ITV Orders New Series Based on 'Downton Abbey' Creator’s Novel 'Belgravia'
Get ready everyone, another period drama from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes is headed our way in the not too distant future.
Based on Fellowes’ 2016 novel, Belgravia is set around 70 years before the time period in which Downton Abbey occurs and is named for the posh London neighborhood in which the story takes place.
Fellowes will apparently adapt his novel for television himself, which was originally published in a serial format online. (Think a more modern version of the way Charles Dickens used to release his stories through magazines back in the day.)
According to Deadline, which first broke the news, the story begins on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, when the Duchess of Richmond throws a high society party in Brussels for the Duke of Wellington.
Among the guests are James and Anne Trenchard, who are living on the profits of newfound trading success. Their young daughter Sophia has caught the eye of Edmund Bellasis, the son and heir of one of the richest and most prominent families in England. Twenty-five years later, when the two families are settled into the newly developed area of Belgravia, the events of the ball, and the secrets, still resonate.
In short, drama.
Class tensions, a favorite topic of Fellowes’, will also apparently play a significant part in the story, as the upper echelons of society in 19th century England are forced to increasingly rub shoulders with the industrial titans who are newcomers to wealth.
There’s no word yet on when we might expect to see Belgravia on our screens, or what American distribution partners may have grabbed up the U.S. rights to the series.
2019 looks to be a busy year for Fellowes, what with the release of the highly anticipated Downton Abbey feature film in September and the long-awaited launch of his new American period series The Gilded Age for NBC. (It’s been in the works since 2012!) But, that’s probably good news for those of us who enjoy historical dramas, as he’s certainly one of the best at producing them.
