His Dark Materials (TV series)
His Dark Materials is a fantasy drama television series based on the trilogy of novels by Philip Pullman. It is produced by Bad Wolf and New Line Productions, for BBC One and HBO, with the latter handling international distribution.[1] The show follows the orphan Lyra as she searches for a missing friend and discovers a kidnapping plot related to an invisible cosmic substance called Dust.
His Dark Materials
- Dafne Keen
- Ruth Wilson
- Anne-Marie Duff
- Clarke Peters
- James Cosmo
- Ariyon Bakare
- Will Keen
- Lucian Msamati
- Gary Lewis
- Lewin Lloyd
- Daniel Frogson
- James McAvoy
- Georgina Campbell
- Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Ruta Gedmintas
- Lia Williams
- Amir Wilson
- Nina Sosanya
- Jade Anouka
- Sean Gilder
- Simone Kirby
- Andrew Scott
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
- Jonathan Aris
- Chipo Chung
- Simon Harrison
- Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Jamie Ward
- Amber Fitzgerald-Woolfe
- Sian Clifford
- Alex Hassell
- United Kingdom
- United States
English
3
23 (list of episodes)
- Jane Tranter
- Dan McCulloch
- Otto Bathurst
- Carolyn Blackwood
- Joel Collins
- Toby Emmerich
- Deborah Forte
- Julie Gardner
- Tom Hooper
- Ben Irving
- Philip Pullman
- Ryan Rasmussen
- Jack Thorne
Laurie Borg
Justin Brown
- Niven Howie
- Nick Arthurs
- Dan Roberts
- Chris Gill
- David Fisher
47–59 minutes
3 November 2019 –
18 December 2022[a]
The eight-episode first series premiered on 3 November 2019 on BBC One in the United Kingdom, and on 4 November on HBO in the United States and other markets. The seven-episode second series premiered on 8 November 2020 in the UK, and on 16 November 2020 in the US. The eight-episode third and final series premiered first on HBO on 5 December 2022, and on 18 December 2022 in the UK. All three series received generally positive reviews, with praise going towards its cast, visuals, production values, musical score and its faithfulness to the source material.
Premise[edit]
His Dark Materials is set in a multi-world reality, with the action moving from one world to another. The series is based on Philip Pullman's trilogy of the same name, and set in an alternative world where all humans' souls manifest as animal companions called daemons. It follows the life of a young girl named Lyra, an orphan living with the scholars at Jordan College, Oxford, in a world governed by the Magisterium, a religious and political body. Lyra discovers a dangerous secret that involves Lord Asriel and Marisa Coulter, and is the subject of a witches' prophecy that she will change the world. In her search for a missing friend, Lyra also uncovers a series of kidnappings and a link to a mysterious substance called Dust, which leads her on a journey of epic proportions and ultimately to other worlds. The witches' prophecy also links Lyra's destiny to Will Parry, a teenager from the conventional world, who is himself being pursued by figures connected to his long-lost father.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
The three His Dark Materials novels, written by Philip Pullman from 1995 to 2000, achieved critical and commercial success and were adapted into a 2007 feature film, The Golden Compass. The film was criticised by both religious organisations, who objected to the story's anti-religious elements, as well as by fans of the trilogy who disliked the dilution of these elements. Despite earning $372 million worldwide, the film underperformed at the box office in North America, making any sequels unlikely.[41]
After several years, the rights reverted to Pullman. In November 2015, BBC One announced that it had commissioned a television adaptation of the trilogy, to be produced by Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema.[42] The eight-part[43] adaptation had a planned premiere date in 2017. In April 2017 writer Jack Thorne told Radio Times that the series was still in pre-production. He said, "It's at an exciting point where we're just throwing things at the page and trying to work out what works and what doesn't", and that he wanted to ensure that they were being loyal to the books.[44] Director Otto Bathurst explained that some elements of the book and film had been changed to give the series a more modern feel, compared to the original's Victoriana fantasy.[45]
On 12 September 2018, HBO was announced as the co-producer and international distributor of the series.[46] On 10 October 2018, Miranda reported that he had wrapped up filming for his role.[47] On 14 December 2018, it was announced that filming for the first series was complete.[48]
Before the series premiered, it was renewed for a second series of eight episodes, primarily adapting the second book in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife.[49] Filming of the second series began before the premiere of the first, which was considered "a necessary move considering the age of the show's young star".[50] While filming for series 2 was mostly completed before the COVID-19 pandemic, a standalone episode focusing on Lord Asriel was left unfinished. As a consequence the series ultimately only consisted of seven episodes.[51] Although McAvoy completed a small amount of filming before production was shut down,[52] his appearance in the second series's final episode was filmed during the pandemic, repurposed from material written for the abandoned episode.[53]
By November 2020, work had begun on six of eight scripts for a third series adapting The Amber Spyglass. The commission was confirmed in December 2020, for a series of eight episodes,[4][54] and production began in early 2021.[52] Filming for the third series took place between 24 May and 31 October 2021.[55]
Release[edit]
On 24 July 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere in the fourth quarter of 2019 in the UK and the US.[67][68][69] On 12 September 2019, sources revealed that the series was set to premiere on 3 November 2019 on BBC One and the following night on HBO.[70] In New Zealand, the series is broadcast by Sky TV and is available on streaming service Neon. The series began on 5 November 2019.[71][72] In Australia, the series is distributed by the cable and satellite television company Foxtel through their HBO output deal.[73]
The second series premiered on 8 November 2020 in the UK, and on 16 November 2020 in the US.[74][75][76] The third series premiered on HBO on 5 December 2022,[18] and premiered in the UK on 18 December 2022, with the series being released in full on BBC iPlayer, and airing weekly on BBC One.[19]