Categories Poll Print Media Wolf Hall

The 20 Best TV Shows Based on Books

Wolf Hall: A Marvel of Elegance and Emotion

by Staff | TVLine | March 30, 2023

What do these titles all have in common other than being highly-rated, successful shows? They and many more shows were adapted from bestselling novels within the last decade. Whether you love them or hate them, book-to-TV adaptations are here to stay. The TVLine team felt it was perfect to conjure up a list of the top TV programs based on books. We have rounded up 20 of the best shows from the last decade that were adapted from books:

Continue reading The 20 Best TV Shows Based on Books

Categories Dreamcatcher Halloween Hearts & Bones Messages Romeo and Juliet Site Stormbreaker The Baker Wolf Hall

Happy Halloween 2022!

Trick or Treat

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | October 30, 2022

Happy Halloween to all our ghoul and goblin fans out there, from all of us at the Fan Fun with Damian Lewis team! You can ‘Trick or Treat’ with us at damian-lewis.com, but don’t forget to grab your cauldron and head over to our sister site Fan Fun with Damian Lewis for more spooky spectacular goodies. We serve all things Damian – all day, every day!

In keeping with the Halloween theme, you can watch Damian on your small screen in the following:

Categories memory lane Video Wolf Hall

In Loving Memory of Dame Hilary Mantel

Beloved Author

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | September 23, 2022

We join readers around the world in mourning the loss of Author, Dame Hilary Mantel. We are grateful for her magnificent body of work and the award-winning historical fiction novels including, but not limited to, Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror and the Light. Without her words, her vision, Damian’s portrayal of Henry VIII would not be a critical hit as the regal King.

Damian shared this tribute:

Continue reading In Loving Memory of Dame Hilary Mantel

Categories Fan Sightings Personal and Family Life Wolf Hall

Damian Lewis Attends Mark Rylance Play

When Henry Visited Thomas

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | August 30, 2022

Well look what we have here – a mini Wolf Hall reunion perhaps? On August 3, 2022 Damian was spotted in the audience of the play Jerusalem starring Mark Rylance.

Jerusalem, a play by Jez Butterworth, returned to the Apollo in the West End in London from April 16 until August 6, 2022 and it seems Damian saw the production just in the nick of time. Surely Damian chatted up his old pal backstage. What could those two possibly be discussing? We can only hope Wolf Hall was a topic of conversation!

Continue reading Damian Lewis Attends Mark Rylance Play

Categories Print Media Wolf Hall

Underrated British TV Shows You Need To Watch

Wolf Hall

by Richard Chachowski | Looper | July 20, 2022

On the surface, one might immediately think that British television is very similar to any American TV program you can find on cable or currently streaming. However, as anyone who’s seen a decent amount of British and American series can tell you, the two couldn’t be further apart.

Known for their strong surrealistic elements, dry wit, and dramatically small number of episodes compared to American TV series, British TV shows are practically a genre unto themselves. Whether they encompass historical dramas, absurdist comedies, or sitcoms set in World War II, you know without question when you’re tuning into a TV show from across the pond, judging from its sense of humor and content alone.

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Categories Fashion and Style Print Media Wolf Hall

Bulging Codpieces and Multi-Colored Tights

Renaissance Men’s Fashion Today

by Maria H. Loh | Art News | June 29, 2022

Certain men’s fashions have always been controversial. In 2014, Mark Rylance, a star of the BBC’s popular sixteenth-century TV drama Wolf Hall, told reporters that he thought “the codpieces are too small.” The actor, who played chief minister Thomas Cromwell, protagonist of the Hilary Mantel best seller on which the series was based, speculated that the sartorial edit was perhaps a directive from the show’s American producers, who feared that historically accurate codpieces might shock their transatlantic viewers. Indeed, if you look at any number of Renaissance portraits of Henry VIII, you might be immediately taken aback by the elaborate mound of shimmering white silk that bursts forth and rises up conspicuously between the king’s legs. Damian Lewis, who had the monarch’s role in the show, explained to the Los Angeles Times that these unusual attachments were,

“… a symbol of your virility, your derring-do, your sense of adventure. They were encouraged, it was a fashion, and Henry liked them.”

Continue reading Bulging Codpieces and Multi-Colored Tights

Categories Print Media Wolf Hall

5 Tempting Tudor Dramas to Watch Right Now

Wolf Hall: Happy Birthday Henry VIII

by Katy Kostakis | Paste Magazine | June 29, 2022

Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived. Gloriana. The Virgin Queen. Bloody Mary.

Just reading those words can instantly bring your mind to one of the most famous, scandalous, and formidable families to ever rule a nation. The powerful Tudor dynasty has long mesmerized and enthralled all who have come across their stories during history lessons. From the king who nabbed his crown against the odds to a long-awaited male heir who didn’t live past the age of 15, to the queen who defied all expectations and ruled for 45 years, their collective reign over England from 1485 to 1603 was chock full of warfare, religious reform, and treachery at a time where fealty, obedience, and adhering to the tenets of one’s social station literally meant life or death.

Continue reading 5 Tempting Tudor Dramas to Watch Right Now

Categories Poll Print Media Wolf Hall

25 Best Movies and TV Shows About English Royalty

Certified Royal Drama – Wolf Hall

by Devon Forward | Collider | November 13, 2021

For the days when you just want to watch some certified royal drama. Sometimes real life is even better than fictional drama, which is why so many television shows and movies are based around historical events. Take England, for example. You can’t honestly claim that you’ve never been fascinated by something that’s happened to a king or queen of the country’s past or present, right? Everyone loves to hear about the strong-willed Queen Elizabeth I, King Henry VIII and his six wives, the elegant current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, and any number of interesting English royals. Luckily, Hollywood feels the same way, and movies and television shows based on stories about English royalty have been made for decades now, with more coming out each year. But which ones are the best?

WOLF HALL

An earlier appearance by Claire Foy as an English royal, this time around she goes back a bit farther into the past to play Anne Boleyn opposite Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII in Wolf Hall. Sure, the story of King Henry VIII’s deadly reign and six wives is well-known, but there’s a reason for that, as his story is one of the most intense and memorable throughout royal history. But what makes this series a bit more unique is that it really focuses on the historical figure of Thomas Cromwell, played by Mark Rylance, a manipulative, charming man who uses his close relationship with King Henry VIII to gain more power for himself. With a target on Anne, attempting to get King Henry VIII away from her influence, Cromwell plays a risky game that might not end in his favor (Spoiler alert: it doesn’t).

Read the rest of the original article at Collider

Categories Dreamcatcher Halloween Hearts & Bones Messages Romeo and Juliet Site Stormbreaker The Baker Wolf Hall

Happy Halloween 2021!

Getting Caught in Damian’s Web

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | October 31, 2021

Happy Halloween to all our ghoul and goblin fans out there, from all of us at the Fan Fun with Damian Lewis team! You can ‘Trick or Treat’ with us at damian-lewis.com, but don’t forget to grab your cauldron and head over to our sister site Fan Fun with Damian Lewis for more spooky spectacular goodies. We serve all things Damian – all day, every day!

In keeping with the Halloween theme, you can watch Damian on your small screen in the following:

  • Dreamcatcher (who’s up for lots of killings and blood?!) – stream on Amazon Prime Video
  • Hearts and Bones (no skeleton bones harmed in the making of this) – stream on Amazon Prime Video
  • Wolf Hall (who’s up for a beheading, raise your hand!) – stream on Amazon Prime Video
  • Romeo and Juliet (death by poisoning anyone?) – stream on Amazon Prime Video
  • Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (contract killing with an accent) – stream on Amazon Prime Video
  • Assassin in Love aka The Baker (contract killing…in a cake) – stream on Amazon Prime Video