His Dark Materials (TV series)



His Dark Materials is a television fantasy series based on the novel series of the same name by Philip Pullman. It is produced by BBC Studios, New Line Cinema and Bad Wolf for BBC One and HBO, with the latter handling international distribution.

The eight-episode 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. Before the series premiered, His Dark Materials was renewed for a second series of eight episodes.

Premise
His Dark Materials is set in an alternative world where all humans have animal companions called daemons, which are the manifestation of the human soul. The series follows the life of young girl named Lyra (Dafne Keen) who is an orphan living with the scholars at Jordan College, Oxford. As in Pullman's novel, Lyra discovers a dangerous secret that involves Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) and Marisa Coulter (Ruth Wilson). In her search for her missing friend, Lyra also uncovers a series of kidnappings and its link to the mysterious substance called Dust.

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.

Main

 * Dafne Keen as Lyra Belacqua
 * Ruth Wilson as Marisa Coulter
 * Anne-Marie Duff as Ma Costa
 * Clarke Peters as The Master / Dr. Carne
 * James Cosmo as Farder Coram
 * Ariyon Bakare as Lord Carlo Boreal
 * Will Keen as Father MacPhail
 * Lucian Msamati as John Faa
 * Gary Lewis as Thorold
 * Lewin Lloyd as Roger Parslow
 * Daniel Frogson as Tony Costa
 * James McAvoy as Lord Asriel Belacqua
 * Georgina Campbell as Adele Starminster

Recurring

 * Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby
 * Ruta Gedmintas as Serafina Pekkala
 * Tyler Howitt as Billy Costa
 * Simon Manyonda as Benjamin De Ruyter
 * Mat Fraser as Raymond Van Gerrit
 * Geoff Bell as Jack Verhoeven
 * Ian Gelder as Librarian Scholar Charles
 * Patrick Godfrey as Butler
 * Philip Goldacre as Sub-Rector
 * Richard Cunningham as Chaplain
 * Morfydd Clark as Sister Clara
 * Ian Peck as Cardinal Sturrock
 * David Langham as Father Garret
 * Ray Fearon as Mr. Hanway
 * Omid Djalili as Dr. Lanselius

Voice cast

 * Helen McCrory as Stelmaria
 * David Suchet as Kaisa
 * Cristela Alonzo as Hester
 * Kit Connor as Pantalaimon
 * Eloise Little as Salcilia
 * Phoebe Scholfield as Alicia
 * Libby Rodliffe as Lyuba
 * Brian Fisher as the Golden Monkey
 * Joe Tandberg as Iorek Byrnison

Development
The three His Dark Materials novels, written by Philip Pullman from 1995 to 2000, achieved success in young adult fiction, leading to the development of a 2007 feature film, The Golden Compass. The film received criticism from fans of the trilogy for the dilution of elements of the story that were critical of religion, as well as from some religious organisations for the source material's perceived anti-religious themes. When the film was released, sequels that would have adapted the other two novels in the series became unlikely due to the backlash from religious groups and the film's disappointing reception, according to Pullman.

After several years in development hell, 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. The eight-part adaptation had a planned premiere date in 2017: however, 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.

On 12 September 2018, it was announced that HBO was boarding as co-producer and international distributor of the series. On 10 October 2018, Miranda reported that he had wrapped up filming for his role. On 14 December 2018, it was announced on Twitter that filming for the first series had wrapped. On 24 February 2019, it was confirmed the series would "premiere later this year."

Before the series premiered, His Dark Materials was renewed for a second series of eight episodes. Filming of the second season began even before the premiere because some of the actors were so young.

Casting
On 8 March 2018 it was announced that Dafne Keen had signed on to star in the series to play Lyra with director Tom Hooper signed on to direct. Lin-Manuel Miranda would star as Lee Scoresby. On 8 June 2018, it was reported that James McAvoy, Clarke Peters, and Ruth Wilson had joined the cast.

On 27 July 2018, the BBC and Bad Wolf revealed the cast and crew for the series.

Release
On 24 July 2019, it was announced that the series will premiere in the fourth quarter of 2019 in the United Kingdom and the United States. 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.

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the series has an approval rating of 81% based on 69 critics, with an average rating of 7.59/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "The daemon is in the details and while His Dark Materials visual splendor and exceptional performances deftly capture the essence of Philip Pullman's seminal novels, it could use a little more magic." On Metacritic the series has a score of 66 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Dan Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "This His Dark Materials nails much of what makes the books pop and both the special effects and a star-studded cast led by Dafne Keen and Ruth Wilson are in fine form. What never fully worked for me in the four episodes, out of the eight-episode first season, sent to critics is the necessary feeling of narrative and thematic momentum. It's vastly better than the movie, but neither fun nor smart enough to quite succeed." Caroline Framke of Variety wrote: "Despite the rich complexities of the novel’s world of daemons, power-hungry players and warring faiths, HBO’s “His Dark Materials” feels like it could have been plucked from most any other fantasy epic out there."

Ben Lawrence of The Daily Telegraph gave the first episode 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a fine piece of drama, capturing the strangeness and childlike wonder of the books, but also their rigour and bite. This is intelligent populism writ large." Huw Fullerton of the Radio Times gave the first episode a positive review: "While there is a slight element of table-setting in the series' first hour the appeal of the actors and setting are beguiling enough to pull you through all the exposition and explanation." Fullerton praised Wilson for her performance, saying she "nearly walks away with the whole series".