# 'His Dark Materials' to be a BBC TV series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [November 4, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587 "2015-11-04T04:11:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/1 "2015-11-04T04:11:41Z")
I just saw that Philip Pullman’s _His Dark Materials_ fantasy trilogy is going to be adapted to a series for BBC television. > **[BBC's His Dark Materials series to 'sound every note' in Philip Pullman’s novels](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/03/bbcs-his-dark-materials-philip-pullman)** > > Former Doctor Who producers to lead TV adaptation of hit fantasy trilogy I’m pretty happy to hear it. I read the novels about 10 years ago. I liked _The Golden Compass_ movie adaptation and was disappointed that it wasn’t successful enough to warrant filming the sequels. A TV adaptation won’t have the budget that the movie did, so the visual effects may not be as good, but I think having more time for the story and characters to develop and breathe will be a great benefit. Not much information that I could find about what the production will be like. One season covering the whole trilogy? Multiple seasons? They haven’t cast anyone yet, so it’ll be a while before we see anything. Production will be in Wales. Speaking of casting… anyone want to throw out some names–a wish list? _The Golden Compass_ movie had some pretty great casting, though Daniel Craig didn’t fit my image of Lord Asriel very well. I recently watched the new adaptation of _Poldark_, and I could see the actress who plays Demelza as Serefina Pekkela. She has an ethereal beauty. Or Sibel Kekilli (Shae on Game of Thrones) for a ‘darker’ look. I don’t think you can beat the movie’s casting of Sam Elliot as Lee Scoresby, but I’d like to see a Texan in the role. Kris Kristofferson would be cool. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/2 "2015-11-04T04:15:58Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > I don’t think you can beat the movie’s casting of Sam Elliot as Lee Scoresby, Nope. He was perfect. I’d watch this if they got him to play Scoresby again. ---
**Author:** ![orderfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orderfire/32/10908_2.png) [@orderfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orderfire)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/3 "2015-11-04T18:10:50Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Nope. He was perfect. I’d watch this if they got him to play Scoresby again. Absolutely. The role should just go to him forever, it’s like it was written for him. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/4 "2015-11-04T18:35:48Z")
It will be an interesting moment when God shows up as, if I remember correctly, a senile creature in a cage. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/5 "2015-11-04T18:55:27Z")
Yeah–I hope they adjust the focus of the story. Keep the “I Hate God/Religion” message\*–it’s an integral part of the story and Pullman’s atheism informs the entire book, but keep the camera on Lyra and…whatshisname…Will rather than the huge focus on the GAWD IS EVIL thing that brought the books to a halt. Don’t cut it, just spend a lot less time on the neverending rants and more time on the characters. I also hope they tweak the second book’s story just a bit. I don’t like how Lyra went from one of the strongest female protagonists in a Juvie Novel in the first book to a simpering wimp in the second one. \*Pullman has been very clear that this is his belief system. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/6 "2015-11-04T19:57:04Z")
Here’s the point- Book 1 was _wonderful_, full of flying witches, armoured polar bears, airships, and those cool dæmons, something every kid wants. But they already did that film. The stupid _“Religion is Eviiiiil”_ theme was an undercurrent. Book 2 is just dark and boring. The preaching is loud and annoying. Book 3 is worse. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/7 "2019-07-19T05:06:49Z")
Almost 4 years since we heard about it, but it’s almost here! > [@Tangent](#): > > I don’t think you can beat the movie’s casting of Sam Elliot as Lee Scoresby, but I’d like to see a Texan in the role. Kris Kristofferson would be cool. > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Nope. He was perfect. I’d watch this if they got him to play Scoresby again. > [@orderfire](#): > > Absolutely. The role should just go to him forever, it’s like it was written for him. Turns out that the part went to Lin-Manuel Miranda; [trailer here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yuIE1OYnVI). It looks freaking fantastic! I have not (and likely will not) see _Hamilton_, so I’m not really familiar with Mr. Miranda’s acting ability, but I’ll give him a chance since everything else seems amazing. Plus, he was apparently really into the source material: > [@](#): > > Lin-Manuel Miranda says he agreed to being in the adaptation of “His Dark Materials” before he even knew what part he was being offered. > > Miranda plays Lee Scoresby, a cowboy who flies hot air balloons and gets into bar fights, although he says he would have sharpened pencils to be part of the production. > [@](#): > > But Miranda was by far the giddiest of the cast, excitedly asking permission to reveal his first scene. > > “I literally come into this thing singing a duet with my demon, on a big hot air balloon, which was a fun way to enter the world,” Miranda said. “I can’t believe we get to go back to summer camp this summer for season two.” > **[Lin-Manuel Miranda geeks out on 'His Dark Materials'](https://apnews.com/general-news-television-arts-and-entertainment-c4a9cd8df14748c0b0f90b262ed03ef2)** > > Lin-Manuel Miranda and his fellow castmates James McAvoy and Ruth Wilson debuted a trailer for the HBO series "His Dark Materials" based on the Philip Pullman novels Thursday evening at Comic-Con in San Diego. Unfortunately: > [@](#): > > HBO has yet to set a premiere date for the series. Still, I’m actually optimistic that they’re going to do the books justice, so that we can all finally say, with conviction, “what movie?” ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/8 "2019-07-19T08:56:56Z")
Thanks for the update, **Snowboarder Bo**! I had forgotten that I started this thread, but I have been following the recent news and trailers for this as they have come out. This is now an HBO/BBC co-production. A second season has already been greenlit prior to the release of season 1. Looks like each season will be eight episodes. I haven’t found any information about how much of the books will be covered each season. From the wikipedia page: “In an interview, director Otto Bathurst said that there will be some changes to the series compared to the book and the film adaptation. He said that they are giving it a little twist and are modernizing it so that it departs from the original’s Victoriana fantasy.” Not sure what that means, exactly, with regard to ‘modernizing’ it. Regarding casting: Lyra: Dafne Keen - this is the girl who played the young mutant Laura in _Logan_ (the last Wolverine movie with Hugh Jackman). She was great in that so I am hopeful about her casting here. Ms. Coulter: Ruth Wilson - I’m not familiar with her other than a small role in _Saving Mr. Banks_ Lord Asriel: James McAvoy - I like him, he’s a good actor though he can go over-the-top sometimes. Lee Scoresby: Lin-Manuel Miranda - totally doesn’t fit my image of Scoresby, but I’ll keep an open mind. The most I’ve seen of him is in an episode of _Curb Your Enthusiasm_ playing himself. Serafina Pekkala: Ruta Gedmintas - I liked her in _The Strain_, she could be good here, too. The trailers look great! I am excited about this and hope it is good and that they are able to tell the entire story. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/9 "2019-07-19T09:25:13Z")
If you are curious about how great Ruth Wilson is as an actress, she produced and starred in a little mini-series called _Mrs Wilson_, and the surname is not a coincidence as she plays her very own real-life grandmother. It’s all about a woman whose husband dies and the subsequent shocking things she learns about him that he was keeping from her. It’s a mesmerising performance by Ruth. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/10 "2019-07-19T09:59:53Z")
Ruth Wilson was great as the absolutely bat-shit insane Alice in _Luther_. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/11 "2019-07-19T13:18:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Here’s the point- Book 1 was _wonderful_, full of flying witches, armoured polar bears, airships, and those cool dæmons, something every kid wants. But they already did that film. The stupid _“Religion is Eviiiiil”_ theme was an undercurrent. > > Book 2 is just dark and boring. The preaching is loud and annoying. Book 3 is worse. Yup. I loved the first book, and by the end of the third, I didn’t feel like I wanted to recommend them to anyone. > [@Tangent](#): > > …From the wikipedia page: “In an interview, director Otto Bathurst said that there will be some changes to the series compared to the book and the film adaptation. He said that they are giving it a little twist and are modernizing it so that it departs from the original’s Victoriana fantasy.” Not sure what that means, exactly, with regard to ‘modernizing’ it. Maybe they’ll fix the ending? > [@Tangent](#): > > Regarding casting: > … > Ms. Coulter: Ruth Wilson - I’m not familiar with her other than a small role in _Saving Mr. Banks_ > … > [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Ruth Wilson was great as the absolutely bat-shit insane Alice in _Luther_. Ooh, she’ll be great. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/12 "2019-07-19T14:22:11Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > …keep the camera on Lyra and…whatshisname…Will rather than the huge focus on the GAWD IS EVIL thing that brought the books to a halt 😕 I didn’t encounter any GAWD IS EVIL theme. GAWD was an irrelevant doddering old geezer in a rickshaw. _Religion_, now, there’s some serious evil. And what brough the books to a halt was Pullman’s inability to make good on the promises inherent in his first two books once he got to the third. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/13 "2019-07-19T14:45:58Z")
Dafne Keen does not look to have aged at all since Logan. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/14 "2019-07-19T16:08:25Z")
I liked _The Subtle Knife_ best but thought the 3rd book was excellent also after my 2nd read thru. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/15 "2019-10-03T19:19:32Z")
[A new trailer just dropped](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APduGe1eLVI); it looks fantastic! 4 November is the date to mark on your calendars! ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/16 "2019-11-06T07:33:15Z")
Anyone watch the first episode yet? I thought it was a very good start. It’s been too long since I read the books, so I don’t recall anything significant being omitted. The cast is great–especially Dafne Keen as the bright-but-brash Lyra and Ruth Wilson as Ms. Coulter. The visuals are good. The daemons look great for the most part. I did find it a bit tough to recognize sometimes when a daemon was speaking that the voice was coming from the daemon and not from one of the people nearby. I’m looking forward to next week’s episode. The ad showing scenes “coming this season” looks very promising. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/17 "2019-11-06T07:41:54Z")
I haven’t read the books, but I’m impressed by the first episode. Certainly makes a change from the usual Sunday evening fare on BBC1 (Antiques Roadshow - that must have confused a few folk who just switched on without checking). ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/18 "2019-11-06T16:42:58Z")
I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m curious as to how they pronounce “daemon.” ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/19 "2019-11-13T18:21:33Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I’m curious as to how they pronounce “daemon.” The correct way 😉 I thought the second episode was better than the first. I read the books a long time ago, but I thought it felt like the first episode might be a little confusing without all the book exposition. I guess alternate worlds are pretty standard fare now though. The second episode introduces the alternate worlds theme a little more - and I think it’s in the other alternate world we‘ll see all the updating and modernising. Lyra’s world seems steeped in the Victorian’s/Edwardiana I’d expect - although thinking about it, maybe it’s the costume design, but it actually feels maybe a bit more 1930s. Which would make sense with the totalitarian theme of the Magisterium and all that. OB ETA: has this started showing on HBO yet? Thought there’d be a little more interest on the board. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587/20 "2019-11-13T18:25:13Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m curious as to how they pronounce “daemon.” like demon. No "a’ in it at all. Stupid. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-dark-materials-to-be-a-bbc-tv-series/736587.md?page=2)