Katana VentraIP

The Winter King (TV series)

The Winter King is a British historical fiction television series based on Bernard Cornwell's trilogy of novels The Warlord Chronicles,[1] starring Iain De Caestecker as Arthur Pendragon. The series premiered on MGM+ in the United States on 20 August 2023 and on ITVX in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2023.[2]

The Winter King

The Warlord Chronicles
by Bernard Cornwell

United Kingdom

English

1

10

  • Jane Tranter
  • Lachlan MacKinnon
  • Julie Gardner
  • Otto Bathurst
  • Toby Leslie
  • Kate Brooke
  • Ed Whitmore
  • Sherry Marsh
  • Shelley Browning
  • Kenneth L. Browning

Catrin Lewis Defis

50–60 minutes

20 August 2023 (2023-08-20) –
present

Premise[edit]

The series acts as a retelling of the Arthurian legends and takes place in Post-Roman Dark Age Britain, where the warlord Arthur Pendragon has been banished while Saxons invade and a child-king sits unprotected on the throne.

as Arthur Pendragon, the illegitimate son of King Uther, an exiled warlord who returns to Britain.[3]

Iain De Caestecker

Stuart Campbell as , a Saxon warrior and disciple of Arthur. Though he sees Arthur's flaws, he recognizes greatness and knows that Arthur is the only hope for Britain.[4] Jordan Dark portrays a young Derfel.

Derfel Cadarn

Ellie James as , a pagan priestess at Avalon who was saved by Merlin and claims to see the Gods.[5] Lucy Allix portrays a young Nimue.

Nimue

Steven Elder as Bedwin, the Bishop of , advisor to the king of Dumnonia and one of Mordred's three protectors.[6]

Caer Cadarn

as Morgan, Arthur's half-sister and another bastard child of King Uther. She is a sharp-tongued and independent-minded pagan and student of Merlin.[5]

Valene Kane

as Gundleus, king of the Dumnonia's rival kingdom Siluria and one of Mordred's three protectors. Imposing and savage, Gundleus is prepared to slaughter whoever he needs to secure power.[5]

Simon Merrells

as Sagramor, a fierce Numidian from Africa Nova and veteran of the old Roman army who has followed Arthur to Britain after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.[7]

Ken Nwosu

Olumide Olorunfemi as Lunete, a close friend of Derfel and Nimue.

as Cadwys, the warrior-king of Isca.[6]

Billy Postlethwaite

as Owain, the champion of Dumnonia who is an experienced but dishonest veteran warrior and one of Mordred's three protectors.[8]

Daniel Ings

as Merlin, a politician, powerful, enlightened, and absolute. Fearless in the face of a King’s wrath, he follows his connection to his Gods in all things.[5]

Nathaniel Martello-White

Tatjana Nardone as Ladwys, a pagan warrior and Gundleus' lover.

[6]

as Uther, High King of all Dumnonia. Old and battle-tested, he commands incredible authority, over almost all, bar Merlin.[5]

Eddie Marsan

as Sansum, loosely based on the Cornish saint Samson of Dol, a Catholic priest and later a Bishop. He is described as unsympathetic and intriguing.[9]

Andrew Gower

Matt Mella as Lanval, a proud warrior sworn to Arthur.

[a]

as Gorfydd, the ruthless king of Powys.[6]

Aneirin Hughes

Gabriel Tierney as Tristan, prince of Kernow and edling to its throne.

[b]

as Guinevere, Ceinwyn's closest friend and Arthur's future wife. She is a strong, thoughtful & independent woman who seeks control over her destiny.[10]

Jordan Alexandra

Emily John as Ceinwyn, Gorfydd's daughter and the princess of Powys.

[6]

as Aelle, king of the Saxons

Craig Parkinson

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

On 22 April 2022, Sony Pictures Television announced that their recently acquired production company Bad Wolf were adapting The Winter King, the first book in Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Trilogy, into a 10-part series for British television.[12] The series was developed for television by Kate Brooke and Ed Whitmore, premiering in 2023[13] on ITVX, the upcoming streaming platform from U.K. broadcaster ITV[14] Other writers include Nessah Muthy.[15] Lachlan Mackinnon and Catrin Lewis Defis is producing.[16] American cable network MGM+ was at one point adapting The Warlord Trilogy with Bad Wolf but is no longer involved.[17][18] Otto Bathurst will be the lead director,[19] with additional episodes directed by Farren Blackburn.

Filming[edit]

Aske Alexander Foss will serve as lead Director of Photography shooting blocks 1 & 3 with Stephan Pehrsson shooting block 2. The series will shoot in Wales and the West Country in the second half of 2022. In July 2022, the Tropiquaria Zoo in Watchet, Somerset was used as a base for filming within a 5 mi (8.0 km) radius of the Watchet wildlife park and aquarium.[20] A set has been built next to a former Wye Valley quarry[21] near Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales.[22][23]


This drama will also be filmed in Bristol on a temporary film set with a fortified encampment at Patchway Studios off Highwood Road in Patchway Trading Estate. The set will mainly be a ‘rocky canyon’ structure made up of prefabricated polyurethane foam panels on scaffolding. The filming operation would vary between 70 and 150 cast and crew across 70 days between July 2022 and January 2023.[24] The series is supported by The Bristol Film Office.[25]


On 15 September 2022, filming took place in Wiltshire and near Bradford on Avon in South West England.[26] Local Bristol media reported on 30 September that parts of the Blaise Castle Estate in Henbury have been cordoned off as a filming location for this television drama. A specific area of Blaise Castle grounds have been transformed into a village with sets being built.[27][28] On 11 October 2022, the filming moved to The Brabazon Hangars/Filton Airfield north of Bristol.[29]

Reception[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Winter King holds an approval rating of 82% based on 11 critic reviews. The critics consensus reads: "Action-packed and sprawling in scope, The Winter King compensates for its lack of fidelity to Bernard Cornwell's books with sheer entertainment value."[30] Metacritic assigned the series a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on seven critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[31]

at IMDb

The Winter King