Watch the trailer for epic new BBC period drama ‘The Luminaries’
The BBC has released the first trailer for The Luminaries.
Adapted by novelist Eleanor Catton from her Man Booker prize-winning novel, the epic 19th century adventure mystery series begins in the UK this weekend.
The Luminaries is set on the wild West coast of New Zealand’s South Island at the height of the 1860s gold rush.
The new six-part period drama series is described as “an intricately woven, suspenseful tale of love, murder, magic, and revenge.”
Watch the trailer:
Episode 1 premieres in the UK at 9pm on Sunday 21st June on BBC One.
The cast includes Eva Green (Penny Dreadful), Eve Hewson (Robin Hood, Bridge of Spies), Marton Csokas (Lord of the Rings), Himesh Patel (EastEnders), Benedict Hardie (Hacksaw Ridge), Yoson An (Mulan), and Ewen Leslie (Top of the Lake).
The official synopsis reads: “The story begins in 1865. Anna Wetherell (Eve Hewson) has travelled to New Zealand to forge a new life. On the last day of her voyage, a romantic first encounter with the radiant Emery Staines (Himesh Patel) fills her with great expectations for what lies ahead. But the scheming fortune-teller Lydia Wells (Eva Green) has other ideas for Anna, and lays a trap to ensure that the planned rendezvous between the young lovers never takes place.
“Deceived, swindled, and betrayed, Anna’s fortunes begin to fall. She is drawn into an elaborate plot of blackmail, involving opium, gold, shipwreck, fraud, and false identity, which ultimately finds her framed for murder and fighting for her life.
“But the bond between these star-crossed lovers is more than mere affinity. Anna and Emery are what is known as ‘astral twins’: they were born at the very same instant, and under the very same sky, which means that they share a single destiny.
“When Emery vanishes without a trace, leaving Anna without an alibi for a murder she did not commit, the noose of the plot begins to tighten around her. Faced with the impossible, she must ask: do we make our fortunes, or does fortune make us?”
The Luminaries launched last month in New Zealand on TVNZ 1.
A broadcaster in the US hasn’t yet been announced.
Eleanor Catton’s original novel is available on Amazon.