By James Whittington, 25th April 2024
Crime dramas, action thrillers and sci-fi adventures headline the May line-up on LEGEND, with UK TV premieres for prison drama A VIOLENT MAN, starring an outstanding Craig Fairbrass and UNCHAINED, a riveting crime thriller starring Adrien Brody, Antonio Banderas and John Malkovich.
Channel premieres include two Dominic Cooper thrillers, STRATTON and THE ESCAPIST, which also stars Brian Cox and Joseph Fiennes. Then there's hard-hitting Brit gangster drama WE STILL KILL THE OLD WAY, and superior sci-fi drama THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, starring Ashton Kutcher.
Plus, there are first time showings for the star-studded LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN, with Josh Harnett, Bruce Willis, Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman, the all-action sci-fi thriller DOUBLE TEAM, which teams Jean-Claude Van Damme and Mickey Rourke, and Italian WW2 film COMMANDOS, starring Lee Van Cleef.
Also, the cult fantasy/science fiction anthology series THE TWILIGHT ZONE, continues on Saturday nights with Season 2.
Here's all you need to know:
A case of mistaken identity on the 3rd with LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN where Slevin Kelevra (Josh Hartnett) into the middle of a war being plotted by two of New York City's most rival crime bosses, 'The Boss' (Morgan Freeman) and 'The Rabbi' (Ben Kingsley). Under constant surveillance by Detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci) and assassin Goodkat (Bruce Willis), Slevin must get them before they get him. THE ESCAPIST on the 4th is set fourteen years into the life sentence of convict Frank Perry (Brian Cox) who plans to escape from prison after learning his estranged daughter has fallen ill. He develops an ingenious escape plan and recruits a dysfunctional band of escapists - misfits with a mutual dislike for one other but united by their desire to escape their hell hole of an existence. Also stars Dominic Cooper and Joseph Fiennes. Then we have paranormal drama on the 9th you have the chance to experience THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT. Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) has lost crucial moments of his life, his childhood scarred by a series of terrifying events he can't remember. When Evan realises that by reading his diaries, he can unlock the past and go back in time, he tries to reclaim the missing memories by tampering with the past... with unexpected and disastrous results.
Fast-paced action and adventure on the 11th in STRATTON. Stratton (Dominic Cooper) is a dedicated SBS operative working alongside MI5. After losing his American counterpart on a mission, Stratton meets Sumner (Connie Nielsen) from MI6, who happens to have a past with Barofski, the terrorist he was targeting. Sumner deploys a team to capture him, and it becomes a race against time for the team to track down Barofski before he unleashes terror on London. A true classic on the 17th in COMMANDOS which is set during World War II, where an Italian American commando outfit disguised as an Italian Army unit is parachuted behind enemy lines in North Africa. Stars Lee Van Cleef and Jack K. Friday the 17th contains a hard-hitting UK TV premiere, A VIOLENT MAN. The life of a violent and institutionalised prisoner (Craig Fairbrass) is turned upside down when his estranged daughter Claire (Zoe Tapper,) requests to meet him and Marcus (Stephen Odubola), a 19-year-old serving his first sentence, becomes his new cellmate.
Another UK TV premiere is happening on the 18th, UNCHAINED. When an attempted robbery goes wrong, three career criminals (Brody, Malkovich and Culkin) make a run for it, hiding out in an abandoned industrial building. The group are terrified to discover the bloodied presence of De Niro, an attack dog who's been abandoned by his owner, gangster Blue (Antonio Banderas). Trying to keep their distance from this new threat, and with the law closing in, the group start fighting for their lives. WE STILL KILL THE OLD WAY on the 24th is a contemporary take on a classic plot. When his brother is brutally murdered at the hands of a sadistic mob of youths, expat Richie (Ian Ogilvy) is forced to trade the sun-kissed calm of Spain for the savage streets of London and return to his gangster roots on a violent quest for vengeance. With the odds towering against him alone, Richie must reunite with his old firm and prepare for battle in their biggest face-off yet. Our final channel premiere is on the 25th, DOUBLE TEAM. Top counterterrorist, Jack Quinn (Claude Van Damme) wants to get out of the spy game. But on the eve of his final mission, he misses his target and loses everything in a split-second. Now, his wife and unborn son have become the target of terrorist Stavros (Mickey Rourke). Quinn must turn to the one man who can put him back in the game - weapons specialist Yaz (Dennis Rodman).
Related show tags: THE TWILIGHT ZONE, UNCHAINED, STRATTON, THE ESCAPIST, WE STILL KILL THE OLD WAY, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN, DOUBLE TEAM, COMMANDOS MORE FEATURES September contains channel premiers from Travolta, Lundgren and JCVD! Posted on 26th August 2026
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