Wonderful news for North American fans of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: the seven-part BBC One series has been acquired by both BBC America and Canada’s Space channel, which means that the highly anticipated adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s novel will be coming soon(ish) to small screens near you! The series, set in England during the Napoleonic Wars, will be filmed in Quebec with director Toby Haynes (who has also worked on Sherlock and Doctor Who) at the helm, and BBC America has already announced plans to air Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell as part of its Supernatural Saturday programming. Production is slated to begin this summer, and still no word on casting, but we have plenty of suggestions to tide you over, in the meantime: who do you want to see playing your favorite rival magicians?
Very exciting. This will be a fantastic series if they don’t stray too far from the story. Loved the book and can’t wait to see it come to life!
I loved that book. I am not sure I want to see it solidified from my imagination. :) But cool idea, anyway.
This is awesome. This is the ultimate books that’s structured way more like a TV show than a movie.
How much of the book are they planning on doing in the first season? Surely not the whole thing…?
I wish David Bowie could still play the Thistle-Haired Gentleman. I have always been convinced that that character was clearly based on the Goblin King, and it would be fun to see him reprise the role.
I just started reading this recently, looking forward to the TV show.
Does the BBC really have the budget for the Special Effects required to attractively portray the magic in the novel? From what I’ve seen, they really don’t.
I want to know who they’ll pick for playing Stephen Black. That’s the sort of role that’s going to require someone who can do an impressive amount of complex emoting, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the results. (Paterson Joseph remains my first pick, but I really don’t know enough about the available actors to have strong opinions there. Beyond “He’d better be good.”)
But the footnotes! What about the footnotes?
This is a very problematic story to adapt to the screen. If they follow the pacing set by the novel at all we will not meet Johnathan Strange until probably the end of the second episode. I think the general population will have a very hard time either switching from thinking of John Segundus as the main character to Johnathan Strange, or they will be completely put off by the Segundus – Norell relationship, not to mention the early Strange – Norell relationship.
I guess by making the whole thing as a one-shot it doesn’t matter if viewers are lost through the problematic beginning of the story, as production and sale will already be completed.
It will be interesting to see if they skip ahead to meeting Johnathan Strange more quickly than the pace of the novel.
Here is my ideal cast for the series, when it gets made.
Jonathan Strange: Either Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, or Michael Fassbender. Ben is the best choice, however he will likely be busy filming Sherlock for the next few months.
Mr. Norrell: Anthony Hopkins or John Hurt. Yes A.H.is getting older but I honestly think he would be perfect for the part. John Hurt would also be fantastic :D
The Man with the Thistledown Hair: David Tennant. I mean, come on, is there really any competition there?
Drawlight: Paul Bettany. He’s good as a kind of sketchy-villany type guy.
Arabella Strange: Michelle Ryan. She’s a lovely actress with the beauty to fit the part.
Miss Greysteel: Claire Foy
Dr. Greysteel: Honestly? I really want Sylvester McCoy to play him. He’s kinda cooky but he could do the part well, I believe.
Childermass: Gary Oldman. He’s just awesome, that’s why, and a brilliant actor.
Lady Pole: Carey Mulligan.
John Uskglass: Honestly? I’d love to see Clive Owen take the reigns on this character. I think it could turn out in a really interesting way.