The Hollow Crown (TV series)

*The Hollow Crown*
The Hollow Crown
	File:Hollow Crown Title Card.png
Genre	Historical drama
Starring	First Cycle; Ben Whishaw; Jeremy Irons; Tom Hiddleston; Second Cycle; Benedict Cumberbatch
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Rupert Ryle-Hodges
Running time	First Cycle; Richard II ; (142 minutes); Henry IV Part I ; (115 minutes); Henry IV. Part II ; (115 minutes); Henry V; (132 minutes); Second Cycle; Henry VI, Part I; (TBC); Henry VI, Part II; (TBC); Henry VI, Part III; (TBC); Richard III; (TBC)
Production companies	Neal Street Productions; NBCUniversal; WNET
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	30 June 2012;

The Hollow Crown is a series of British television films featuring William Shakespeare's History Plays. The first cycle is an adaptation of Shakespeare's second historical tetralogy, the Henriad: Richard II, Henry IV, Part I and Henry IV, Part II (treated as one film in two parts in the series) and Henry V.^[1] It starred Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons and Tom Hiddleston. Olivier Award winners, Rupert Goold, Richard Eyre and Thea Sharrock directed the telefilms.^[2] It was produced by Rupert Ryle-Hodges for BBC Two and was executive produced by Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris under Neal Street Productions in association with NBCUniversal. The first series aired in the United Kingdom in 2012.

The first series of films received positive reviews from critics. Ben Whishaw and Simon Russell Beale won British Academy Television Awards for Leading actor and Supporting actor for their performances. Jeremy Irons was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Actor for his role as Henry V. The first episode, Richard II, was nominated for the Best Single Drama at the BAFTAs.^[3]

In March 2014, the BBC set a tentative date of 2016 for the concluding cycle of The Hollow Crown. It will be produced by the same team that made the first series of films and will be directed by the former artistic director of Royal Court Theatre and Olivier Award winner, Dominic Cooke.^[4] It will be based on Shakespeare's first tetralogy: Henry VI, Part I, Henry VI, Part II, Henry VI, Part III and Richard III.^[5] In April 2014, BBC Two announced that Benedict Cumberbatch will play King Richard III which marks the actor's return to the network after the success of Parade's End in 2012.^[6] ^[7]

Cast and crew

The Hollow Crown I

From left to right: Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V

Film	Cast	Director
Richard II	Ben Whishaw as King Richard II Rory Kinnear as Bolingbroke Clémence Poésy as Queen Isabella\Anne David Suchet as Duke of York David Morrissey as Northumberland Patrick Stewart as John of Gaunt James Purefoy as Mowbray	Rupert Goold
Henry IV, Part I	Jeremy Irons as King Henry IV Tom Hiddleston as Prince Hal Simon Russell Beale as Falstaff Julie Walters as Mistress Quickly Alun Armstrong as Northumberland David Hayman as Earl of Worcester Joe Armstrong as Hotspur	Richard Eyre
Henry IV, Part II	Jeremy Irons as King Henry IV Tom Hiddleston as Prince Hal Simon Russell Beale as Falstaff Julie Walters as Mistress Quickly Alun Armstrong as Northumberland	Richard Eyre
Henry V	Tom Hiddleston as King Henry V Mélanie Thierry as Princess Katherine Richard Griffiths as Duke of Burgundy Julie Walters as Mistress Quickly John Hurt as The Chorus Lambert Wilson as French King Geraldine Chaplin as Alice Edward Akrout as Louis the Dauphin	Thea Sharrock

The Hollow Crown II

Film	Cast	Director
Henry VI, Part I	TBC	Dominic Cooke
Henry VI, Part II	TBC	Dominic Cooke
Henry VI, Part III	TBC	Dominic Cooke
Richard III	Benedict Cumberbatch as King Richard III	Dominic Cooke

Production

The Hollow Crown I

The BBC scheduled the screening of Shakespeare's history plays as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, a celebration of British culture coinciding with the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[8] Sam Mendes signed up as executive producer to adapt all four plays in September 2010.^[9] He is joined as executive producer by Pippa Harris (both representing Neal Street Productions), Rupert Ryle-Hodges as producer, Gareth Neame (NBCUniversal), and Ben Stephenson (BBC).^[10]

The Hollow Crown II

The concluding cycle of films will be produced by the same team that made the first series. It will be directed by Dominic Cooke. Richard III will be played by Benedict Cumberbatch. As of April 2014, the casting of Henry VI is still under wraps and, according to BBC Two will be announced in due course. Executive producer Pippa Harris said, "The critical and audience reaction to The Hollow Crown series set the bar high for Shakespeare on screen, and Neal Street (Productions) is delighted to be making the concluding part of this great History cycle. By filming the ‘Henry VI’ plays as well as ‘Richard III,’ we will allow viewers to fully appreciate how such a monstrous tyrant could find his way to power, bringing even more weight and depth to this iconic character.”^[11]

Release

The Hollow Crown I

The four films were aired on consecutive Saturday nights on BBC Two between 30 June and 21 July 2012. The start time of Henry IV, Part I on 7 July was delayed by an hour because of coverage of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, and the film was shown a second time the following evening on BBC Four.^[12] The four films were shown in the United States from 20 September to 11 October 2013 as part of the PBS Great Performances series.^[13]

The overseas and DVD rights for The Hollow Crown series are owned by NBC Universal.^[14] A Region 2 DVD set of the four films was released on 1 October 2012.^[15] A Region 1 DVD set was released on 17 September 2013.^[16]

The Hollow Crown II

The second cycle of films has a tentative release date of 2016.^[17]

Awards

Award	Result	Category	Recipient
Music & Sound Awards 2013	Nominated	Sound Design (TV Programme)	The Hollow Crown
South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2013	Nominated	Best TV Drama
Broadcasting Press Guild 2013	Won	Best Single Drama
Broadcasting Press Guild 2013	Nominated	Best Actor	Ben Whishaw
BAFTA Television Awards 2013	Won	Leading Actor (Richard II)	Ben Whishaw
	Won	Supporting Actor	Simon Russell Beale (Henry IV Part II)
	Nominated	Single Drama	Richard II
RTS Programme Awards 2013	Won	Single Drama	Richard II
BAFTA Craft Awards 2013	Won	Original Television Music	Stephen Warbeck (Henry IV)
	Won	Sound (Fiction)	Tim Fraser, Adrian Rhodes, Keith Marriner (Richard II)
	Nominated	Costume Design	Odile Dicks-Mireaux (Richard II)
British Society of Cinematographers	Nominated	Best Cinematography in a Television Drama	Ben Smithard

References

^ "The Hollow Crown: Series Info". Thetvdb.com. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
^ Lawson, Mark (2012-06-29). "The Hollow Crown: as good as TV Shakespeare can get? | Television & radio". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
^ "TV Baftas 2013: all the winners". The Guardian. 12 May 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
^ https://twitter.com/BBCTwo/status/452741291907244032
^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/bbc-arts-release.html
^ https://twitter.com/BBCTwo/status/452789941786120192
^ https://twitter.com/BBCTwo/status/452789941786120192
^ "Liverpool actor David Morrissey to star in new BBC production of Richard II". Liverpool Echo. 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
^ "Sam Mendes for BBC Shakespeare season". BBC News. 2010-09-29. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
^ "Cast confirmed for BBC Two's cycle of Shakespeare films" (Press release). BBC Drama Publicity. 2011-11-24. Archived from the original on 2011-12-30. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
^ http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/benedict-cumberbatch-to-play-richard-iii-in-neal-streets-film-for-bbc-1201153203/
^ "Henry IV - Part 1". Retrieved 2013-09-08.
^ "The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare's History Plays-About the Series". Retrieved 2013-10-12.
^ Brown, Maggie."Sam Mendes: BBC Worldwide rejected 'Hollow Crown' Shakespeare films", The Guardian, 2 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
^ "The Hollow Crown (4 Discs)". Retrieved 2012-07-14.
^ "The Hollow Crown: The Complete Series". Retrieved 2013-09-08.
^ http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/apr/06/benedict-cumberbatch-richard-iii-bbc2

External links

The Hollow Crown at IMDb

[1] "The Hollow Crown: Series Info". Thetvdb.com. Retrieved 2013-08-28.

[2] Lawson, Mark (2012-06-29). "The Hollow Crown: as good as TV Shakespeare can get? | Television & radio". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2013-08-28.

[GRDN-3] "TV Baftas 2013: all the winners". The Guardian. 12 May 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.

[4] ttps://twitter.com/BBCTwo/status/452741291907244032

[5] ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/bbc-arts-release.html

[6] ttps://twitter.com/BBCTwo/status/452789941786120192

[7] ttps://twitter.com/BBCTwo/status/452789941786120192

[echo-8] "Liverpool actor David Morrissey to star in new BBC production of Richard II". Liverpool Echo. 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2011-12-30.

[9] "Sam Mendes for BBC Shakespeare season". BBC News. 2010-09-29. Retrieved 2011-12-30.

[confirm-10] "Cast confirmed for BBC Two's cycle of Shakespeare films" (Press release). BBC Drama Publicity. 2011-11-24. Archived from the original on 2011-12-30. Retrieved 2011-12-30.

[11] ttp://variety.com/2014/tv/news/benedict-cumberbatch-to-play-richard-iii-in-neal-streets-film-for-bbc-1201153203/

[12] "Henry IV - Part 1". Retrieved 2013-09-08.

[13] "The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare's History Plays-About the Series". Retrieved 2013-10-12.

[14] Brown, Maggie."Sam Mendes: BBC Worldwide rejected 'Hollow Crown' Shakespeare films", The Guardian, 2 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-14.

[15] "The Hollow Crown (4 Discs)". Retrieved 2012-07-14.

[16] "The Hollow Crown: The Complete Series". Retrieved 2013-09-08.

[17] ttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/apr/06/benedict-cumberbatch-richard-iii-bbc2

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