Tom Hiddleston’s new Victorian drama ‘The Essex Serpent’ confirms start date
Apple TV has announced when their adaptation of The Essex Serpent will begin.
Based on Sarah Perry’s 2016 novel, the upcoming period drama mini-series is led by Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager) and Homeland star Claire Danes.
Perry’s novel of the same name has been adapted by Indian Summers writer Anna Symon, who previously penned the BBC’s hit 2018 drama Mrs Wilson.
The Essex Serpent commenced production in Essex, England early last year and we don’t have too much longer to wait!
From the producers of Netflix’s acclaimed The Power of the Dog, the series follows newly widowed Cora (Danes) who, having being released from an abusive marriage, relocates from Victorian London to the small village of Aldwinter in Essex, intrigued by a local superstition that a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent has returned to the area.
Watch the trailer:
Keira Knightley was originally set to play Cora, before Claire Danes (Romeo & Juliet) took over the role due to personal reasons.
Tom Hiddleston will play Will Ransome, the trusted leader of a small rural community.
It’s now been officially confirmed that The Essex Serpent will premiere exclusively on Apple TV+ around the world on Friday 13th May.
The official synopsis for the book reads: “London, 1893. When Cora Seaborne’s brilliant, domineering husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was an unhappy one, and she never suited the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space, she leaves the metropolis for coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive eleven-year-old son, Francis, and the boy’s nanny, Martha, her fiercely protective friend.
“Once there, they hear rumors that after nearly three hundred years, the mythical Essex Serpent, a fearsome creature that once roamed the marshes, has returned. When a young man is mysteriously killed on New Year’s Eve, the community’s dread transforms to terror. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, is immediately enthralled, certain that what locals think is a magical sea beast may be a previously undiscovered species.
“Eager to investigate, she is introduced to parish vicar William Ransome, who is equally suspicious of the rumors but for different reasons: a man of faith, he is convinced the alarming reports are caused by moral panic, a flight from the correct and righteous path. As Cora and William attempt to discover the truth about the Essex Serpent’s existence, these seeming opposites find themselves inexorably drawn together in an intense relationship that will change both of them in ways entirely unexpected. And as they search for answers, Cora’s London past follows her to the coast, with striking consequences.”
Sarah Perry’s novel The Essex Serpent is available on Amazon.