It looks like HBO is going to keep banking on Kit Harington. On Tuesday, the cable network announced that it had acquired the rights to broadcast Gunpowder, a three-part miniseries produced and starring Harington. It’ll air the episodes from Monday to Wednesday starting on December 18 at 10:00 p.m. Here is the most recent trailer:
“Three years ago, Daniel West and I conceived and began developing Gunpowder with Kudos and Ronan Bennett,” Harington said. “We are now thrilled to share this unique story with the U.S. audience. I can’t think of a better place to do that than my home at HBO.”
The series follows the events of the infamous Gunpowder plot, a failed assassination attempt on the life of King James I. It stars Harington as Catholic political activist Robert Catesby (who is actually one of Harington’s ancestors), plus Tom Cullen (Downton Abbey), Liv Tyler (The Leftovers) and Thrones alumnus Mark Gatiss (Braavosi Iron banker Tycho Nestoris).
Robert Catesby was the mastermind behind the 1605 plot to detonate a mountain of explosives underneath the House of Lords while the king was in attendance. Catesby led a group of radicals that included Guy Fawkes (Cullen), who became the most famous member of the conspiracy.
A lot of American Game of Thrones fans have been chomping at the bit to find out when and where Gunpowder would air on this side of the pond after its BBC One British premiere on October 21. This is Harington’s third project with HBO (along with Thrones and his 2015 tennis mockumentary 7 Days in Hell) and the first co-production under his Thriker Films film company banner.
It’s fun to note that the third and final UK series installment airs on BBC One on November 4th, the eve of the traditional Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night festival that originally celebrated the failure of the plot and the king’s survival. The first episode of Gunpowder has caused a stir in England due to it’s graphic violence. It’ll be interesting to see how an American audience—and more specifically, an American Game of Thrones audience—might react.
Once Gunpowder airs on HBO, we’ll have an in-depth review of each episode for you right here on WiC!
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