BBC AMERICA'S NEW ORIGINAL SEVEN-PART MINI-SERIES "JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL" PREMIERES JUNE 13

Based on the bestselling novel by Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell dazzle as they restore magic in England

New York - May 6, 2015 - BBC AMERICA's new original mini-series, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, is set during the Napoleonic Wars in an England where magic once existed and is about to return. So begins a dangerous battle between two great men. Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan, The World's End), Olivier award-winning Bertie Carvel (Restless, Matilda), Charlotte Riley (Wuthering Heights, Easy Virtue) and Alice Englert (Ginger & Rosa, Beautiful Creatures) star in the seven-part mini-series, which has been adapted from Susanna Clarke's bestselling novel by Peter Harness (Wallander, Doctor Who) and directed by Toby Haynes (Sherlock, Doctor Who). Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell premieres Saturday, June 13, 10:00pm ET on BBC AMERICA.

1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. However, scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains - the reclusive and skillful Mr Norrell (Marsan). His displays of magic soon thrill the nation. In London, he raises the beautiful Lady Pole (Englert) from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French.

Soon the cautious and fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange (Carvel). While trying to secure his beloved Arabella's (Riley) hand in marriage, he meets a vagabond, the magician of Threadneedle Street, Vinculus (Paul Kaye, Game of Thrones, Stella), who tells him he is destined to be a great magician. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. A dangerous battle ensues between the two great men. Their obsessions and secret dabbling's with the dark arts will cause more trouble than they can imagine.

The cast includes Marc Warren (The Good Wife, Hustle) as The Gentleman, Samuel West (Mr Selfridge, Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond) as Sir Walter Pole, Enzo Cilenti (Prisoners Wives, Rome) as Childermass and Ariyon Bakare (The Dark Knight, Dancing on the Edge) as Stephen Black.

The producer is Nick Hirschkorn (Five Children and It) and the series is produced by Cuba Pictures Limited in association with Feel Films for BBC and co-produced with BBC AMERICA in association with Attraction Images for Bell Media, Far Moor Productions Ltd and Screen Yorkshire. The series was filmed in Yorkshire, Canada and Croatia.

Executive producers are Nick Marston, Dixie Linder and Tally Garner for Cuba Pictures, Justin Thomson-Glover and Patrick Irwin for Far Moor, Matthew Read for the BBC and Toby Haynes.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is part of BBC AMERICA's drama slate which includes original series Broadchurch, Orphan Black, Luther and Ripper Street as well as new series London Spy and The Last Kingdom.

BBC AMERICA delivers U.S. audiences high-quality, innovative and intelligent programming. Established in 1998, it has been the launch pad for talent embraced by American mainstream pop culture, including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, Graham Norton, and successful programming formats including ground-breaking non-scripted television like Top Gear and top-rated science-fiction like Doctor Who. A joint venture between BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, and AMC Networks, BBC AMERICA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including four Emmy(R) Awards, five Golden Globes(R) and 12 Peabody Awards. The channel attracts one of cable's most affluent and educated audiences and is available on cable and satellite TV in nearly 80 million homes. It broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, with content available On Demand across all major digital platforms. Online, www.BBCAmerica.com is the place to go to dig deeper into pop culture with a British twist.