It's a historical drama set in the 12th century in the fictional English town of Kingsbury. It follows the efforts to build a cathedral against the backdrop of the civil war between Maude, the daughter of Henry I, and her cousin, Stephen. The war occurs after the suspicious death of William, Henry I's heir, at sea and Henry I's suspicious death in 1135.
There are many characters. These include Tom (Rufus Sewell), a master builder, who envisions building the cathedral, and his son, Alfred (Liam Garrigan). There is Ellen (Natalia Wömer), a mysterious woman living in the forest, and the mother of Jack Jackson (Eddie Redmayne), a gifted artist. There is Philip (Matthew Macfadyen), the honest head of the monastery at Kingsbury. Waleran (Ian McShane) is the corrupt archdeacon on the make with his eye on eventually reaching Rome. The Earl of Shiring (Donald Sutherland) has a daughter, Aliena (Hayley Atwell), and a son Richard (Sam Claflin). They try to recover their land after Waleran manipulates its transfer to the Hamleigh family headed by Regan (Sarah Parish) and her evil son, William (David Oakes). And then there are the competitors for the throne--Stephen (Tony Curran) and Maude (Alison Pill). Gordon Pinsent has a minor role as the Archbishop of Canterbury.
As one would expect, there is much fighting and a fair bit of coupling. Unfortunately, the characters are not very nuanced; it's clear quite quickly who wears white hats and who are the evildoers. That said, as someone who likes dramas set in medieval times, I enjoyed the brisk pace of the action and the broad sweep of history portrayed in the mini-series.
There are many characters. These include Tom (Rufus Sewell), a master builder, who envisions building the cathedral, and his son, Alfred (Liam Garrigan). There is Ellen (Natalia Wömer), a mysterious woman living in the forest, and the mother of Jack Jackson (Eddie Redmayne), a gifted artist. There is Philip (Matthew Macfadyen), the honest head of the monastery at Kingsbury. Waleran (Ian McShane) is the corrupt archdeacon on the make with his eye on eventually reaching Rome. The Earl of Shiring (Donald Sutherland) has a daughter, Aliena (Hayley Atwell), and a son Richard (Sam Claflin). They try to recover their land after Waleran manipulates its transfer to the Hamleigh family headed by Regan (Sarah Parish) and her evil son, William (David Oakes). And then there are the competitors for the throne--Stephen (Tony Curran) and Maude (Alison Pill). Gordon Pinsent has a minor role as the Archbishop of Canterbury.
As one would expect, there is much fighting and a fair bit of coupling. Unfortunately, the characters are not very nuanced; it's clear quite quickly who wears white hats and who are the evildoers. That said, as someone who likes dramas set in medieval times, I enjoyed the brisk pace of the action and the broad sweep of history portrayed in the mini-series.