The Demon Headmaster (2019 TV series)

Last updated

The Demon Headmaster
Genre
Created by Emma Reeves
Based onThe books by Gillian Cross
Starring
  • Nicholas Gleaves
  • Ellie Botterill
  • Jordan Cramond
  • Dijarn Campbell
  • Jordan Rankin
  • Kevin O'Loughlin
  • Sally Oliver
  • Shonagh Price
ComposerPhilip Curran
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerSpencer Campbell
ProducerPeter Gallagher
Editor Conor Meechan
Running time25 minutes
Production companyBBC Children's Productions
Original release
Network CBBC
Release14 October (2019-10-14) 
16 December 2019 (2019-12-16)

The Demon Headmaster is a British television series based on the children's books by Gillian Cross of the same title. [1] Made by BBC Studios and Sinking Ship Entertainment for CBBC, the drama was first broadcast on 14 October 2019, and is the second adaptation of the books, following the 1996 series. Nicholas Gleaves plays the titular character, a mysterious head teacher with strange powers and dreams of world domination. [2] [3]

Contents

The series is a direct sequel of the original series, and features Charlotte Beckett and Sally Oliver as Dinah Hunter and Rose Carter, roles originally portrayed by Frances Amey and Kathryn Wyeth. Amey was approached to reprise the role of Dinah, though no longer acts, whilst Wyeth is based in Wellington, New Zealand. The original Headmaster Terrence Hardiman reprised his role for the revival.

It had been renewed for a second series but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and later cancelled. [4]

Production

The series, adapted by Emma Reeves, is based on the newest series of books, beginning with Total Control (2017). These books focus on a new protagonist, Lizzie Warren, rather than Dinah Glass from the original books and series. The series was filmed on location in North Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Reeves pitched a second series to CBBC, using further elements of Total Control, as well as its sequel, Mortal Danger. [5]

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"everystudentastar" John McKay Emma Reeves14 October 2019 (2019-10-14)
Siblings Lizzie and Tyler Warren return, with little enthusiasm, to Hazelbrook School. Upon their return, however, the once disreputable school has become an in-demand one. If that was not weird enough, every student now has a special 'skill' they've been developing (such as sports or scientific mastery) and Hazelbrook is a centre of excellence under the watchful eye and strict rules of the 'Headmaster'. Lizzie suspects something is amiss, but then she is framed for defacing the school.
2"The Best I Can Be!"John McKayEmma Reeves21 October 2019 (2019-10-21)
Under the Headmaster's spell, Lizzie becomes a martial arts star. However, football star Ethan Prendergast senses something is wrong too, and tries to break through to Lizzie. Her newfound energy and drive are channelled into the Hazelbrook Pioneers, where her desire to excel puts her brother, and their relationship, in peril.
3"Science for Success!"John McKayEmma Reeves28 October 2019 (2019-10-28)
The school's science fair is coming up, and the Headmaster has invited the students' families to attend. Realising he intends to hypnotise them, Lizzie and Ethan enlist recent genius Sophie to help them counter his powers with sound.
4"Control. Command. Conquer!"John McKayEmma Reeves4 November 2019 (2019-11-04)
Thanks to an old button in her purse, Angelika's freed from the Headmaster's control and returned to her rebellious self. Now with a new ally, Lizzie and Ethan hatch a plan to learn what the Headmaster's grander scheme is. However, the Headmaster has increased security and surveillance with an army of drones.
5"Be More Hazelbrook"John McKayAndrew Burrell11 November 2019 (2019-11-11)
The Headmaster goes on a trip with other key people from Hazelbrook, to look at other failing schools, which might be entitled to become part of the "Hazelbrook Chain". Lizzie, Ethan, Angelika and Tyler arrange for a reporter to come to the school. However, this reporter knew Mrs Maron in her old life, when she was a campaigner for human rights and other causes. With time running out, the gang must expose the Demon Headmaster's past life and stop him from taking over the world.
6"Be Your True Self"Johnathan Fox Bassett Joseph Lidster 18 November 2019 (2019-11-18)
The gang find clues that lead to the identity of the Headmaster being revealed. They visit a spooky old school where there is a picture of a scary looking Headmaster and find a note from a mysterious "Dinah Hunter". The gang must follow the clues to ultimately help to unmask the Headmaster's true identity. Meanwhile, Blake joins forces with Tyler, to wreck the school play and to stop Manor Park School from joining the Hazelbrook Chain.
7"Whatever it Takes"Johnathan Fox BassettEmma Reeves25 November 2019 (2019-11-25)
As the gang learn more about Dinah Hunter, a mysterious new visitor, briefly posing as a teacher, arrives. Claiming to be the late Dinah, she offers to fill in the missing pieces about the Headmaster. She claims she can help fight him - but the gang do not know if they can trust her. Meanwhile, Tyler keeps trying to help Blake break free.
8"Routine, Order, Restraint"Johnathan Fox BassettLucy Moore2 December 2019 (2019-12-02)
As Blake's desperation and rage leads to imprisoning the Headmaster in the basement, the gang try to take advantage of the situation and incite full rebellion at Hazelbrook. However, while they try to rouse the kids, the Headmaster has a devious contingency plan in place via the tablets he distributed to all the parents.
9"The Making of You"Johnathan Fox BassettLucy Moore & Emma Reeves9 December 2019 (2019-12-09)
With Ethan reliving his parents' deaths and her mum revealed to be ex-student Rose, Lizzie is desperate. The Headmaster decides to show her his vision of a perfectly ordered future. Lizzie challenges this but is soon faced with a hard choice - she questions if the Headmaster's vision is actually the best way.
10"Win-Day"Johnathan Fox BassettEmma Reeves16 December 2019 (2019-12-16)
With the Prime Minister due to visit Hazelbrook, Lizzie must rally the gang and stop the Headmaster. But she must face her mistakes, and outsmart the Headmaster.

Related Research Articles

<i>Lizzie McGuire</i> American teen comedy television series

Lizzie McGuire is an American comedy television series created by Terri Minsky that premiered on Disney Channel on January 12, 2001. The series stars Hilary Duff as the titular character who learns to navigate the personal and social issues of her teenage years. Duff also voices an animated version of Lizzie that performs soliloquies to express the character's inner thoughts and emotions. The series also stars Lalaine, Adam Lamberg, Jake Thomas, Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine. The series concluded on February 14, 2004, after a total of 65 episodes were produced. A feature film based on the series, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, was released in 2003.

Terminator is an American media franchise created by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd. The franchise encompasses a series of science fiction action films, comics, novels and additional media, concerning a total war between Skynet's synthetic intelligence – a self-aware military machine network – and John Connor's Resistance forces comprising the survivors of the human race. Skynet's most famous products in its genocidal goals are the various terminator models, such as the T-800, who was portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger from the original Terminator film in 1984. By 2010, the franchise had generated $3 billion in revenue. The film franchise is considered to be of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction.

<i>Constantine</i> (film) 2005 American superhero horror film

Constantine is a 2005 American superhero horror film directed by Francis Lawrence in his directorial debut. Written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello from a story by Brodbin, it is loosely based on the DC Comics/Vertigo Comics Hellblazer graphic novels. The film stars Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, a cynical exorcist with the ability to perceive and communicate with half-angels and half-demons in their true forms and to travel between Earth and Hell. Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale, and Peter Stormare also feature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anneke Wills</span> British actress

Anneke Wills is an English actress, best known for her role as the Doctor Who companion Polly in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Demon Headmaster</span> Series of novels by Gillian Cross

The Demon Headmaster is a series of books by Gillian Cross which were later adapted as a television series starring Terrence Hardiman in the title role and Frances Amey as Dinah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrence Hardiman</span> English actor (1937–2023)

Terrence Edward Hardiman was an English actor. He often portrayed authority figures such as Nazi-era personnel and a British officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed and Lorraine Warren</span> American paranormal investigators

Edward Warren Miney and Lorraine Rita Warren were American paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of alleged hauntings. Edward was a self-taught and self-professed demonologist, author, and lecturer. Lorraine professed to be clairvoyant and a light trance medium who worked closely with her husband.

Martin Christopher Jarvis is an English actor, presenter and writer who has appeared mainly on children's television for the BBC since 1992, apart from 2000 to 2002 when he was working with ITV and Channel 4. In 2019, he started a radio station for children called Little Radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christina Hendricks</span> American actress

Christina Rene Hendricks is an American actress and former model. With an extensive career on screen and stage, she has received various accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Critics' Choice Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She is known for her role as Joan Harris in the critically acclaimed AMC drama series Mad Men. In 2010, a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine named her "the sexiest woman in the world". She was also voted "Best Looking Woman in America".

<i>Down to Earth</i> (2000 TV series) British television drama series (2000–2005)

Down to Earth was a BBC One television drama series first broadcast in 2000 about a couple who start a new life on a Devon farm. The early episodes of the series were based on a series of books written by Faith Addis about their real-life move from London to Devon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Hawkins</span> British actress

Sally Cecilia Hawkins is an English actress who began her career on stage and then moved into film. She has received several awards including a Golden Globe Award in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and two British Academy Film Awards.

<i>The Railway Children</i> (1970 film) 1970 film by Lionel Jeffries

The Railway Children is a 1970 British family drama film based on the 1906 novel of the same name by E. Nesbit. The film was directed by Lionel Jeffries and stars Dinah Sheridan, Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett, Gary Warren and Bernard Cribbins in leading roles. The film was released to cinemas in the United Kingdom on 21 December 1970.

<i>The Demon Headmaster</i> (1996 TV series) British television series (1996–1998)

The Demon Headmaster is a British television series based on the children's books by Gillian Cross of the same name. Made for CBBC, the drama was first broadcast between 1996 and 1998. The first series contained six episodes, and aired twice weekly from 2 to 18 January 1996, the second series contained seven episodes and aired weekly from 25 September to 6 November 1996, and the third series contained six episodes and aired twice weekly from 6 to 22 January 1998.

Nicholas Gleaves is an English actor and playwright.

Rosemary Rowena Cooper is a British actress.

<i>Serpent Crest</i> 2011 Doctor Who audio play

Serpent Crest is an audio play in five episodes based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is written by Paul Magrs, and stars Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates. It was released on five CDs by BBC Audiobooks between September and December 2011 and is a sequel to 2009's Hornets' Nest and 2010's Demon Quest. They feature multiple actors, but four of the episodes contain some degree of narration by different characters, the exception being the first episode, Tsar Wars.

<i>4 OClock Club</i> British childrens television series

4 O'Clock Club is a British comedy drama and musical children's television series set in a secondary school, which premiered on 13 January 2012 on CBBC.

<i>The Matrix Resurrections</i> 2021 film by Lana Wachowski

The Matrix Resurrections is a 2021 American science fiction action film produced, co-written, and directed by Lana Wachowski, and the first in the Matrix franchise to be directed solely by Lana, without her sister. It is the sequel to The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and the fourth installment in The Matrix film franchise. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Jada Pinkett Smith. The film is set sixty years after Revolutions and follows Neo, who lives a seemingly ordinary life as a video game developer having trouble with distinguishing fantasy from reality. A group of rebels, with the help of a programmed version of Morpheus, free Neo from a new version of the Matrix and fight a new enemy that holds Trinity captive.

<i>My Mum Tracy Beaker</i> British television series

My Mum Tracy Beaker is a British children's television miniseries that premiered on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on 12 February 2021. The show was aired the week after The Dumping Ground's eighth series concluded. The series follows on from the events of its predecessors, The Story of Tracy Beaker, Tracy Beaker Returns and The Dumping Ground. My Mum Tracy Beaker saw Dani Harmer reprise her role as Tracy Beaker and included original cast members Lisa Coleman, Ruth Gemmell and Montanna Thompson, as well as new cast members Emma Maggie Davies and Jordan Duvigneau.

Emma Jane Reeves is a Welsh screenwriter and playwright, best known for her extensive work in children's television series such as the Tracy Beaker franchise.

References

  1. Earp, Catherine (11 February 2019). "The Demon Headmaster is being revived by CBBC to terrify a new generation". Digital Spy.
  2. "When is the Demon Headmaster remake coming to TV? Who's in the cast and what's it about?". Radio Times.
  3. "Star of The Demon Headmaster reboot revealed". Press Association. 26 August 2019.
  4. @emmajanereeves (8 July 2022). "So sorry for late response" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 8 July 2022 via Twitter.
  5. ""The Demon Headmaster is the opposite of Doctor Who": CBBC revamp's star and writer on reviving a classic". Radio Times.
  6. "Exclusive: Original Demon Headmaster actor Terrence Hardiman will return for cameo in new reboot". Radio Times.