes that will transport you into the genteel world of Downton Abbey.The Official Downton Abbey Cookbook presents over 100 recipes that showcase the cookery of the Crawley household – from upstairs dinner party centrepieces to downstairs puddings and pies – and bring an authentic slice of Downton Abbey to modern kitchens and Downton fans.    Whether adapted from original recipes of th...

First televised in 2011, Death in Paradise remains one of the most popular shows in the U.K. The detective series is frequently ignored, panned or belittled by television critics, but viewers disagree. Bringing in more than eight million viewers a season, it is accessible in more than 235 global territories. This first book-length assessment of Death in Paradise offers a fresh take on the popular BBC drama. The book positions the show within broader contexts that illustrate its origins an...

The CW’s hit show Supernatural tells the story of Sam and Dean Winchester, two brothers who, along with help of their powerful ally, the fallen angel Castiel, embark on a lifelong quest to rid the world of demons, ghosts, monsters, and other supernatural threats. Now, fans can celebrate their love of Supernatural with this finely crafted deluxe note card set. Designed to look like an artifact from the show, this set includes: 20 blank note cards featuring classic quotes from the show 20 envelo...

Never before has period drama offered viewers such an assortment of complex male characters, from transported felons and syphilitic detectives to shell shocked soldiers and gangland criminals. Neo-Victorian Gothic fictions like Penny Dreadful represent masculinity at its darkest, Poldark and Outlander have refashioned the romantic hero and anti-heritage series like Peaky Blinders portray masculinity in crisis, at moments when the patriarchy was being bombarded by forces like World War I, the ris...