The start of British Springtime may only be three weeks away but I think we can all agree that at the moment, it's still #nippy. So, while we wait for beer-garden season to re-commence, let's savour the last bit of Winter by making a vat of hot chocolate, pulling on a pair of bed socks and settling down to watch a costume drama or two - there's plenty on ...
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
First up, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - not just a costume drama but a fantasy costume drama adapted from Susanna Clarke's award-winning book of the same name. Beginning in the early 1800's, the story follows title character Mr Norrell, in his own words "quite a tolerable practical magician" played by Eddie Marsan (brilliant as Panks in Little Dorrit). After hitting the headlines when he uses his powers to make every statue in York Cathedral speak, Mr Norrell moves to London to assist the government in the ongoing war against Napoleon. Meanwhile, a young gentleman by the name of Jonathan Strange is told by a mysterious stranger that he is destined to become a great magician and begins to study the art. After various magical dealings including a resurrection and a prophecy about a future king, Strange becomes Norrell's pupil. The 8-part series is directed by Toby Haynes, the visionary behind Moriarty's simultaneous prison break, bank robbery and jewel heist (remember all those symbolic cups of tea falling to the floor?) in Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall. If that doesn't get you excited, nothing will.
(Clip taken from Den of Geek)
Start date TBC
Poldark
Next up, a return (or so I'm hoping) to the classic costume dramas my heart so deeply craves, with Poldark, a story that was first brought to screen by the BBC in the 1970s. According to writer Debbie Horsfield though, the new version is an authentic retelling of the books by Winston Graham rather than a remake of the original series. It begins with Ross Poldark (Aiden Turner) returning from fighting in the American War of Independence to find Britain and more distressingly his love life, in turmoil. With the family estate in ruins following the death of his father, Ross endeavors to rebuild it by making their derelict copper mines a success and bringing prosperity back to the area. In doing so he finds himself becoming something of a Robin Hood figure, siding with his workers over ruthless Bankers, the Warleggans. As if he doesn't have enough on his plate, Ross also has to contend with a broken heart as the fiance he left behind when he went to fight is now engaged to his cousin. Awkward. If the trailer's anything to go by, this is going to be a rather handsome series, it's set on the Cornish coast, so expect rugged moors, scarred landscapes and plenty of shots of people standing at cliff edges looking windswept and overly attractive. I'm ready!
Starts Sunday 8th March on BBC1
Banished
I can't believe that Banished is the first drama I will have ever seen, that focuses on the lives of the first British convicts to be sent to Australia. What a fascinating story to go unseen on TV for so long, and how surprising that it has been written by Jimmy McGovern, famous for his gritty, contemporary dramas - kudos to you sir. Expect him to bring plenty of his trademark grit to what he calls "the best story I've come across in over 30 years as a dramatist" as the lives the convicts led were not happy ones; they faced beatings, starvation and rape on a daily basis. Governor Arthur Phillip a hero among Australians, has plans to transform the colony into a 'land of opportunity' but with opposition from his officers and violent criminals to control, it will not be an easy task. The central story focuses on a fictional love triangle between three convicts that met on the crossing.
Starts Thursday 5th March on BBC2
Arthur and George
Another adaptation, this time from a book by Julian Barnes, Arthur and George is based on a series of genuine events in the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the world's greatest fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. In 1903, Conan Doyle decided to investigate the case of The Great Wyrley Rippings, a crime that saw Solicitor George Edalji serve time in Pentonville Prison - something Conan Doyle was determined to prove to be a miscarriage of justice. The three part series sees Sir Arthur on a quest to prove the man's innocence, by following in the footsteps of his own consulting detective.
Starts Monday 3rd March on ITV
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