Brenda Blethyn headlines A Woman of Substance premiere and reminds viewers of seaside comfort in Kate & Koji
brenda blethyn is set to return to television in a high-profile period remake with confirmed UK premiere dates and a U. S. streaming home — news that arrives alongside reminders that her lighter seaside comedy Kate & Koji remains a two-series comfort watch. The two stories underline both a dramatic new lead for the actor and a readily available earlier role fans are still discovering.
A Woman of Substance sets a firm broadcast slot with first two episodes back-to-back
The eight-part remake A Woman of Substance will premiere with its first two episodes on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 March at 9pm on Channel 4, with the full eight-part series available as a boxset following transmission of the first episode. The revival is billed as a period rags-to-riches drama that tracks Emma Harte’s rise from 1911 Yorkshire to a luxury New York penthouse.
Brenda Blethyn and Jessica Reynolds play Emma Harte across time
Brenda Blethyn and Jessica Reynolds portray two versions of Emma Harte, with Blethyn appearing as the older Emma and Reynolds as the younger version. A trailer shows Blethyn’s Emma in New York desperate to exact revenge, then moves back to Reynolds’ younger Emma working in a grand house and being warned to be careful of her “ambition. ” The adaptation is drawn from Barbara Taylor Bradford’s novel and presents Emma as an impoverished, ambitious maid in Yorkshire in 1911 who embarks on a dizzying journey to become the world’s richest woman.
Writers, producers and a sales push that reaches the U. S.
The script is credited to Katherine Jakeways with co-writer Roanne Bardsley, and the production is made by The Forge. BritBox has secured U. S. streaming rights in a deal negotiated with Banijay Rights, which is handling international sales. Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Acquisitions and Coproductions, negotiated the U. S. streaming deal and said BritBox is the perfect North American home for the adaptation and expressed confidence the drama will captivate global audiences as part of an impressive sales effort.
International buyers, legacy and timing
Banijay Rights has marketed the series to buyers beyond the U. S.: Foxtel’s streaming service Binge has acquired rights for Australia, TVNZ has taken New Zealand rights, NPO has the Netherlands, Cosmote has Greece, Cellcom TV Plus has Israel and RUV has Iceland. The production arrives after the death of Barbara Taylor Bradford in late 2024 and follows a much-loved 1980s miniseries of the same book that starred Jenny Seagrove and Deborah Kerr; that earlier adaptation remains one of the channel’s most successful dramas, with its final episode still ranking as the highest-rated program in the channel’s history.
Kate & Koji: the seaside hidden gem that showcased Blethyn’s lighter side
Beyond the period drama, many viewers are being reminded that Kate & Koji is a comforting, seaside-set series that showcases Brenda Blethyn in a very different register. Created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, who were also behind Outnumbered, the show debuted on ITV in 2020 and was praised for its humour, its take on British societal issues, and Blethyn’s performance. Both series are available to binge, with the first series having averaged just under five million viewers when it first aired in 2020.
Plot and casting shifts in Kate & Koji across two six-episode series
The first series introduced Kate, played by Brenda Blethyn, a prejudiced British working-class woman who runs a café in an Essex seaside town, and Koji, played by Jimmy Akingbola, an African doctor seeking asylum in the UK. Koji, waiting for his papers to be processed, seeks refuge from his temporary accommodation at Kate’s café and is initially mistaken by Kate for a “scrounger. ” Unable to legally work until granted asylum, Koji accepts Kate’s offer of free food in exchange for providing unofficial medical consultations to her customers, setting up an underground clinic across six episodes and forming an unlikely friendship with Kate.
Series two, broadcast in 2022, returned with Blethyn as Kate but saw Jimmy Akingbola step away from the role to star in a U. S. reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air; Okorie Chukwu replaced him. The second six-episode run continues Koji’s unofficial surgery as he navigates Britain’s challenging asylum system while Kate holds the fort at the café. Across those episodes the pair contend with fresh challenges, including Koji managing a romantic relationship and Kate confronting a former rival who reappears.
Where to watch and a sidelong recommendation
Both series of Kate & Koji can be watched on Prime Video, with the second series also available on ITVX. For viewers seeking a different gentle drama, Film Club centers on a young agoraphobic woman, Evie (Aimee Lou Wood), who starts a film club in her garage while navigating a new romantic — unclear in the provided context.
