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‘Downton Abbey’ Creator Julian Fellowes to Pen Soccer Series for Netflix

Netflix also announced new "Stranger Things" cast members Carey Elwes and Jake Busey, and a comedy starring Idris Elba called "Turn Up Charlie."
Julian Fellowes downtown abbey
Julian Fellowes
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Julian Fellowes, the Oscar winning screenwriter of “Gosford Park” and creator of “Downton Abbey,” will write a six-part series about the invention of football (soccer) to Netflix. Produced by 42, “The English Game” will examine the origins of the game and how it reached across the class divide to become the world’s most popular sport. Netflix announced the news at its See What’s Next event in Rome Wednesday morning, along with a host of new projects and casting updates to recurring series.

Fitting with the hit show’s penchant for 80’s nostalgia, “The Princess Bride” star Carey Elwes will join the cast of “Stranger Things” for season 3. Netflix also announced that “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” star Jake Busey will play a role.

Idris Elba will produce and star in an 8-part comedy series called “Turn Up Charlie.”

Following the success of “Wild Wild Country,” the platform is adding two new documentary series to its originals slate. Oscar-winning French director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (“Murder on a Sunday Morning) will adapt his film “The Staircase” into a series. The true crime story follows novelist Michael Peterson and his 16-year court battle after he is accused of killing his wife. An as-yet unnamed series will explore biggest cold cases in French history, the murder of Grégory Villemin in 1984.

Set in Amsterdam, another untitled show will follow a group of students who open a portal to a Demonic world from the Dutch Golden Age they opened by accident. The French series “Mortel” is about a group of teenagers bound together by a supernatural force. “The Wave” is based on the sociopolitical thriller film of the same name and produced by Rat Pack in association with Sony Pictures Television Germany. “Luna Nera” is an Italian series about 17th century witches, the Spanish heist series “La Casa de Papel” will return for Part 3.

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