Hustle renewed for 6th series

[Bob The Skutter]

Still no return of Danny and Stacy, by the sounds of it though.

From BBC Press Office

The Hustle crew will be back on BBC One next year with an exciting new series, it was announced today.
The hit drama, from Kudos Film and Television in association with Red Planet Pictures, has continued to delight over five-and-a-half million viewers throughout the current series which finishes on Thursday (12 February 2009) at 9.00pm on BBC One.
It has been recommissioned for a sixth series by Ben Stephenson, Controller, Drama Commissioning, BBC, and cements its place as one of the channel's most successful and popular dramas.
In the fifth series Adrian Lester returned as Mickey "Bricks" Stone, who was reunited with familiar faces Robert Vaughn, as veteran grifter Albert Stroller, and Robert Glenister, as fixer extraordinaire Ash "Three Socks" Morgan.
Mickey also took two new apprentices under his wing; brother and sister duo Emma and Sean Kennedy (Kelly Adams, Holby City and Matt Di Angelo, EastEnders).
The new series will continue to follow the fortunes of the grifting gang as they con their way around the capital, a city riddled with financial troubles but teeming with greedy and amoral fat cats who are just ripe for the picking.
Hustle creator, writer and executive producer, Tony Jordan, says: "We are really pleased with the way that series five has been received, it's always difficult to maintain a drama's following when you've been off air for a period of time. Having a fabulous actor like Adrian Lester back in the fold has really helped.
"I've already got some great ideas for series six, so I can't wait to get cracking on the scripts."

 

[Starkers]

Excellent news! Frankly I haven't missed Danny or stacy as much as I thought I would have, and to be honest I'm enjoying this season more than the last one where Adrian Lester was missing. Danny made a strange leader, and the new kid they got in was unbeleivable awful!

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I've only watched the first episode of this series, so far, and honestly, I had trouble remembering whether I watched the whole of last series or not, so it can't have made much of an impact on me.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Good stuff, although i personally think the first three seasons of the show were there best and had the best cast, but the latest incarnation is OK and does the job.

It entertains me and that all that's important.

But i have to ask myself, why do i continually pick and enjoy shows that seem to have a miserly six episodes a year, Hustle, The It crowd, Screen wipes......

 

[wamdue]

im a little surprised but im pleased.

 

[Starkers]

But i have to ask myself, why do i continually pick and enjoy shows that seem to have a miserly six episodes a year, Hustle, The It crowd, Screen wipes......

Yeah 6 episodes just isn't enough when you like a show. Then again I think american tv goes too far the other way having 20+ eps a season. I can make shows drag, and encourages padding (a lot of passing in some instances)

Personally I think Dr Who has it right with 13 episodes (14 if you count the Christmas special) but this might be a holdover from my love of Blakes 7, which also had 13 ep series.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Personally I think TV would be better if there wasn't a set number of episodes you're expected to do per year. So if the writer/writing team thinks they have time/story/the production team and can make 4 good fantastic episodes per series then let them do it, if they think they can manage 13 then do 13.

 

[wamdue]

But i have to ask myself, why do i continually pick and enjoy shows that seem to have a miserly six episodes a year, Hustle, The It crowd, Screen wipes......

Yeah 6 episodes just isn't enough when you like a show. Then again I think american tv goes too far the other way having 20+ eps a season. I can make shows drag, and encourages padding (a lot of passing in some instances)

whilst yes alot of US shows have padding, the US is much better at padding episodes than the UK

 

[Bob The Skutter]

But i have to ask myself, why do i continually pick and enjoy shows that seem to have a miserly six episodes a year, Hustle, The It crowd, Screen wipes......

Yeah 6 episodes just isn't enough when you like a show. Then again I think american tv goes too far the other way having 20+ eps a season. I can make shows drag, and encourages padding (a lot of passing in some instances)

whilst yes alot of US shows have padding, the US is much better at padding episodes than the UK

Is it? There's an awful lot of padding in US shows. A lot of the time they could tell the story in a 22 episode season within 12 episodes easily, and you can end up with some real clunkers in there. Sure there are some fantastic shows out there, but I think the main shows over here that pad are fairly rubbish to start off with.

 

[Evil_Kirkneivel]

Thanks for the heads-up on this! Now I can finally update my Hustle review site!

I didn't even realise they were doing season 5 at the moment. The last news I had heard was that the cast had gone its separate ways and were unlikely to be reunited.

I think season one was by far the best, but it remained a very 'fun' and entertaining show, with great chemistry, so I'm looking forward to seasons 5 and 6.

Great news that Adrian Lester is back - he's a strong on-screen presence, and the show didn't work as well with Danny as leader.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Thanks for the heads-up on this! Now I can finally update my Hustle review site!

I didn't even realise they were doing season 5 at the moment. The last news I had heard was that the cast had gone its separate ways and were unlikely to be reunited.

I think season one was by far the best, but it remained a very 'fun' and entertaining show, with great chemistry, so I'm looking forward to seasons 5 and 6.

Great news that Adrian Lester is back - he's a strong on-screen presence, and the show didn't work as well with Danny as leader.

Series 5 finishes tonight, here in the UK. They're apparently working on a deal for a movie, with Fox, set in the US and including the whole cast, but I don't think there's been much said about that since they announced series 5.

From Digital Spy

t seems it's feast or famine for you Hustle fans.

After a long period of waiting for confirmation, last month it was announced that a fifth series was going into production for transmission later this year. Now I can reveal an added bonus... Hustle: The Movie!

That's right, a big screen version of the con artist drama is currently in the works. Details are patchy, but Fox is thought to be behind the project, which is being penned by Tony Jordan.

Cast member Jaime Murray confirmed the news to me at the weekend, saying that the script had already been written and she was "definitely" on board.

Murray - currently starring in FX's Dexter, which began its second season at the weekend - will not be part of the lineup for series five, however. "I'm so sad," she said. "I'm going to miss those guys so much. I love the production team, the producers and the actors. It just wasn't going to work, schedule-wise. Fingers crossed at some time in the future, we all get reunited."

 

[wamdue]

having the original cast back together for the movie is great, and possibly why its said Stacey & Danny were working the con in the US, but what happens to Emma & Sean?

 

[Captain Shaw]

I only watch this on iplayer when i have nothing to do.
So am surprise its still going strong.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Tube Talk has an interview with one of the exec. producers.

From Tube Talk

There was quite a long gap between series four and five last time. Why was that?
"That was really because we were deciding what we wanted to do taking Hustle forward. We liaised really heavily with Jane Tranter at the BBC. The BBC was very keen to keep it going for a number of years, but there were issues over which cast members would sign up for enough years in the future. We'd also very much missed Adrian [Lester] in the show, so when the show he'd been attached to in the States didn't get picked up, he became available. So it was a combination of factors. Everything sort of came together and we all decided to go for it."

So who will be in the gang in series six?
"All our familiar faces - is the plan. Providing all that works out and everyone is available to do it, which looks likely, then they will all be back."

Could Danny and Stacie come back?
"We're certainly not ruling anything out. Obviously Marc and Jaime are fantastic actors and I'm sure if the right opportunity came up to get them back that they were both excited about, they'd love to do it. Jaime's permanently based in the States now, so we'd have to give her a bit of notice. But Danny and Stacie are very much still alive and as you know, they were mentioned in the last series - they're still grifting as far as we're concerned. So yes, we'd love to see them back at some point but there are no immediate plans for that."

What's the reason behind the series length? Six episodes doesn't quite seem enough.
"I love the thought that six episodes is not enough! When we started making Hustle, six was the absolute norm on British television. But we find it works well for us and the BBC. I'll be honest, the Hustle scripts are incredibly complicated to work out. It takes every ounce of our energy to get six devised in a year. The idea of doing eight or ten fills me slightly with fear! But we would be up for the challenge if the BBC asked us to. Also Tony Jordan tends to write at least three of the scripts every year, and he's such a genius at it that I would be hesitant to dilute his contribution to the show. Having said that we found a really good new crop of writers in series five who will hopefully return. In the current climate generally order numbers aren't increasing, it's the other way round. We shall be very happy with our six eps!"

Has the commission of a sixth series affected development of Hustle: The Movie?
"No, not at all. It's completely different. We're making that for a US studio so their demands to rewrite things don't change because of our series. It just means Tony has a few more late nights! It is a challenge, but he's written some fantastic drafts. There have been quite a few changes of personnel at the US studios since the project started and people wanted it taken in different directions, so there have been a lot of rewrites - not for quality, but for taste. That is quite a drain on Tony but ultimately that's the name of the game when it comes to movies."

Finally, as far as series six goes, what's the production timeline from hereonin?
"Basically we are starting on the scripts now, we will be shooting it through the summer and into autumn, with the aim to have it back on screens at the start of next year!"

 

[Tulin]

SIXTH?!?

I didn't even know they'd come back for a FIFTH.

Can't say I'm surprised I didn't know, since I didn't even finish watching series four because it just felt so meh without Mickey. Can't say I'd even want to watch any more of it now since that "Hustle" gadget guy has put me off with his dismal "American" accent and Giles take-off on that dreadful new "Demons" show.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

SIXTH?!?

I didn't even know they'd come back for a FIFTH.

Can't say I'm surprised I didn't know, since I didn't even finish watching series four because it just felt so meh without Mickey. Can't say I'd even want to watch any more of it now since that "Hustle" gadget guy has put me off with his dismal "American" accent and Giles take-off on that dreadful new "Demons" show.

What you on about? Robert Glenister is in Hustle, his brother Philip Glenister is in Demons.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

According to TubeTalk Hustle is moving to Birmingham for series 6.

They've done London, LA and Vegas - and now the Hustle crew are taking on... Birmingham.

In a shakeup for series six - which films this summer and airs early 2010 - Mickey and co. will be moving to England's second city.

This weekend I caught up with the legendary Robert Vaughn at the Memorabilia convention in Brum, where he spilled the beans on the relocation. "I found out last night that all six shows are going to be done in Birmingham," he told me. "I think this is the first time Birmingham has ever had a top-notch show film here." (Clearly Mr Vaughn isn't a fan of Doctors!)

He added: "Apart from this convention, one of my other responsibilities coming here is my wife said 'you've got to find out where I'm going to live!' So tonight after the signings I'm going down to the Rotunda in the Bullring, which is apparently the best place for apartment-type living."

Best of luck with the search, RV!

I notice wamdue has had a comment there... And since his location is Peterborough I'm assuming it's the wamdue who posts here?

 

[wamdue]

yes thats me, figured I could add a little humour, I dont really want to see a crossover with Doctors

 

[ITL]

You know what? I have never seen this show. No reason. Just haven't.

Should I?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

You know what? I have never seen this show. No reason. Just haven't.

Should I?

I'd give it a shot. I think series 1 and 2 were probably the most inventive, and they tended to break the 4th wall quite a lot and explain to you the idea behind their con. It was an interesting twist on the idea. Series 4 was fairly horrible, but it picked up a bit in series 5.
They're currently repeating the edited for ads versions on Virgin 1, but I seem to remember you can't get freeview?