Starz, the TV company behind the US Torchwood , is also doing its own version of the Arthurian myth.
US TV Network Starz (the same channel behind the US Torchwood ) has announced that Camelot , its gritty take on the Arthurian myth, will debut 1 April 2011. It will be taking over the Friday 10pm slot that used to be occupied by Spartacus: Blood And Sand .
The 10-part series stars Joseph Fiennes ( FlashForward ) as Merlin and Jamie Campbell Bower ( The Prisoner ) as Arthur, newcomer Eva Green as Morgan, Tamsin Egerton as Guinevere, Claire Forlani as Igraine and Peter Mooney as Kay. Former Torchwood showrunner Chris Chibnall is head writer on the series, which is described set to do for Arthur and co what The Tudors did for Henry VIII .
“The tale is much better suited to a series than it is to a movie,” says Craig Cegielski, head of Camelot’ s production company GK-TV in an exclusive interview in the next issue of SFX . “We weren’t under the same pressure to fit all of that content into 120 minutes. Season one’s about the recklessness of youth – a young boy who becomes king, who then unifies this fractured country.”
Here’s the series’ official description:
“In the wake of King Uther’s sudden death, chaos threatens to engulf Britain. When the sorcerer Merlin has visions of a dark future, he installs the young and impetuous Arthur, Uther’s unknown son and heir, who has been raised from birth as a commoner. But Arthur’s cold and ambitious half sister Morgan will fight him to the bitter end, summoning unnatural forces to claim the crown in this epic battle for control. These are dark times indeed for the new King, with Guinevere being the only shining light in Arthur's harsh world. Faced with profound moral decisions, and the challenge of uniting a kingdom broken by war and steeped in deception, Arthur will be tested beyond imagination. Forget everything you think you know ... this is the story of Camelot that has never been told before.”
Channel 4 has bought the rights to show the series in the UK. No air date has yet been confirmed.
