Epic is the word that will be bandied about whenever this series is mentioned. And rightly so, as there are sweeping vistas to be seen and the story is an age-old one. But will it be gripping enough to keep us hooked to our screens over the coming weeks?
Well, it certainly has a great pedigree which suggests it might.
The English is the brainchild of Hugo Blick, acclaimed screenwriter behind Sensitive Skin, The Shadow Line, The Honourable Woman and Black Earth Rising. This, however, is something of a departure for him – rather than having a contemporary setting, it’s a Western that takes place in 1890.
“I used to live in Montana, so saw the last vestiges of the West; I saw its good and its bad and knew I was going to tell a story about it and it took me a few years to work out what that was and The English is the result,” he reveals.
Emily Blunt plays aristocrat Lady Cornelia Locke, a woman on a mission – she wants to avenge the death of her son by killing the man she holds responsible. She enlists the help of ex-cavalry scout and Pawnee Nation member Eli Whipp (played by the Twilight franchise’s Chaske Spencer), little realising that they have a shared past.
They embark on a journey towards their destiny by heading for the new town of Hoxem, but their path is far from easy – along the way they face numerous terrifying obstacles that test them both.
And what happens when they reach their destination? Well, what we can say is that it involves the sheriff, a young widow and an investigation into a series of macabre unsolved murders.
Blunt says: “The English will resonate with a global audience no matter where they live because, don’t we all need that wide-screen epic adventure classic? I think we all look for that kind of escapism, to be swept away and kidnapped by a world, and this is that world.
“It’s an important story to tell because most of us go through life trying to figure out what our identity is. This is a story about identity, about reclaiming that for yourself. It’s about self-discovery, and I think everybody can identify with that. A lot of people have been through something traumatic, and valiantly stepped forward, and I think people will see themselves in these characters.”
Watch out for supporting performances from Toby Jones, Stephen Rea, Ciaran Hinds… and the Spanish countryside.
Spain doubles as Wyoming, and its bleakly beautiful landscape gives the whole project its epic feel. Thursday evenings in front of the telly may never be the same again…
The English (BBC Two, Thursday, 9pm)
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