The Essex Serpent, starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston, now has a release date! The six-episode series—on Apple TV Plus—will follow Cora Seaborne (Danes) as she moves to a small Essex village after the death of her abusive husband. Cora, an amateur naturalist, will investigate claims of a sea serpent living in the water, while Reverend Will Ransome (Hiddleston) tries to quell rumors about the monster. The series has generated a lot of buzz after the runaway success of Hiddleston’s Loki, with fans excited to see him play “Hot Priest 2.0” (the original Hot Priest being, of course, the priest from Fleabag).
The Essex Serpent is an adaptation of the 2016 novel by Sarah Perry, which also focuses on Cora investigating the fabled serpent of the village of Aldwinter. The novel was a quiet success when it was released. Sales reached the hundreds of millions—based largely on word of mouth. The novel features lots of Victorian drama, with citizen paleontologists, mesmerism, tuberculosis, and English folklore all playing a part in the plot.
According to Variety, the series will begin streaming on May 13th, 2022, when the first two episodes will be released. And Apple TV also dropped a new image of Hiddleston and Danes, as Will and Cora, looking all stylish and moody. Seriously, can we have Danes’ coat?
The Apple TV Plus adaptation is directed by Clio Barnard, with Frank Dillane, Clémence Poésy, Hayley Squires, and Greta Bellamacina also starring. Keira Knightley was originally cast to play Cora, but had to drop out of the production due to childcare issues during the height of the Covid pandemic.
(Via Variety, featured image: Apple TV)
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