YELLOWJACKETS to end with its fourth season

Showtime's Yellowjackets will end after its upcoming fourth season.

Yellowjackets is noted for its split timeline, with the action unfolding simultaneously in two time periods. In 1996 an aircraft carrying a girls' high school football team crashes in a remote part of the Canadian Rockies. Although there are twenty survivors, it's a considerably smaller group who are rescued nineteen months later, leading to widespread suspicions over what they had to do in order to survive. In 2021, the now-adult survivors are reunited when they are targeted by someone threatening to expose their secrets.

The show stars Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Christina Ricci, Sophie Nélisse, Samantha Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher, Liv Hewson, Steven Krueger, Warren Kole, Courtney Eaton, Sarah Desjardins, Kevin Alves, Elijah Wood and Hilary Swank, with Lauren Ambrose, Simone Kessell and Juliette Lewis having played major roles in earlier seasons.

The show has only aired three seasons - in 2021, 2023 and 2025 - but had a protracted development process, with its pilot episode written in 2017, Showtime picking it up in 2018 with casting commencing later that year, a pilot shot in 2019, and then full production delayed due to the COVID pandemic. Production of the third season was severely impacted by strike action. Creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson had originally mooted a five-season run for the show, but had been wavering on that after it became clear they were struggling to get the seasons out in a reasonable timeframe, with their younger actors aging in the meantime (many of the cast playing teenagers are now in their early thirties). Fan complaints about the drawn-out pacing of the show (particularly in the adult timeline) may have also played a factor here, along with the growing cost of its star-studded cast in the adult timeline.

Showtime renewed the show for a fourth season back in May but, surprisingly, the team has not written scripts yet, suggesting that they were negotiating back and forth on whether to end the show or not. Yellowjackets has been a rare ratings hit for the cable channel but the complexities of shooting it (including depicting winter in the Canadian Rockies, which they can't shoot on location due to it being too dangerous) have been considerable and possibly unsustainable, along with its starry cast being in demand for other projects.

Yellowjackets Season 4 will enter production in early 2026 for airing late that year or in early 2027. Showtime is exploring new projects the creators, although it's unclear if they are considering spinoffs from the show.

YELLOWJACKETS renewed for Season 4

Showtime have renewed their hit TV show Yellowjackets for a fourth and potentially penultimate season.

The renewal had not really been in doubt, with the show's third season debuting with significantly higher ratings on Showtime than the second and picking up a lot of streams via its international distribution on Paramount+ (including setting record viewership for its finale). However, the third season had been renewed ahead of the second, whilst this time around Showtime made fans wait until six weeks after the third season had wrapped up.

The show has a planned five-year story arc, but Showtime declined to renew the show for its final two seasons in one go, suggesting they still want to see how Season 4 does in viewership before ordering the finale.

The show tells a story divided into two time periods. In 1996 a high school soccer team are marooned in a remote part of Canada by a freak plane crash, and have to survive in the wilderness for almost two years before they are rescued. Twenty-five years later, the few now-adult survivors are trying to get on with their lives and forget the trauma they experienced, but the past has a nasty way of constantly coming back into their lives.

The show stars Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Tawny Cypress, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, Samantha Hanratty, Courtney Eaton, Liv Hewson, Warren Kole, Sarah Desjardins, Elijah Wood and Hilary Swank. Season 4 is expected to go into production later this year for a potential late 2026 debut.

YELLOWJACKETS renewed for a third season

Showtime has renewed its hit show Yellowjackets for a third season, three months ahead of Season 2's planned debut. It's hoped the early renewal will allow them to get production rolling on the third season quickly enough to minimise the wait between the next two seasons. They also confirmed that Season 2 will debut on 26 March 2023.

Yellowjackets' first season told two distinct stories involving the same set of characters. In 1996, a plane carrying a New Jersey female high school soccer team crashes in a remote part of Canada. Several of them died, and it took nineteen months for them to be rescued. The second story is set in 2021, with the survivors, now in their forties, drawn back together again by a series of unusual events, suggesting the events of 1996 are catching up with them. The show switches back between the two time periods, mining tension from the fact that we know several of the crash survivors do make it back home, but the fates of the others remains unknown.

The show attracted considerable critical acclaim for the two sets of actors playing the same characters, and the casting of heavyweights like Christina Ricci, Melanie Lynskey and Juliette Lewis for the older roles and Ella Purnell and Courtney Eaton for the younger. The show was also praised for setting up a complex mystery in a compelling manner, with some drawing comparisons to Lost's structure (which also featured a plane crash in a remote location). Season 2 will add more 1990s/2000s names to the cast, with Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) and Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) joining the fray.

Season 1 of Yellowjackets was nominated in seven categories at the Emmys but didn't pick up a trophy, possibly a result of its unfavourable positioning right at the start of the eligibility period.

Lin-Manuel Miranda no longer involved with adaptation of Patrick Rothfuss's KINGKILLER CHRONICLE series

Actor, writer and singer-songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda has confirmed he is no longer attached to the long-gestating attempt to bring Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicle to the screen.

Interest in the property began back in 2007, when The Name of the Wind was published to a rapturous reception and very high sales. It intensified in 2011, when the sequel The Wise Man's Fear was published.

In 2015, Rothfuss reached a wide-ranging and high-value deal with production company Lionsgate that included a feature film trilogy based directly on the novels, as well as a TV show which would act as a prequel and focus on Kvothe's parents. The following year it was confirmed that Miranda, the nuclear-hot creator of hit stage musical Hamilton, was working on the project as a songwriter for both the films and the TV series, whilst Lindsey Beer was working on the script for the first movie, based on The Name of the Wind.

In 2017, things really got moving when Showtime optioned the TV series rights, attaching John Rogers (Leverage, The Librarians) to write, produce and showrun. In 2018 Sam Raimi entered talks to direct the first film. A few months later, in 2019, John Rogers confirmed he had written all ten scripts for Season 1 of the show, which was entering pre-production. Things looked like they were going very well.

Then things collapsed, pretty quickly. In September 2019 Showtime abruptly halted all work on the Kingkiller TV series and returned the rights to Lionsgate. By that time it was clear that Raimi had passed on the movie project, and subsequently opted to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness instead. The rumour in Hollywood was that Showtime has massively over-committed to its ambitious Halo TV series, spending much more than originally planned, and had to quickly divest itself of several other expensive shows, even ones that had been greenlit, in order not to have a huge budget overrun. Ironically, of course, Halo was moved from Showtime to Paramount+ and the financial issues sorted out behind the scenes, meaning that possibly the Kingkiller project could have moved forwards after all.

In November 2020, Lin-Manuel Miranda confirmed he was still working on the IP, but the plan to adapt the (gigantic) novels as single movies had now been abandoned and the project was being reconceptualised as a TV show based directly on the novels. Miranda cited his work on the HBO/BBC co-production His Dark Materials (based on Philip Pullman's novels) as giving him a "fresh perspective" on the complexities of adapting a fantasy trilogy for the screen.

Miranda's departure from the project seems to be down to two reasons. First, his own workload is through the roof. He is currently enjoying huge success from his work on the Disney animated movie Encanto, including his first-ever Number One single for "We Don't Talk About Bruno." His 2021 film Tick, Tick...Boom! has also enjoyed significant critical and commercial success. Secondly, it sounds like he had not found a way of adapting the books' structure satisfyingly, noting that it has an "insane Russian nesting doll structure," a reference to its multiple timelines.

An unspoken fly in the ointment is that the third novel in the trilogy, The Doors of Stone, remains incomplete after eleven years. Rothfuss's editor confirmed in 2020 that she had not yet read a single word of the book and did not believe any work had been done on it since 2016. Rothfuss has since spoken more openly about progress on the book, and read its prologue for the first time last year. However, no release date has been set.

Given the immense success of the books - reportedly well over 10 million and possibly closer to 20 million copies of the two books have been sold to date, easily making them the most successful debut epic fantasy series this century - it is likely an adaptation will eventually happen. However, it will not be in the near future and it sounds like it will be without Lin-Manuel Miranda's involvement.

Yellowjackets: Season 1

Four women deal with the shared trauma of an event that destroyed their lives. In 1996, as members of a New Jersey female high school soccer team, they were in a plane crash in a remote part of Canada. Left to fend for themselves for nineteen months with sixteen fellow survivors, horrific events took place, the details of which remain unclear. Twenty-five years later, they reunite when they discover that someone is trying to learn the truth of what happened, and is even willing to resort to murder and blackmail to achieve it.

Yellowjackets is two TV series wrapped in one. It is a survival-horror story about the twenty survivors of a plane crash and the struggles as they waited more than a year and a half for rescue. It is also the story of the dysfunctional relationship between four of those survivors a quarter of a century later, as they navigate their own complicated lives and the attempts by an unknown adversary to dredge up the past for their own benefits. If you wanted to find a buzz-phrase, it's basically if Lost and Desperate Housewives were the same show.

The dual structure and the inter-cutting between the two timelines (with roughly a 50-50 split between the two) gives the show an immediate sense of identity and mystery. We know that four of the survivors of the plane crash made it home and we are told that some of the others survived as well, but not who or how many. This gives the flashbacks a sense of tension because almost anyone can die or be seriously injured. There's also a real sense of interlinking between the two stories: what happened to people in their late teens can still have a drastic impact on them as apparently mature adults in their early forties even without a traumatic plane crash, the horrors of surviving starvation and wild animals, and years of being minor celebrities with morbid people constantly asking them what happened.

The show also makes absolutely no bones that the survival story is going to get extremely bleak. Lost fudged its premise a little bit by giving the survivors of Oceanic 815 plentiful food and water and only stranding them for ninety days before being rescued (kind of); Yellowjackets gives no such easy assurances to the stranded survivors and apparently more time passes in Yellowjackets' first season than in Lost's first three. One of the survivors, Taissa, has gone into politics and one of her opponents' most constant attack lines is that she and the other survivors resorted to cannibalism to survive, which they fervently deny, but the flashbacks suggest this might not be entirely true. The shadow of nascent horror lurks over every minute of the show, particularly in the flashback story.

The secret of Yellowjackets' success, without which the show would not be viable, is the casting. In almost every case, the show does a tremendous job in casting the right actress for both the younger and older version of the character. Helped by excellent wig work, Sammi Hanratty and Christina Ricci nail the two versions of Misty Quigley (the team's equipment manager and free-roaming agent of random chaos) so perfectly it's hard to believe they're not the same person and they've not just filmed the two sides of her story 20+ years apart. Sophie Nélisse and Melanie Lynskey are almost as perfect as Shauna (a former sidekick to a homecoming queen who finds her niche in the woods, and now is an apparently quiet housewife), as are Jasmin Savoy Brown and Tawny Cypress as Taissa Turner (the team's most hardcore and dedicated member, now running for State Senate). Sophie Thatcher and Juliette Lewis, playing Natalie Scatorccio (a troubled teen turned troubled adult), are probably the least physically well-matched of the four, but nail the character's attitude perfectly. Of course, casting the four older versions of the characters with well-known teen actresses from the 1990s is another masterstroke.

The rest of the cast is also excellent, particularly high-ish profile actors Ella Purnell (Arcane) as Jackie Taylor and Courtney Eaton (Mad Max: Fury Road) as Lottie Matthews, two prominent members of the soccer team and the survivors. Their apparent absence in the 2021 storyline makes viewers fear the worst for them, so it's an interesting twist when some of the other survivors do show up or are revealed in dialogue to have survived.

Despite the sprawling nature of the cast and the story, the show keeps a tight rein on its pacing and scope. By using the four main characters in both time periods as our POVs and containing its first season in just ten episodes (Lost's first season had a mind-boggling twenty-five episodes, to compare), the show tells a big story with an admirable sense of focus. Surprisingly, the present-day story is as compelling as the story of survival, involving by itself political intrigue, blackmail, scandal and murder, which is where the Desperate Housewives-on-steroids comparison comes into play. In the wrong hands Yellowjackets could be miserable and grim, but the writers also bring compassion and humour (albeit sometimes very dark) into the mix, alleviating some of the darker moments of the series.

The story in both timelines builds through the season and the finale acts as a gamechanger, rewriting the rules of the game and upending what we thought we knew about the characters.

One of the most striking debut seasons of recent years, Yellowjackets (****½) is William Golding's Lord of the Flies where we ask what happens when the survivors get home, and find that their experiences in the wild have followed and defined them for the rest of their lives? The first season is available to watch on Showtime in the United States and on NowTV in the UK. A second season will air later in 2022.

NEWS: In-production HALO TV series flips from Showtime to Paramount+

In a surprise move, ViacomCBS has flipped the in-production Halo TV series from its Showtime cable network to streaming service Paramount+ (a rebranded version of CBS All Access).

Halo has had an agonisingly slow development period, with Peter Jackson developing a feature film version of the video game franchise almost twenty years ago. The current iteration was greenlit in 2018 and began shooting in October 2019. Five episodes had been completed when production shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production reportedly recently spooled up again for the final five episodes of the first season.

The move will likely frustrate Showtime execs and fans, especially as it comes after they reportedly had to abandon work on the Kingkiller Chronicle TV show - a prequel to Patrick Rothfuss's novel, The Name of the Wind - due to reported massive cost overruns on the Halo project wiped out their development budget.

Halo stars Pablo Shreiber as Master Chief, Natascha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Halsey, Shabana Azmi as Admiral Parangosky, Charlie Murphy as Makee and Jen Taylor as Cortana. It is now expected to debut on Paramount+ in early 2022.

KINGKILLER CHRONICLE adaptation still in limbo, being rethought as a TV project

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lin-Manuel Miranda has confirmed that work remains on hold on an adaptation of Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicle novel series.

Lionsgate acquired the rights to Rothfuss's novels in 2015 and put a multi-pronged plan into operation, including a direct adaptation as a movie trilogy, a video game and a prequel TV series about the parents of the main character in the books, Kvothe. Work initially went very well, with Showtime picking up the TV project and Sam Raimi in talks to direct the film. Screenwriter John Rogers even completed the writing of all ten episodes of the planned first season of the show. Unfortunately, the project then collapsed last year. Showtime, facing massive budget overruns from its Halo TV series, cancelled the TV series and returned the rights to Lionsgate, whilst Sam Raimi withdrew from the film project.

According to Miranda, his stint playing Lee Scoresby on the BBC's His Dark Materials has given him "a new perspective" on the project, including the plan to adapt each of the three Rothfuss novels as a two-hour film. His Dark Materials is developing each of Philip Pullman's books across eight hours and even so has had to leave material out. To put this in context, the second Kingkiller novel, The Wise Man's Fear, is longer than all three Dark Materials novels combined by itself.

It sounds like the movie part of the project may therefore be dead, with a direct adaptation of the novels themselves as a TV show now the plan.

Despite this rethink, the project remains where it was with no TV channel or streamer currently attached. Reportedly Apple+ has passed on the project, meaning there aren't many more venues that might be interested. Netflix and Amazon have multiple fantasy projects (including The Witcher, The Chronicles of Narnia, Conan the Barbarian and a live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender for the former and Wheel of Time and Lord of the Rings: The Second Age for the latter) either shooting or in pre-production already and other potential partners might be holding fire to see how they pan out.

An additional problem is that the Kingkiller Chronicle remains incomplete. It's been almost ten years since the previous volume in the series, The Wise Man's Fear, was released and in July Rothfuss's editor confirmed she hasn't read a word of it and doesn't believe Rothfuss has touched the manuscript since 2014. Rothfuss himself has refused to discuss the status of the third book, The Doors of Stone, for many years, instead running online charity events and video game streaming events.

The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear are two of the biggest-selling fantasy novels of the past two decades though, having chalked up approximately 20 million sales of just two books (in comparison, Brandon Sanderson has sold around 30 million copies, but of more than two dozen books), with a formidable fanbase. If an adaptation could be well-made, it would likely be popular, but after the reception to the final season of Game of Thrones, potential partners might be wary of embarking on a similar project.

Showtime passes on THE KINGKILLER CHRONICLE prequel series

In a somewhat surprising move, Showtime has halted development of the Kingkiller Chronicle prequel TV series and returned the rights to Lionsgate Television.

The news comes as a surprise after a period in which a confident Showtime seemed eager to take the fight to old rivals HBO and newcomers Netflix and Amazon, all of them have big-budget fantasy shows in development, shooting or getting ready to air. With HBO prepping two Game of Thrones spin-offs and getting ready to air a Watchmen sequel show and a new version of His Dark Materials, Netflix preparing to launch The Witcher and Amazon beginning filming on both The Wheel of Time and Lord of the Rings: The Second Age this month (albeit only preliminary shooting in the latter case), Showtime seemed well-placed with their new TV project.

However, reports suggest that Showtime may have over-committed to its ambitious, top-dollar TV version of the Halo video game franchise (which recently began shooting) and no longer have the financial bandwidth to commit to Kingkiller at the same time. Releasing the rights voluntarily, especially after the significant amount they paid for them at auction in 2017, suggests that the network may have been at fault in the issue. Lionsgate are now shopping the rights around, but are finding the market glutted with high-budget fantasy projects, with no room at the inns of Netflix, Amazon or HBO.

Lionsgate now seem to be targeting Apple TV, which is still on the lookout for high-profile projects to bolster its launch lineup (which includes a TV adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation saga and a new project from Battlestar Galactica and Outlander showrunner Ronald D. Moore). Apple have not committed to the project so far.

The Kingkiller Chronicle TV series is set some decades before the books and explores the lives of two characters, widely believed to be Kvothe's parents, on the world of Temerant. Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, His Dark Materials) is set to executive produce, create music and possibly act, whilst John Rogers (Leverage, The Librarians, The Player) is writing and showrunning.

The original plan was for the TV series to launch alongside a big-budget, direct movie adaptation of the first novel in the series, The Name of the Wind. However, progress on getting the movie made stalled earlier this year after would-be director Sam Raimi passed on the project.

Some fans have speculated that studios may be sceptical of the project given that the source material remains incomplete, with the third book remaining incomplete after at least nine years of work. However, the prequel series is not dependent on source material and seems to be a work of passion for the in-demand Miranda, increasing the likelihood it will find a new home elsewhere.

KINGKILLER CHRONICLE prequel TV show writer completes Season 1

Scriptwriter John Rogers has completed his writing for the first season of Showtime's Kingkiller Chronicle prequel TV series.

Rogers announced the completion of the writing on Twitter, and that he is now working on revising the overall season arc to make sure it all hangs together.

Showtime greenlit a TV series that will serve as a prequel to The Kingkiller Chronicle last year, although Rogers has been working on the project since 2016. The series is expected to be set decades before the novels and will feature Kvothe's parents as important characters. Lin-Manuel Miranda is serving as executive producer and composer for the TV series, and has already delivered several songs for the first season.

A trilogy of movies which will directly adapt the books is also in development, but suffered a blow when director Sam Raimi, who was being courted for the role, chose to move on to other projects. Without a major director helming The Name of the Wind, it's less likely that the project will move forwards. However, with the third and concluding novel in the series still unpublished, time is not a critical factor at the moment.

Rogers' previous credits include writing or co-writing the movies Catwoman, The Core and Transformers, and working on TV series such as Leverage, The Librarians and The Player.

According to Rogers, the first season of the show will consist of ten episodes. It will start filming before the end of this year for transmission on Showtime in 2020. The Kingkiller Chronicle is part of Showtime's aggressive plan to reassert themselves in the genre TV space, where they've been outshone by HBO (Showtime rejected the Game of Thrones pitch in 2007, presumably to their regret), Starz and AMC in recent years. As well as Kingkiller, they are working on a big-budget Halo TV series which is in the casting phase.

Showtime commission a 10-episode HALO TV series

In a surprising move, the cable network Showtime has commissioned a 10-episode TV series based on the space opera video game series Halo.

Kyle Killen (Awake, Lone Star, Mind Games) will act as showrunner and chief writer, whilst Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Captive State, The Exorcist) will direct multiple episodes and serve as a producer.

The Halo video game franchise has included nine console and PC games, two arcade shooters and multiple spin-off novels and comics. The franchise has sold over 77 million units, generating $5 billion in revenue for Microsoft. The game series depicts a war between the United Nations Space Command (UNSC), including Earth and her colonies, and an alien race known as the Covenant. This war is complicated by the discovery of a massive, ring-shaped space habitat known as the Halo and the discovery of an alien threat known as the Flood, which the Halo is designed to hold back. In the original Halo: Combat Evolved and its direct sequels, it falls to a human hero (known as "Master Chief") to save humanity from the Flood. More recent games have focused on new threats and new discoveries about the origin of the Halo. It is not yet known when or where the Halo TV show will be set relative to the timeline of the games.

Peter Jackson spent some years developing a Halo movie series with future Game of Thrones writer Dan Weiss before the project foundered over budget concerns.

Showtime's move into big-budget, high-concept franchise TV is a response to the recent announcement of multiple high-profile projects by studios and networks including HBO, Netflix and Amazon. The acquisition of the Halo licence is particularly notable, since the Halo video games are partially inspired by Larry Niven's Ringworld and Iain Banks' Culture novel series, both of which are now being developed as TV shows for Amazon.

Showtime are apparently betting the farm on Halo, following the extremely expensive Twin Peaks revival last year which attracted critical acclaim but low ratings. The network are seeing this show as the opportunity to take the fight to their rivals.

Sam Raimi in talks to direct NAME OF THE WIND movie

Lionsgate Entertainment is in talks with acclaimed horror and fantasy director Sam Raimi to helm the movie version of The Name of the Wind, the bestselling fantasy novel by Patrick Rothfuss.

Lionsgate are developing an ambitious, multi-media approach to adapting The Kingkiller Chronicle. They are simultaneously developing a movie trilogy which will directly adapt the three novels - The Name of the Wind (2007), The Wise Man's Fear (2011) and The Doors of Stone (forthcoming) - and a prequel TV series which will explore the adventures of Kvothe's parents. The TV series is in development at Showtime.

Lindsey Beer has written the script for the film, but the real reason things are moving is down to Lin-Manuel Miranda. Having achieved superstar status thanks to his Broadway musical Hamilton, Miranda has made the Kingkiller project his next priority. He is working on the music for both the TV series and films, including the in-universe songs, and is executive producing. With Hollywood keen to tap his talent, interest in this project has sky-rocketed.

The financial success of the novels has certainly helped: Patrick Rothfuss is the biggest-selling debut fantasy author of the 21st Century. The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man's Fear and spin-off novella The Slow Regard of Silent Things have sold well over 10 million copies between them in just over a decade.

However, work on the project may be dependent on Rothfuss releasing the third novel in the series: despite claiming the trilogy was complete over a decade ago and releasing pictures of the apparent manuscript for The Doors of Stone in 2013, the book is still has no release date set.

Sam Raimi is an interesting choice to helm the movie: although his reputation was made in gory horror movies (such as the cult Evil Dead trilogy, its remake and the ongoing Ash vs. Evil Dead TV series), Raimi achieved his greatest success with his three Spider-Man movies starring Tobey Maguire. He also directed Oz the Great and Powerful in 2013 and has been looking for another feature film project since then.

The impact of the Amazon/Tolkien deal on the WHEEL OF TIME TV show

The news broke last night that Amazon are in talks with Warner Brothers about making a big-budget TV series based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, despite the perception that Peter Jackson's movie trilogy is too recent and a remake at this time is unnecessary. What's been less reported is how this will impact on Sony's TV version of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time novels, which were widely expected would end up at Amazon.

To rewind, in April 2017 it was confirmed that Sony TV had optioned the rights to The Wheel of Time in a complex deal involving the Robert Jordan Estate (aka the Bandersnatch Group) and Red Eagle Entertainment. A few months earlier it was heavily rumoured that Amazon were seriously considering making the series, as Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos is a huge fan of SF and fantasy in general (he had a cameo in the latest Star Trek movie, Beyond) and - apparently - Wheel of Time is one of his favourite book series. Amazon also recently reorganised their TV production division, cancelling several smaller shows and Bezos mandating the acquisition of a big-budget SFF project to compete with Game of Thrones on HBO. Wheel of Time was a no-brainer for this treatment.

However, seven months after Sony confirmed it had optioned the book rights, no production partner has been confirmed. Although not completely unusual - many years between optioning a property and greenlighting it is not unheard of - it was expected that studios would move quickly to snatch up the rights to a property that could comfortably go toe-to-toe with Game of Thrones in terms of epic scenes, number of characters and scale. Now it appears we know why there's been radio silence: Warner Brothers have been (quietly) shopping around their new Lord of the Rings TV project around at the same time. Although studios appear to be dubious about making a new LotR screen project so soon after Jackson's film series, they are also weighing carefully the benefits of picking up a much more well-known franchise which would get a lot of viewers from the off.

This leaves The Wheel of Time TV project in an awkward place. WoT was - comfortably - the biggest and most successful epic fantasy series not currently under an option, so it had a degree of brand value in the marketplace. With Middle-earth in play, that is no longer the case and the problems of adapting Wheel - its immense visual effects requirements, high budget and the challenges of adapting 14 books totalling 4 million words (eight times the length of Lord of the Rings) in a reasonable timeframe - may have come into greater focus.

It's worth looking now at the channels and broadcasters who may be in the running to adapt WoT and see how likely they are to follow through:

Amazon

Amazon are in deep discussion with Warner Brothers over the LotR TV show and Jeff Bezos is a noted fan of the books. He is personally involved in negotiations. They are clearly taking this approach very seriously. However, they have not committed yet. WB are asking for an astonishing amount of money up-front (totalling a third of a billion dollars) and are not bringing anything new to the table. Only The Lord of the Rings is on offer, with perhaps a possibility of The Hobbit as well, but none of Tolkien's other Middle-earth books are included in the deal, so no new material can be brought to the screen that hasn't been adapted previously. Although the deal is tempting, Amazon will likely have to weight up the benefits of the brand name and value versus the likely criticisms they will get for not going for a more original project.

If Amazon passes on LotR I could see them picking up WoT. This is a new project (for the screen) but also one that will last easily six or seven seasons (at least) and they can cross-market the show with the books and other merchandise. Amazon also appear to be the only company in the running who can stump up the significant budget that Wheel of Time will require. However, I strongly suspect that they will be more inclined to go with LotR if they can make the finances work.

HBO

HBO have already shot down the LotR project, citing their ongoing commitment to Game of Thrones and its in-development spin-offs. I think we can comfortably say that if they're not going to pick up LotR, they're not going to pick up Wheel of Time either. HBO are now 100% out of the picture.

Showtime

Showtime have committed to Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicle prequel TV show. Until this project succeeds or fails, Showtime are also unlikely to seriously consider Wheel of Time.

AMC

Sony and AMC have an excellent prior relationship from Breaking Bad and I suspect AMC will be seriously considering the advantages of adapting Wheel of Time to add to their enviable SFF programming, which currently includes The Walking Dead and Preacher. However, AMC's preferred business model has them making shows for a very, very low budget and just making them look impressive, allowing them to maximise profits. They have already faced heavy criticism for the shoestring budget that The Walking Dead is made under, despite the show's massive global success. It is unlikely that AMC would give The Wheel of Time the $6-7 million per episode budget it will need as a minimal starting point. Still, AMC may still be in the picture if they can be persuaded to loosen the pursestrings.

Starz

Starz are also enjoying a spectacular surge in genre programming, with both Outlander and American Gods doing very well. Wheel of Time would be an enviable addition to their lineup, and Starz certainly are prepared to spend more money than AMC. They may be tempted to take another look at Wheel of Time if Amazon are now out of the picture.

FX

FX have been quietly building a slate of excellent shows recently, including Fargo, Legion, American Horror Story, Archer, The Americans and Atlanta. A high-budget, high-profile fantasy show is precisely what they are missing, and they also aired Red Eagle's proof-of-concept Wheel of Time pilot thing a couple of years ago, for which they received a lot of interest from viewers.

CBS

I'd previously dismissed CBS as being a likely home for the show, since their budgets for network shows are pretty small. Since then, however, they've launched the CBS All Access platform and achieved significant success with Star Trek: Discovery, which has a budget of $7 million per episode. If CBS wish to maintain momentum with the All Access project they will need another high-profile killer app, and Wheel of Time could well be it.

SyFy

SyFy has achieved some success with the TV show The Expanse, but has recently cancelled several shows and their bandwidth for making lots of big-budget shows at once is limited. I consider SyFy to have only an outside shot at the moment.

Netflix

Netflix would seem like a very probability on the list. They have developed a portfolio of shows, but they don't yet have an epic fantasy show to go toe-to-toe with GoT. It would seem likely that they would be interested. However, Netflix have gotten into significant debt to deliver their current slate of of shows and have axed expensive series such as Sense8 and House of Cards (it was widely reported that the sixth season would be the final one even before they axed Kevin Spacey) in favour of much cheaper programming, such as GLOW and American Vandal. Although Netflix's overall programming budget is increasing, the amount they are willing to pay per-show is definitely decreasing (although they have noted this may increase again, and certainly Stranger Things is not a cheap show to make). Wheel of Time would likely remain of interest to them, however, and if they decide a new high-profile show is needed they would likely stump up more money.

ETA: Netflix are developing a TV series based on The Witcher video games and books by Andrzej Sapkowksi, which likely would reduce their interest in another top-tier fantasy show.

Conclusion

The Amazon/LotR discussions are troubling to Wheel of Time fans as they would seem to shut down the most logical pairing of network and project. However, other networks remain in play. I would say at the moment that Starz, AMC and FX may now all be more likelier destinations for the project, with CBS All Access and Netflix as outsider players. If Amazon choose not to proceed with LotR, I suspect they would also take another look at Wheel of Time.

More concerning will be oversaturation of the market: if, by 2021 or thereabouts, we have a Kingkiller Chronicle TV show, a GoTspin-off (or two), a Lord of the Rings TV series and additional seasons of Shannara and American Gods all on air at the same time, it might be felt that further fantasy series would be redundant. As usual, time will tell.

Showtime picks up KINGKILLER CHRONICLE prequel TV series

Showtime have confirmed they are developing a prequel television series to Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicle novel trilogy. Lionsgate undertook a complex multimedia option on the series a couple of years ago, but picked up momentum a few months back when Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) was attached as a producer and musical director.

The plan seems to be for writer Lindsey Beer to adapt the three novels - The Name of the Wind (2007), The Wise Man's Fear (2011) and the still-unpublished The Doors of Stone (forthcoming, still) - as big-budget motion pictures, with a TV series intersecting the events of the novels but focusing on other elements of the story to be produced by John Rogers (Leverage). Miranda will produce and work on songs and other elements for both projects.

It sounds like the TV show will, at least initially, take the form of a prequel set a generation before the events of The Name of the Wind and will follow other characters through the world of Temerant. This plan gives Rothfuss additional time to complete the much-delayed third and concluding novel in the trilogy and reduces the chances of the adaptation running out of source material before it's done (as recently experienced by Game of Thrones).

The plan also encompasses video games, but no announcements have been made with regard to this part of the franchise.

TWIN PEAKS relaunch gets an airdate

Twin Peaks is returning to TV screens on 21 May, after a gap of more than a quarter of a century. Showtime will air 18 new episodes picking up on the events in the mysterious town of Twin Peaks, Washington.

The new season has been completely written by David Lynch and Mark Frost, who created the original series, and has been completely directed by Lynch. This is Lynch's first dramatic, scripted project since the movie Inland Empire in 2006: his only projects since then have been the short documentary Idem Paris (2013) and the music video "Came Back Hunted" for Nine Inch Nails (2013). Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor in fact has a guest role in the new Twin Peaks, alongside Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam. Original composer Angelo Badalamenti, who composed the show's infamous haunting theme music, is also returning.

The original show ran for two seasons and 30 episodes from April 1990 to June 1991. It opened with the murder of Laura Palmer, a young girl in the town of Twin Peaks, and FBI Agent Dale Cooper is called in to help investigate the crime. However, what initially appears to be a mundane if horrific crime rapidly expands to incorporate bizarre spirits and an other-dimensional location known as the Black Lodge. Cooper helps solve the crime - and other related cases in the town - by interpreting his dreams and communing with the spirit of Laura Palmer.

The first season was a titanic critical and commercial success, with massive ratings and critical acclaim, as well as appreciation for its tightly-serialised storytelling (highly unusual in 1990, when most shows were episodic with no long-running storylines). The second season, mostly helmed by other writers as Lynch and Frost took a back seat, was considerably less well-received, especially after the resolution of the Laura Palmer murder mystery halfway through the season and relatively few answers being given to the show's many questions. However, the ending to the season was better-received, especially the revelation that the Palmer murder was setting in motion a much bigger and darker storyline. Sadly, this was not enough to save the series from cancellation.

The series was, arguably, the first harbinger of today's big watercooler shows, and its mix of critical and commercial acclaim gradually giving way to disappointment would later be replicated in both The X-Files (which inherited David Duchovny, one of Twin Peaks' recurring castmembers and who is returning for the new show) and Lost. David Lynch himself frequently expressed dissatisfaction with the ending of the series and resurrected the franchise in 1992 for a prequel movie, Fire Walk With Me, which fills in Laura Palmer's backstory and hints at Agent Cooper's fate after the show's cliffhanger ending, as well as having David Bowie show up for no discernible reason. The movie was slated and bombed at the box office, but has seen a positive critical reassessment in more recent years.

Many of the surviving castmembers from the original series return, most crucially Kyle MacLachlan as Dale Cooper. The 25-year gap since the original series will be acknowledged and will play a key plot point (helped by the ghost of Laura Palmer saying "See you in 25 years" in the final episode), and the Fire Walk With Me prequel movie will be considered canonical. Presumably the series will explain what happened to Cooper after the cliffhanger ending to the show's final episode, which appeared to show Cooper possessed by the murderous entity "Bob".

Twin Peaks has been a huge influence on everything from the aforementioned X-Files and Lost to more recent fare like Stranger Things and the Alan Wake video games.

Showtime have described the show as "the pure heroin version of David Lynch", which is both intriguing and terrifying. Whether the new Twin Peaks can resurrect the same kind of power as the original show remains to be seen, but we'll find out in May when it airs in the US and on Sky in the UK.

First footage from the new TWIN PEAKS

Showtime have unveiled the first material from the new Twin Peaks TV series.

This behind-the-scenes video sees the returning actors explaining how much fun the new series has been to make and, er, not a lot else. But given how secretive the project has been so far, that's perhaps to be expected.

The new Twin Peaks will air on Showtime in early-to-mid 2017. The series will consist of approximately eighteen episodes, although this is yet to be confirmed and could change in editing. David Lynch and Mark Frost have written the new series (after writing all of the original series and the Fire Walk With Me movie spin-off) and Lynch has directed the entire series.

It was also recently confirmed that the show's iconic composer Angelo Badalamenti will return to score the new series. It's unclear if the new show will use the original's haunting theme tune, but I'd say it's reasonably likely.

Masters of Sex: Season 1

1956. William Masters is a doctor working at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Masters is a brilliant researcher in the field of fertility but is also working on a more pioneering project: the first-ever detailed study of the biology of human sexuality. With his superiors scandalised by the project, Masters recruits singer-turned-secretary Virginia Johnson to assist him.

Masters of Sex is a show based around an interesting, but surely limited, premise: what happened when the first American doctor tried to investigate the real biological processes involved during sex? Given this was the mid-1950s when homosexuality was still illegal, censors had a big problem with Elvis Presley's hips and society was dumbfounded when a woman expressed a desire to have a career, the answer is scandal, outrage and secrecy. It took a full decade for Masters and Johnson to finally publish their findings in the more liberal and free-swingin' 1960s, as they waited for society to catch up to the point where it could handle the facts their study revealed.

As the show starts that's a far bit off in the future. Instead, it initially comes across as a sexier version of Mad Men, with the furnishings, fashions and cars of the 1950s recreated with impeccable precision and the mores and limitations of society of the time evoked and then cast down thanks to the freedom of cable television, namely nudity and sex. You may have gathered from the premise that there's a lot flesh on display in this series and this is the case, although probably nowhere near as much as some were expecting. Masters of Sex is a show about sex and desire, but it's even more about the impact it has on people, its use as a motivation or goal and the hypocrisises of a society that is both defined by it but also likes to pretend it doesn't exist.

These complexities are realised fully by the actors. We already knew that Michael Sheen was one of the best actors of his generation, but just in case there was any doubt he completely knocks it out of the park in his portrayal of Masters. Masters is a buttoned-up figure who is a lot more complex and conflicted than it first appears. He proclaims his belief that sex is a purely biological process with scientific processes behind it and that love and emotion does not necessarily play a role, but he then expresses disgust with the notion of homosexuality (something the triggers some later self-analysis) and develops problems separating his own feelings from the work. He has a difficult relationship with his wife Libby (a soulful performance by Caitlin Fitzgerald), being cold and distant despite her warmth and attentiveness, but develops an interest in Virgina when she earns his respect through applying herself to the study in a serious manner. Sheen does sterling work throughout the series, making Masters constantly sympathetic and understandable even when he's acting like an insensitive fool (which is about two-thirds of the time).

Playing against him and more than holding her own is Lizzy Caplan. Caplan has been building up a good body of work in supporting roles in various projects over the last decade or so, but Masters of Sex is finally the big break-out role she was waiting for. Virginia Johnson is a modern woman trapped in the wrong time period: a young woman forced by circumstance (separating from her boorish, unreliable boyfriend and the father of her two children) and will into developing a career of her own at a time when this was extremely rare. Johnson's role is contrasted against that of Dr. DePaul (Julianne Nicholson), a woman who has made it in the male-dominated world of medicine but only at the expense of having any kind of family life and still struggles to get respect or her projects funded. Initially the two women develop an adversarial relationship, but later on find themselves joining forces, united in their exasperation of the world.

A galaxy of fine supporting actors prop up the central cast. Beau Bridges is the sort of actor you call on to appear as an avuncular authority figure, which he does well here as the university provost and Masters's mentor, but the writers then make him a closeted gay man struggling with his identity and with his relationship with his wife and daughter. It's a more angsty role than it first appears and Bridges plays it to the hilt, seemingly enjoying stretching his range. Allison Janney gives a terrific performance as his wife, who is initially horrified at discovering her husband's infidelity but then feels liberated by it to pursue her own life.

Masters of Sex (*****) is a clever show, exploring gender issues, social mores and how people are defined by their desires through the central premise. It's deftly-characterised and filmed with real attention to period detail. It's also extremely funny at times, gut-wrenchingly tragic at others and always fascinating to watch. It also ties with Game of Thrones for the best title sequence currently on television. It's available on DVD (UK, USA) and Blu-Ray (USA only, for some reason) now.

The Tudors: Season 4

England, 1540. King Henry VIII has married Catherine Howard and seems to have finally achieved a level of happiness. The execution of Thomas Cromwell has left the government firmly cowed by Henry and the religious Reformation of the country in his hands. However, Catherine's past is colourful and she soon finds old 'friends' creeping out of the woodwork, determined to use her to their own advancement. When Catherine's flighty and irresponsible behaviour irritates and distances Henry, she also finds herself drawn into a dangerous affair.

The fourth and final season of The Tudors picks up with Henry VIII on his fifth and penultimate wife and covers the last seven years of his life. Aside from the controversial life and death of Catherine Howard, this period is most notable for Henry's decision to invade France and besiege Boulogne. These elements are characterised in the TV series as a form of mid-life crisis: all it's lacking is the decision to buy a Harley or an impractical and overpriced open-topped convertible. This is an amusing idea but also one that lends itself to an air of melancholy: as Henry's old leg wound worsens he knows his death is coming and he sets about preparing for it. As old friends and allies also start passing, Henry is forced to consider his life and accomplishments, exemplified in the final episode when he starts having visions of his dead wives and questions whether he was right to divorce or execute them.

As with the previous seasons, The Tudors maintains a certain watchability in spite of its numerous problems and deviations from history. However, the series has definitely suffered from the loss of James Frain as Cromwell. David O'Hara (despite being only four years younger than the actor who played his father in Season 1) steps up as the Earl of Surrey and gives a menacing, charismatic performance but doesn't actually do very much. Henry Cavill rounds off his appearance on the show with a surprisingly effective melancholic performance as Charles Brandon also approaches the end of his life, enlivened only by a new romance. Sarah Bolger (finally promoted to the title sequence cast) is also excellent as Mary Tudor, walking a fine line between being sympathetic but also driven by her religion. For the wives, Tamzin Merchant is effectively flighty and irritating as Catherine Howard should be, but rounds off being a little bit too irritating. Also, the writers ill-advisedly keep the Howard/Culpeper affair storyline going for at least a full episode longer than is really necessary.

Once that's out the way, Joley Richardson gives a much more decent performance as Catherine Parr, Henry's final wife, and portrays Parr as a woman of much greater maturity and intelligence than her predecessor. There's some minor scheming as the reformers in the court find themselves wondering if Parr is religiously acceptable, but that peters out as Henry becomes focused on war instead. The battle scenes are surprisingly good, with the Siege of Boulogne emerging as the stand-out setpiece of the entire series. Afterwards, we're plunged back into minor court politics before the show finally ends.

As with previous seasons, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is really not a great Henry VIII. He nails the king's intelligence but not his charisma, but with the addition of make-up to chronicle Henry's passing years he does seem to improve a little in this final season. At least up until the last two episodes, when he decides to adopt a bizarre and distracting deep voice (presumably under the mistaken impression it helps him sound older) which does not work at all.

That said, the fourth season of The Tudors (***½) does adopt a melancholic and reflect tone in the last few episodes as the king's life draws to a close which ends the series on a surprisingly sombre tone. Whilst The Tudors will never rank among the great historical dramas, it does do enough reasonably well to make it an effective (if far from perfect), basic account of the life of Henry VIII. The series is available now in the UK (DVD, Blu-Ray) and USA (DVD, Blu-Ray).

The Tudors: Season 3

England, 1536. Anne Boleyn has been executed and King Henry VIII has married Jane Seymour. Henry is incredibly happy with his new wife, who soon bears him his much-longed-for son. However, Jane is also keen for Henry to reconcile with his daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and Henry is concerned that Jane is meddling in affairs beyond her interest. Such matters become less important when the north of England rises in rebellion against the crown, furious with the dissolution of the monasteries and what they see as the corruption of the king's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell.

The third season of The Tudors covers the period running from 1536 and the immediate aftermath of the execution of Anne Boleyn, to 1540 and the king taking Catherine Howard as a mistress. In terms of wives, it's the busiest of the four seasons as it has to get through three of them whilst also addressing the popular rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace, the downfall of Thomas Cromwell, the rise to prominence of the Seymour family (who would retain some power even beyond Henry's death) and the religious opposition of Cardinal Reginald Pole, who stirs up opposition to Henry VIII in Europe. Furthermore, it only has eight episodes to do all this in (as opposed to the ten apiece of the other seasons). They even fit in a somewhat bizarre episode in which Henry has a mini-breakdown and works through it with the help of his fool (a great performance by David Bradley).

The third season is therefore quite impressive in that it manages to pack all of these storylines into a very short space of time and explore them quite thoroughly without feeling rushed. It's a fairly dynamic season, complete with more action-adventure subplots as the would-be assassin Sir Francis Bryan chases Reginald Pole across Europe and as the Pilgrimage of Grace marches across England with Charles Brandon leading an army against them.

The performances range from the excellent to the okay. James Frain's Thomas Cromwell is probably the season highlight as he loses control, but Henry Cavill improves yet more as Brandon is ravaged by guilt over the deaths he causes. Jonathan Rhys Meyers, again, is fairly neutral in his performance, but there's a nice turn from singer Joss Stone as Anne of Cleeves. Giving an unproven actress a tricky role with a German accent was quite a challenge, but she handles it reasonably well. The season also benefits from Sarah Bolger coming more to the fore as Mary Tudor, a difficult character to get right. Mary was a woman of principal and authority, but one who became increasingly ruthless when she herself became queen, and Bolger combines those traits quite well. Unfortunately, the loss of Natalie Dormer's Anne Boleyn is more keenly felt, with Annabelle Wallis's Jane Seymour being rather unmemorable in comparison, despite an odd attempt to draw parallels between her and Diana, Princess of Wales.

The season is also let down a little by the arrival of Catherine Howard at the end of the season. Though Tamzin Merchant (probably better known for almost being Daenerys in Game of Thrones, playing the role in the unaired pilot and later being replaced by Emilia Clarke for reasons that have never been divulged) does a good job with the material, the writing never really explains why Henry would fall for such a flighty creature. That has to wait until Season 4, when the suggestion that Henry is having what we'd now term a mid-life crisis is better-explored.

Season 3 of The Tudors (***½) maintains the show's run of being watchable, entertaining, historically interesting (though not hugely accurate), slightly trashy but lacking in depth. The season is available now in the UK (DVD, Blu-Ray) and USA (DVD, Blu-Ray).

The Tudors: Season 2

England, 1533. King Henry VIII is anxious to formally annul the marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and to wed Anne Boleyn in her stead. However, the Pope remains adamantly opposed to both the union and the king's reforming of the Church in England. As a major schism looms, the king finds himself at odds with some of his most loyal friends and supporters, including Sir Thomas More.

The second season of The Tudors covers what is generally considered to be the most pivotal period in the life of King Henry VIII, extending from his marriage to Anne Boleyn to the latter's fall from grace and execution just three years later. This period includes the separation of the Church of England from Rome, the martyrdom of Thomas More, the birth of the future great Queen of England Elizabeth I, and the rise to prominence of Jane Seymour, who is destined to become Henry's third wife. It's a rich period of history, dramatised many times (but arguably most famously in the play and film A Man For All Seasons, which focuses on More). The Tudors, due to its wider scope, has the ability and freedom to take this story and integrate it into a wider dramatisation of Henry VIII's entire reign, which has positive and negative consequences. Negatively, this is arguably the heart of Henry VIII's story and what comes after cannot help but be anticlimactic in comparison (though the producers of the show certainly give it a go). On the plus side the great time afforded the story by a television series means that the show can do some very interesting things, like devoting the entire final episode of the season to the hours leading up to Anne's execution, a move which succeeds splendidly and gives us what may be the best episode of the series.

A noticeable gap in the cast is that of Sam Neill, whose character of Cardinal Wolsey died at the end of the first season. The less-well-known James Frain has to step up as his effective replacement, the ruthless reformer Thomas Cromwell, and does an excellent job. The show also brings in the legendary Peter O'Toole as Pope Paul III, mainly to show the reactions to Henry's policies in Rome. This is a bit of an odd move, as this storyline never really goes anywhere. The Pope commands King Francis I of France to invade England, an ominous development which is subsequently ignored, and is later shown having frustrated episodes over the work of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Amusing, but it forms a digression that might have been better spent in England fleshing out the existing, more prominent characters. O'Toole is, of course, brilliant, but his presence in this role does feel a little bit of a waste of a major casting coup.

Natalie Dormer continues doing excellent work as Anne Boleyn, and has the difficult task of portraying the queen's descent into paranoia as she suffers miscarriages and earns the king's enmity. The show adopts a sympathetic approach to the queen, showing her to be distressed by her inability to bear the king a living son and innocent of the charges brought against her (though heavily indicating that she may have been promiscuous as a youth before meeting the king). Jeremy Northam also does good work as Sir Thomas More, the man of conscience and integrity who tries to balance his belief in his faith with his love for the king and dies for it.

In the central role of Henry VIII, Jonathan Rhys Meyers shows early signs of improvement over his inert Season 1 performance. This may be attributable to his decision to 'do a Riker' and grow a beard between seasons. Unfortunately, the beard is rather unimpressive (a quarter-Riker at best) and his performance soon returns to a binary state of either being coldly inscrutable or insanely furious. Scenes which require him to smile or be jovial feel forced and unconvincing, and the less said about the spontaneous way he meets and immediately falls in love with Jane Seymour the better. The whole storyline with Jane Seymour is rather badly handled, with the show deviating even further than it normally does from history (Jane had been at court for a year before Henry and Anne even married) and treating the relationship rather tritely, despite Anita Briem's best efforts with the material.

On the plus side, Henry Cavill improves significantly this season as the king's best friend, Charles Brandon. He shows Brandon's growing maturity as he casts aside his philandering ways to concentrate on his family life, in contrast to Henry's constant flitting between mistresses, and also his growing spiritual crisis of faith at the things he has to do in the name of the Reformation. This is a theme that continues into the third season.

Overall, the second season of The Tudors (***½) is much as the first: it's tosh but watchable tosh which gets a lot of the details of the history wrong but does succeed in nailing the broader picture. However, the second season is elevated over the first by the richer, more dramatic events being depicted and some improvements in both writing and acting. It is available now on DVD (UK, USA) and Blu-Ray (UK, USA).

The Tudors: Season 1

England, 1519. King Henry VIII rules England and is beloved by his people. His wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon, is popular and the king's chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, is able and formidable in administering the country and defeating plots against the throne. Another of Henry's advisors is Sir Thomas More, a man of great conscience and integrity whose respect and friendship the king values.

However, it is a difficult time in Europe. The Lutheran heresy is raging unchecked in Germany and the Pope is unable to defeat it. King Francis I of France and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V are engaged in a deadly rivalry, both hoping to enlist England as an ally. With his queen - the Emperor's aunt - apparently unable to bear him a son, Henry also begins movements towards a divorce. When he falls in love with the beautiful Anne Boleyn, this matter becomes pressing and threatens a breakdown of relations with Rome.

The Tudors is a television drama produced by the Showtime network and based on the life on Henry VIII, focusing on his relationships with his six wives and the political and religious turmoil that resulted. The first season covers a period of roughly eleven years, running from the accession of Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor (in 1519) to the death of Cardinal Wolsey (in 1530). However, real historical events are compressed, combined or moved around in the timeline to read better as part of the drama. The contentious marriage of Charles Brandon to Henry's sister Mary Tudor (slightly confusingly changed to Margaret in the TV series) happened in 1515, but is moved to later on to create an interesting mid-season subplot, for example.

The Tudors plays fast-and-loose with the details of real history, but like HBO's Rome before it, the show does succeed in getting across the events and complications of the period. The complexities of Henry's relationships with fellow European rulers and the Pope are recounted well, as is the seething tension within the English court. As a very rough introduction to the history of the period, The Tudors works, though those interested in the real events are referred to the many history books about the time.

As drama and narrative, The Tudors is something of a mixed bag. The script is inclined towards the expositionary, with surprisingly little incidental flavour, and what there is is often questionable: a scene showing Henry VIII composing 'Greensleeves' is amusing but also cheesy and highly inaccurate (Henry VIII definitely did not write the music to the song and his authorship of the lyrics is questionable, at best). One of the strongest episodes in the season is the one where England is ravaged by disease, as it shows how Tudor England coped with such disasters and features more incidental scenes of life amongst the common folk than other episodes.

The acting is mostly good, with the likes of Nick Dunning (Sir Thomas Boleyn) and Henzy Czerny (the Duke of Norfolk) providing able support. Henry Cavill (Charles Brandon and, more recently, the latest actor to play Superman) is good as one of Henry's few true friends, though he arguably may have made a better Henry VIII himself. Maria Doyle Kennedy gives an excellent performance as Catherine of Aragorn, mixing palpable fear and worry over not being able to give the king an heir with pride and anger at the thought of being set aside. Natalie Dormer is given the hard job of portraying Anne Boleyn, the woman a king plunged a nation into anarchy for, and almost pulls it off. She is hamstrung by the indifferent script, especially as the story skips large chunks of their courtship and the precise reasons for the king's fascination with her are left somewhat ambiguous: in the TV show she simply appears to play hard to get, fascinating the king who normally just has to nod his head to get a woman into bed with him. Given their seven-year courtship and the intensity of Henry's feelings towards her, this feels rather inadequate as an explanation.

Central to this first season is Sam Neill, who plays Cardinal Wolsey with just the right mix of intelligence, political scheming and ruthless anger. Wolsey is presented as something of an antagonistic figure, but he is also shown to be a caring family man (Wolsey had a wife and two children) and to be utterly devoted to the king. As Wolsey repeatedly fails to get the annulment Henry wants, he becomes more desperate and Neill portrays Wolsey's descent with passion and intensity. Neill is possibly the highlight of the first season. Jeremy Northam also gives an excellent performance as Sir Thomas More, highlighting both More's well-known piety, intelligence and integrity but also his darker side, such as his commitment to burning heretics and Protestants at the stake.

Where the series falters - and it's quite a big misstep - is the casting of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers in the central role of Henry VIII. Eight years prior to The Tudors, Rhys-Meyers had played the coldly cunning role of Steerpike in the BBC's adaptation of Gormenghast, and bizarrely he seems to be playing Henry VIII in much the same manner. The real Henry VIII is noted for his charisma and vivaciousness, his force of personality sweeping up those around him. Whilst Rhys-Meyers certainly nails the king's intelligence, confidence and raging temper when thwarted, his performance is also often cold, desperate and occasionally whiny. I can understand the idea of subverting the traditional image of the fat, middle-aged Henry VIII by showing him as a young man in the prime of life, but Rhys-Meyers simply fails to get across the complexities of the real historical figure.

Fortunately, this is not quite as disastrous as it might be supposed: The Tudors may be about Henry VIII, but the series follows those around him more than the monarch himself, and the emphasis is on the court and period as a whole rather than on the one man by himself.

From a technical viewpoint, the series is well-directed. The use of CGI to flesh out the castles and stately homes of England is interesting and rather ahead of its time (and makes up for the fact that the show was filmed in Ireland, with limited or no access to some of the real locations portrayed in the series), though also sometimes distracting. Early in the season we have relatively brief camera shots of locations that try not to dwell on their computer-generated nature. Later in the season we have rather distracting rapid camera movements and broad shots of locations which are clearly CGI and artificial (and whilst the CGI is good for 2007 and the show's limited budget, it's still not great), creating a bit of a dissonance once we switch to the live-action scenes.

The first season of The Tudors (***) is flashy, fun and enjoyable but also lightweight. The lack of historical accuracy is not a major problem - the show at least portrays the real events, if not always in the right order or with the correct details - though the uncharismatic performance of the lead actor and a sometimes indifferent and flavourless script certainly are. Luckily, most of the other actors are excellent and as a rough introduction to the time period and events, the show does work. It is available now on DVD (UK, USA) and Blu-Ray (UK, USA).