9th century AD; many of the separate kingdoms of what we now know as England have fallen to the invading Vikings, only the great Kingdom of Wessex stands defiant under its visionary King Alfred the Great . It is the last kingdom.
THN have just received news that BBC Two, BBC America and the Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning producers of Downton Abbey, Carnival Films, have announced that principle photography has begun on The Last Kingdom.
Set to be a new historical 8 episode, 60 minute series, The Last Kingdom is an adaptation of Bernard Cornwell’s best-selling series of books “The Saxon Stories”, by BAFTA nominated and RTS award-winning writer Stephen Butchard. The production has kicked off filming in Hungary and the UK.
There’s a huge cast involved that includes Alexander Dreymon (American Horror Story, Blood Ransom) who heads up the cast, plus Rutger Hauer (True Blood, Blade Runner), David Dawson (Ripper Street), Emily Cox (The Silent Mountain, Circle of Life), Matthew Macfadyen (Anna Karenina, MI-5), Ian Hart (Boardwalk Empire), Tobias Santelmann (Kon-Tiki), Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Peter Gantzler, Joseph Millson, Alexandre Willaume, Rune Temte, and Henning Valin Jakobsen. Young cast members include Tom Taylor, Jocelyn Macnab and Madeleine Power.
Against this turbulent backdrop lives our hero, Uhtred (Dreymon), born the son of a Saxon nobleman, he is orphaned by the Vikings and then kidnapped and raised as one of their own. Forced to choose between the country of his birth and the people of his upbringing, his loyalties are ever tested. What is he – Saxon or Viking? On a quest to claim his birthright, Uhtred must tread a dangerous path between both sides if he is to play his part in the birth of a new nation and, ultimately, recapture his ancestral lands.
The Last Kingdom, made by Carnival Films (Downton Abbey), is a show of heroic deeds and epic battles but with a thematic depth that embraces politics, religion, warfare, courage, love, loyalty and our universal search for identity. Combining real historical figures and events with fictional characters, it is the story of how a people combined their strength under one of the most iconic kings of history in order to reclaim their land for themselves and build a place they call home.
Kim Shillinglaw, Controller of BBC Two had this to say:
“BBC Two has a great reputation for distinctive, surprising drama – I’m delighted we are doing The Last Kingdom, an epic piece from a highly regarded creative team.”
The Last Kingdom is another huge epic for the BBC and as we all know how much they commit to a series, this genre is ripe for more. We’ll bring you more news as we hear it.
