Hotspots: On The Front Line returns to Sky with brand new series

Thursday 1 April 2021

Hotspots: On The Front Line will return to Sky News, Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW on Thursday 1st April at 9pm.

The brand-new Sky original series sees Sky News’ award-winning correspondents Alex Crawford and Stuart Ramsay take viewers behind the scenes of the world’s biggest and most dangerous breaking news stories, lifting the lid on how the news teams fight to reveal first-hand, the truth behind Sky News’ most recent investigations in an era of misinformation and ‘fake news’.

Both Crawford and Ramsay illustrate the dangers, complexities and emotions of reporting critical issues around the world with up-close and personal footage showing the highs, lows and personal sacrifices of life on the road.

In this latest series, the Sky News teams will take viewers on a dangerous journey through the world’s ‘hotspots’ from the comfort of their own homes. Get ready to visit Mexico where a story about cartel people smugglers takes an unexpected turn, witness the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in Yemen, return to the epicentre of the Coronavirus pandemic and visit Beirut after the catastrophic blast sent shockwaves throughout the city in August 2020.

The first episode remembers the Arab Spring ten years on from the revolution that changed the face of the Middle East; Crawford and Ramsay both look back on their coverage and reflect on how it changed their lives as reporters. There will be six episodes in total.

Episodes will air every Thursday from 1st April on Sky Documentaries at 9pm and Sky News the following day at 9pm. It will also be available on streaming service NOW.

Sky Documentaries is available to all Sky customers free of charge on channel 114.

Sky News, the UK’s most trusted and impartial news service*, is available to all free of charge via Sky TV channel 501, Freeview 132, streaming service NOW, and the live international channel streaming service on Sky News mobile and website as we as a 24-hour breaking new coverage and analysis across @SkyNews social channels.

As a member of the Trust Project, Sky News is helping audiences recognise the commitments and expertise of trustworthy journalism.

FULL LIST OF HOTSPOTS SERIES 4 EPISODES

EPISODE 1 – Hotspots: Remembering the Arab Spring
Airing on Sky Documentaries –1st April (9pm) & Sky News – 2nd April (9pm)

10 years on, Alex Crawford and Stuart Ramsay look back at their coverage of the Arab Spring, culminating in exclusive reporting of the collapse of Gaddafi’s regime in Libya.

EPISODE 2 -Hotspots: On The Front Line
Airing on Sky Documentaries – 8th April (9pm) & Sky News– 9th April (9pm)

Alex Crawford’s team investigate the illegal plastics trade in Kenya and Stuart
Ramsay is in the Amazon where wildfires are devastating landscapes and livelihoods. 

EPISODE 3 - Hotspots: On The Front Line
Airing on Sky Documentaries – 15th April (9pm) & Sky News – 16th April (9pm)

Stuart Ramsay travels across Brazil to see how Bolsonaro's populist government is coping with the pandemic and Alex Crawford meets Covid deniers in Texas, as U.S. fatalities continue to rise.

EPISODE 4 - Hotspots: On The Front Line
Airing on Sky Documentaries – 22nd April (9pm) & Sky News – 23rd April (9pm)

Stuart Ramsay returns to Europe’s first epicentre of the Coronavirus pandemic and Alex Crawford is in Beirut where a catastrophic blast sends shockwaves through a city already on the brink.

EPISODE 5 - Hotspots: On The Front Line
Airing on Sky Documentaries – 29th April (9pm) & Sky News – 30th April (9pm)

Alex Crawford witnesses the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in war-torn Yemen and Stuart Ramsay is in Chihuahua in Mexico where his story takes an unexpected turn.

EPISODE 6 - Hotspots: America Decides
Airing on Sky News only – 7th May (9pm)

Sky News correspondents Stuart Ramsay and Alex Crawford take you behind the scenes of the 2020 US Election as they witness the end of the controversial Trump presidency.

Notes to Editors

*Ofcom research has Sky News ahead of BBC, ITV, C4 and C5 on trust, accuracy, impartiality and quality.

About Sky

Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. Across six countries, we connect our 24 million customers to the best entertainment, sports, news and arts including our own award-winning original content.  

Our technology, including the market leading Sky Q, connects people to everything they love – with entertainment from Sky TV, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer, and apps like Spotify, YouTube, BBC Sounds, Highbrow, Fiit, and more, in one place, easy. Our streaming service NOW, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.

Building on the success of Sky Originals like Chernobyl, Bulletproof and Brassic, we are doubling our investment in original content by 2024 through Sky Studios. Sky News provides impartial and trustworthy journalism for free, Sky Arts is the UK’s only dedicated free-to-air arts channel making the arts accessible for everyone and Sky Sports, our leading sports broadcasting service brings customers some of the biggest and best global sporting events from the Premier League to Formula 1 and everything in between. Our new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, which will open in 2022, is expected to create over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in the UK over the first five years.  

We believe that we can be a force for good in the communities in which we operate. We’re committed to being Europe’s first net zero carbon entertainment company by 2030 and we’re proud to be a Principal Partner and Media Partner of COP26. We take pride in our approach to diversity and inclusion: we’ve been recognised by The Times and Stonewall for our commitment to diversity and we’ve set ambitious 2025 targets to continue to increase diversity and representation.  We’re also committed to investing £30million across our markets over three years to improve our approach to diversity and inclusion, and to tackle racial injustice.

About NOW

NOW is the home of brilliant entertainment. We’re one of the UK’s leading streaming platforms with critically acclaimed shows, new and exclusive movies, unmissable sport and epic kids TV – all with no contract. Join in with an Entertainment, Cinema, Sports, Kids or hayu Membership to stream instantly across TV, mobile, desktop and over 60 other devices. Watch on the go and even offline with our app by downloading shows and movies.

Entertainment Members can enjoy critically acclaimed dramas, documentaries and comedies, Emmy award-winning shows, the best of HBO and exclusive Sky Originals. Cinema Members can discover over 1000 brilliant movies, from the latest blockbusters and classic favourites and a new premiere every day. Sports Members cheer on unmissable Premier League, international cricket, F1, golf and more – all live, across 11 Sky Sports channels.

Plus, members can enhance their experience with NOW Boost – that’s full 1080p HD, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and streaming on up to 3 devices at once, for an extra £3 a month.

For super-fast broadband, members can enjoy a contract-free connection with a NOW Brilliant Broadband, Fab Fibre or Super Fibre Membership.

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