– Thomas Cromwell Drama Returns –
by David Craig | Radio Times | October 29, 2024
The long-awaited conclusion to Tudor drama Wolf Hall finally has a premiere date on BBC One and iPlayer – and it’s very soon.
Based on the celebrated novels by late author Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall tells the story of pivotal moments from the reign of King Henry VIII (Damian Lewis), but follows from the perspective of his close advisor Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance).
In the first season, the story focused primarily on the enormous trouble caused by Henry breaking away from the Roman Catholic church, his pursuit of a divorce from first wife Catherine of Aragon (Joanne Whalley), and his attempt to conceive a son with Anne Boleyn (Claire Foy). The first season covered Mantel’s first two novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.
The second season will move on to adapt the final novel in Mantel’s trilogy – The Mirror and The Light – with the miniseries adopting its subtitle, and covers the last four years of Cromwell’s life.
Anyone familiar with Mantel’s books will know that there’s an awful lot of content to squeeze into six hours, but the teaming of screenwriter Peter Straughan (Conclave) with director Peter Kosminsky (The Undeclared War) worked well the first time.
Fans can judge their latest effort when Wolf Hall season 2 (aka Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light) arrives on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday, 10th November 2024 at 9:00 p.m. US release on PBS is March 23, 2025.
Speaking to Deadline earlier this month, Straughan said: “Peter [Kosminsky]’s done a fantastic job.
“It was a long time coming. Hilary took a while to write it, and then I took a long time to adapt it. But I love it.”
“It’s the kind of thing that’s increasingly difficult to get made in this day and age, and maybe only the BBC would make it.”
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light also stars Timothy Spall, who takes the Duke of Norfolk role previously held by the late Bernard Hill, plus Harriet Walter (Succession), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Artful Dodger) and Jonathan Pryce (Slow Horses).
Read the rest of the original article at Radio Times