[08/17/15 - 08:04 AM] "The Last Kingdom" Premieres October 10 on BBC America Plus: get your first look at the eight-part drama series.
[via press release from BBC America]
"THE LAST KINGDOM" PREMIERES OCTOBER 10 ON BBC AMERICA
England is born in a new drama from the Emmy(R) Award and Golden Globe(R)-winning producers of Downton Abbey
New York - August 17, 2015 - BBC AMERICA's new original series, The Last Kingdom, is a contemporary story of redemption, vengeance and self-discovery set against the birth of England. The eight part drama series follows young warrior and outsider, Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon), on a fierce mission to reclaim his birthright. The Last Kingdom, from Emmy(R)-winning executive producers of Downton Abbey, Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant, is a Carnival Films co-production with BBC AMERICA for BBC Two and BBC AMERICA. The Last Kingdom premieres Saturday, October 10, 10:00pm ET on BBC AMERICA.
Eleven-year-old Uhtred was born a Saxon in 9th century Northumbria. He watches from a cliff top as invading Danish ships move toward his home, not knowing that his future will soon be turned upside-down. Young Uhtred witnesses his father killed and the Saxon army defeated. That same day he is taken by the Danish warlord, Earl Ragnar. His fellow captive is a feisty, sharp-tongued girl named Brida. The orphans are brought up in the Danish camp.
Fast forward and the two have formed a close personal bond as kindred spirits and lovers. Uhtred is now a valiant young man and warrior. But it isn't long before he's forced to endure yet another painful and disorienting twist of fate when a group of Danes deliberately set his home ablaze in a vengeful, personal attack - murdering his surrogate family (including Ragnar, who Uhtred saw as his true father). A bloody feud between rival Danes ensues. Caught in the middle, Uhtred finds himself exiled - neither Saxon nor Dane - alone in the world with only his fellow outcast, Brida (Emily Cox). Meanwhile, his inheritance and lands in Northumbria are taken by his scheming uncle, Aelfric. Enraged, Uhtred swears to avenge Ragnar and to reclaim his homeland. But his loyalties are ever tested as circumstances force him to choose between the country of his birth and the people of his upbringing. 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.
Alexander Dreymon (American Horror Story) heads up the international cast from eleven different countries. Emily Cox (The Silent Mountain) stars as Brida, David Dawson (Peaky Blinders) as King Alfred, Rune Temte (Eddie the Eagle) as Ubba, Matthew Macfadyen (Ripper Street) as Lord Uhtred, Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) as Ravn, Ian Hart (Boardwalk Empire) as Beocca, Tobias Santelmann (Point Break) as Ragnar the Younger, Peter Gantzler (Italian For Beginners) as Earl Ragnar, Adrian Bower (Mount Pleasant) as Leofric, Joseph Millson (Penny Dreadful) as Aelfric and Henning Valin Jakobsen (The Bridge) as Storri.
Adapted from Bernard Cornwell's best-selling series of books "The Saxon Stories," by BAFTA nominated and RTS award-winning writer Stephen Butchard, The Last Kingdom combines real historical figures and events with fiction, re-telling the history of King Alfred the Great and his desire to unite the many separate kingdoms into what would become England.
Gareth Neame, Nigel Marchant and Stephen Butchard are executive producers, with David O'Donoghue co-executive producing, and Nick Murphy co-executive producing and directing multiple episodes. Chrissy Skinns is producer. The Last Kingdom is a Carnival Films co-production with BBC AMERICA for BBC Two and BBC AMERICA. Carnival Films is part of NBCUniversal International Studios. The Last Kingdom will be distributed internationally by NBCUniversal International Distribution. The series was filmed in Hungary and the UK.
Uhtred Alexander Dreymon (American Horror Story)
Lord Uhtred Matthew Macfadyen (Ripper Street)
Alfred David Dawson (Peaky Blinders)
Beocca Ian Hart (Boardwalk Empire)
Brida Emily Cox (The Silent Mountain)
Earl Ragnar Peter Gantzler (Italian for Beginners)
Ragnar the Younger Tobias Santelmann (Point Break)
Ubba Rune Temte (Tatort)
Guthrum Thomas W. Gabrielsson (The Killing)
Odda the Elder Simon Kunz (Sherlock)
Odda the Younger Brian Vernel (The Casual Vacancy)
Aethelwold Harry McEntire (Episodes)
Leofric Adrian Bower (Mount Pleasant)
Ravn Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner)
Aelswith Eliza Butterworth (DCI Banks)
Aelfric Joseph Millson (Penny Dreadful)
Kjartan Alexandre Willaume (Rita)
Sven Ole Christoffer Ertvaag (The Heavy Water War)
Thyra Julia Bache-Wiig (Aquitted)
Storri Henning Valin (The Bridge)
King Edmund Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells)
King Aethelred Alec Newman (The Bastard Executioner)
Writer Stephen Butchard
Producer Chrissy Skinns
Director (Episodes 1 & 2) Nick Murphy
Director (Episodes 3 & 4) Anthony Byrne
Director (Episodes 5 & 6) Ben Chanan
Director (Episodes 7 & 8) Peter Hoar
Co-Executive Producer Nick Murphy
Co-Executive Producer David O'Donoghue
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.
Carnival Films, a division of NBCUniversal International Studios and the UK's largest drama specialist, is responsible for the global sensation Downton Abbey, winner of three Golden Globes and eleven Primetime Emmy awards. It is the most nominated non-U.S. show in the history of the Emmys with a total of 59 nominations and is now viewed in 250 territories worldwide. Downton Abbey is executive produced by Carnival's Managing Director Gareth Neame, who sold the production company to NBCUniversal in 2008. Carnival has produced many hundreds of hours of popular drama both in the UK and United States including primetime series such as Poirot, Hotel Babylon, Whitechapel, Dracula and The Philanthropist, as well as award-winning mini-series such as C4's iconic Traffik, David Nicholl's The 7:39, David Hare's Worricker Trilogy as well as William Boyd's BAFTA-winning Any Human Heart, and Peter Morgan's BAFTA-winning The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies. Carnival Film's latest series Stan Lee's Lucky Man is in production for Sky 1, along with the sixth series of Downton Abbey. Production on The Hollow Crown 2: War of the Roses, a co-production with Neal Street starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Judi Dench for BBC2 and PBS has just completed. Carnival Films has recently announced major new projects such as Frank Spotnitz and Nicholas Meyers' Freud, Bill Gallagher's Jamestown, Neil Cross's Bay of Plenty with Libertine Pictures, and Magnum with Magnum Photos.
