First Look: PBS Preview for Shakespeare Series 'The Hollow Crown'

The highly anticipated Shakespeare mini-series The Hollow Crown will finally air in America this Fall as part of PBS's Great Performances series – and given the response online to the announcement of the series'; premiere date, a lot of people are pretty excited to get their Bard on. (No judgment, I am too.)

The star-studded quartet of films adapts four of Shakespeare’s most famous history plays – Richard II, Henry IV Part One, Henry IV Part Two and Henry V – as single chronological narrative, telling the story of the rise and fall of a dynasty. The series, which stars many notable British actors including Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddleston, Patrick Stewart, Rory Kinnear, Michelle Dockery, David Suchet, Simon Russell Beale and more, will run weekly on Friday nights beginning September 20.

The first PBS trailer for The Hollow Crown has arrived – and it gives us a quick look at snippets from all four films. It's not quite as dramatic as its BBC counterpart, but it gives you a better look at more actual footage, even though it's only a bit over a minute long. Should be enough to get you excited for September!

Watch The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare's History Plays Preview on PBS. See more from Great Performances.

And, if that’s not enough, here’s one more special sneak peek – watch BAFTA-winning actor Whishaw perform the deposition scene from Richard II in this clip below. 

Watch The Hollow Crown: Richard II on PBS. See more from Great Performances.

Are you excited for The Hollow Crown?


Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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