The BBC has unveiled the first look at “Game of Thrones” actor Kit Harington in upcoming drama “Gunpowder,” a historical thriller also starring Liv Tyler. The broadcaster revealed the images and a special teaser Monday.
The three-part drama will air on BBC One in a primetime Saturday night slot this fall. The fast-paced period thriller relates the famous story of the “Gunpowder Plot,” a 17th-century conspiracy to blow up the British House of Lords in an attempt to assassinate King James I. The event is commemorated every Nov. 5 in Britain as Guy Fawkes Day, named after one of the conspirators.
Harington stars as Robert Catesby, a Warwickshire gentleman who masterminded the plan. Tyler plays Catesby’s cousin Anne Vaux, who gets caught up in the plot. “Downton Abbey” actor Tom Cullen plays Guy Fawkes. The cast also includes Peter Mullan, Edward Holcroft, Shaun Dooley, Robert Emms, Derek Riddell and Mark Gatiss.
The teaser follows a trail of gunpowder into a cellar where Cullen’s Fawkes sits, apparently alone, until the camera pans to reveal Harington behind him. Narrated by Harington’s character, it describes his current situation and outlines his plan to kill the king and destroy Parliament, the seat of British government.
“Gunpowder” follows Catesby and his fellow conspirators as well as Robert Cecil (Gatiss), the king’s spymaster-in-chief, whose network of informants pursued the plotters in a game of cat and mouse. The period piece is written by Ronan Bennett (“Public Enemies”) and directed by J. Blakeson (“The 5th Wave”). It was developed by Bennett, Harington and Daniel West.
It is a Kudos production for BBC One in association with Harington’s Thriker Films. Ollie Madden serves as executive producer for Kudos alongside Matthew Read for the BBC. Harington and West are co-executive producers for Thriker. Laurie Borg is the producer.
