WARLORD CHRONICLES TV series to air in August

The Winter King, the TV adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's acclaimed Warlord Chronicles trilogy, will start airing on August 20th this year.

The show was only commissioned last September and was put into rapid turn-around, with Bad Wolf Productions (A Discovery of Witches, His Dark Materials, Doctor Who) prioritising the project which they'd been developing since 2015.

The novels take the form of a historically-inspired take on the legend of Arthur, with armour, weapons and military tactics based on real 5th/6th century sources. The books are narrated by Derfel Cadarn, a relatively junior member of the Knights of the Round Table. In the novels, Arthur is not a king but a warlord, a mercenary commander who is chosen to act as regent for the true heir to the throne, Prince Mordred. Britain at this time is a seething morass of competing religious, political and cultural influences, divided between the Roman occupiers whose time is fading, the native Britons and the invading Saxons. Arthur has the unenviable task of forging these forces into a coalition to ensure peace in the islands, aided by Merlin, in this version of the story a lecherous high priest.

The series stars Eddie Marsan (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) as King Uther, Iain de Caestecker (Agents of SHIELD) as Arthur, Ellie James (I May Destroy You) as Nimue, Nathaniel Martello-White (I Hate Suzie) as Merlin, Stuart Campbell (Rogue Heroes) as Derfel, Daniel Ings (The Crown) as Owain, Valene Kane (Gangs of London) as Morgan, Jordan Alexandra (Mammals) as Guinevere and Simon Merrells (Knightfall) as Gundleus.

The series is produced by Bad Wolf and parent company Sony Television, and will air on MGM+ in the United States and ITVX in the United Kingdom.