Happy Valley star teases 'brutal' period drama 'nobody has done before' streaming this month
He will be joined by one of the stars of Game of Thrones in the historical epic
One of the stars of hit series Happy Valley has teased a 'brutal' upcoming period drama that 'nobody has done before' ahead of its debut later this month.
King & Conqueror is expected to land on BBC iPlayer sometime in August. The new series will see Grantchester and Playing Nice actor James Norton take on the role of King Harold Godwinson.
Joining him is Games of Thrones alum Nikolaj Coster-Waldau playing his adversary William of Normandy. Norton has already been talking up the project and it seems that audiences will get to see something relatively unique.
According to the new drama's official synopsis, King & Conqueror is the story of a clash that defined the future of a country and a continent for a thousand years. The roots of which stretch back decades and extend out through a pair of interconnected family dynasties, struggling for power across two countries and a raging sea.
Harold of Wessex and William of Normandy were two men destined to meet at the Battle of Hastings in 1066; two allies with no design on the English throne, who found themselves forced by circumstance and personal obsession into a war for possession of its crown.
It's a project that has apparently been years in the making. The story, was something that Norton admits he wasn't originally completely aware of.
Speaking to The Guardian he said: "I wasn’t aware of the relationship Harold and William had before the battle, that they were friends and allies for many years before they realised that, because of the way Europe was being carved up, they would both inevitably end up on a battlefield – and one of them would have to die. It’s mad to think nobody has really done it before. And that’s one of the reasons we spent so long developing it."
Norton also spoke to publication Collider about the making of the show and how it is one of the first titles he is producing himself. He also went on to allay fears of some viewers that the show may take liberties with historical accuracy, as getting it right matters to him.
He explained: "We shot in Iceland. It’s a wonderful cast. A beautiful group of actors, a really lovely ensemble. Bálint Szentgyörgyi is at the helm, and it’s a deep dive into the history. An incredible amount of it is true, so we haven't had to veer really far off the actual truth and the drama and the sort of soap opera aspect to it. It is just incredible."
Continuing, he added: "It's the third project we've actually produced. We've made a movie called Rogue Agent, and we've had a TV show called Playing Nice...In terms of the reason why it's kind of come to fruition quickly is partly because I find it fascinating, and it's such an integral part of English history. In England, it's the first date we learn — 1066, Battle of Hastings.
"No one really knows much more about it than that, but it's one of the first things we learned so everyone has a relationship with it, including me. What's continued to propel us forward is the characters.
"It's this incredible gallery of really interesting characters, all real people from history. So, I'm not a history nut, but I've become more and more engaged with it."
King & Conqueror is streaming on BBC iPlayer this August.