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In the Realm of TV Entertainment, Royal Dramas Reign – Feb 28, 2019

Fans of Royal TV

by Matthew Gilbert | Boston Globe | February 28, 2019

I’m a sucker for the royal dramas. They marry history to warped family dynamics, and they’re generally quite pretty and transporting. They’re like “Succession,” HBO’s Murdoch family send-up, except with a majestic makeover, more servants, and at least one crown. There’s treachery, there are big castles, and at the center of it all there is the distorted psychology of a person who has inherited, not necessarily earned, a position closer to God than we mere mortals.

These shows are just what the Anglophile TV doctor ordered, a spot of tea as the cure for the uncountably many grim crime-solving dramas and superhero spectacles elsewhere on the schedule. For some viewers, royal dramas, like period novel adaptations, are too staid, too mired in the subtleties of their indirect exchanges to be entertaining. But for me, it’s fascinating to watch lives constrained by rigid social and dynastic rules, as messy human needs struggle against ancient policies. Things can get ugly around the palace, for sure, but most of the time the messes are hidden behind an elegant veneer of dignity.

Continue reading In the Realm of TV Entertainment, Royal Dramas Reign – Feb 28, 2019

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Seven Historical TV Shows That Have Tourists Flocking to Britain – Aug 14, 2018

Wolf Hall

by Emma Mason | BBC History Magazine | August 14, 2018

Here, we look at seven historical TV dramas that are attracting tourists from Britain and beyond.

#5 Wolf Hall

The six-part BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies was a huge hit both on and off-screen. Starring Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII, the 2015 drama sent fans flocking to filming locations including Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, the real-life Wolf Hall; Chastleton House in Oxfordshire, which portrayed scenes from Cromwell’s childhood in Putney; and Montacute House in Somerset, which was used as the setting for Greenwich Palace – Henry VIII’s main London seat and the site of Anne Boleyn’s arrest in Wolf Hall.

Continue reading Seven Historical TV Shows That Have Tourists Flocking to Britain – Aug 14, 2018

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Wolf Hall Location Guide: Discover the Castles, Medieval Streets and Stately Homes – Sept 8, 2015

28 Historic Properties Were Used in BBC2’s Adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Novel – Producer Mark Pybus Reveals His Favourites

by Jade Bremner – RadioTimes – September 8, 2015

Source: BBC

Wolf Hall, one of Wolf Hall’s most successful ever period dramas, depicts the meteoric rise of Thomas Cromwell: the son of a lowly blacksmith who rose through the ranks of the Tudor court to become Henry VIII’s trusted advisor.

The series was not just a triumph for its star Mark Rylance – it also showed the wealth and luxury of Tudor Britain like never before.

Director Peter Kosminsky insisted on filming the entire series on location. “All those small details add up and make a significant difference,” explains series producer Mark Pybus. Some of the properties were actually used by Henry VIII five hundred years ago.

Chastleton House, Oxfordshire
Chastleton’s small stone courtyard doubles for Putney, where we see Cromwell as a young man being viciously attacked by his father. The interiors stand in for the Seymour family home, Wolf Hall, where Henry first falls for Jane Seymour. “The Seymours are on the up when we first meet them, before Jane becomes queen,” says Pybus. “It’s one of the only properties in the drama that has a shabby feel. We wanted to get across that they’re not as rich as other people in the show.” It’s possible to visit this ancient house, first built by a rich wool merchant, and now managed by the National Trust.

Continue reading Wolf Hall Location Guide: Discover the Castles, Medieval Streets and Stately Homes – Sept 8, 2015

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Damian Lewis and Mark Rylance Star in PBS Masterpiece’s ‘Wolf Hall’ WSJ Magazine, Wall Street Journal Magazine, March 5, 2015

Original article at WSJ Magazine

Damian Lewis and Mark Rylance Star in PBS Masterpiece’s ‘Wolf Hall’

The veteran actors bring a new perspective to the Tudors in ‘Wolf Hall,’ a six-part series on PBS based on Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize–winning novels

HARD REIGN | ‘Wolf Hall,’ a PBS Masterpiece series premiering April 5, stars Damian Lewis, far right, as Henry VIII and Mark Rylance as his shrewd consigliere, Thomas Cromwell.
HARD REIGN | ‘Wolf Hall,’ a PBS Masterpiece series premiering April 5, stars Damian Lewis, far right, as Henry VIII and Mark Rylance as his shrewd consigliere, Thomas Cromwell. PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHEW KRISTALL FOR WSJ. MAGAZINE; GROOMING BY STEPHANIE HOBGOOD

Continue reading Damian Lewis and Mark Rylance Star in PBS Masterpiece’s ‘Wolf Hall’ WSJ Magazine, Wall Street Journal Magazine, March 5, 2015

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Damian Lewis’ Inspiration for Wolf Hall’s Henry VIII: ‘Wills and Harry’ – Jan 21, 2015

Damian Lewis’ Inspiration for Wolf Hall’s Henry VIII: ‘Wills and Harry’

Damian Lewis reveals the unlikely inspiration behind his portrayal of Henry VIII

by Hannah Furness and Gaby Wood – The Telegraph – 21 January 2015

As he plays a handsome Henry VIII, pacing his palaces as he negotiates a split with Rome, one might have thought Damian Lewis would turn to the history books for assistance.

But the actor has disclosed an unusual inspiration for his part in Wolf Hall: The Duke of Cambridge and his brother, Prince Harry.

Continue reading Damian Lewis’ Inspiration for Wolf Hall’s Henry VIII: ‘Wills and Harry’ – Jan 21, 2015

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PBS’ Wolf Hall Starring Damian Lewis Could Be TV’s Next Great Antihero Story – Jan 19, 2015

PBS’ ‘Wolf Hall’ Starring Damian Lewis Could Be TV’s Next Great Antihero Story

by Ryan Lattanzio – Indiewire – 19, January 2015

Will Henry VIII be Emmy winner Damian Lewis’ first, great post-Nick Brody role? Directed by Peter Kosminsky and written by Peter Straughan (one half of the Oscar-nominated “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” duo), this six-part BBC drama adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s hit novels “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies” will broadcast stateside on PBS April 5.

Lewis plays the eighth Henry opposite top-shelf Shakespeare thespian Mark Rylance, playing the King’s ruthless counselor Thomas Cromwell. Claire Foy, Mark Gatiss, Charity Wakefield, Joanne Whalley and Jonathan Pryce, who was recently seen as a narcissistic asshole professor in Alex Ross Perry’s “Listen Up Philip,” head up the sprawling cast.

Continue reading PBS’ Wolf Hall Starring Damian Lewis Could Be TV’s Next Great Antihero Story – Jan 19, 2015