The Stars of 'Belgravia: The Next Chapter' on Building the Show's Central Love Story

The original series Belgravia was a Julian Fellowes production through and through. Based on a novel Fellowes himself wrote, the series focused on a pair of families bound together by an unspoken secret: An illegitimate child. On paper, it had everything—deception, infidelity, long-lost relatives, false identities, and lots of secrets—-but despite its complicated, soapy plot, the series struggled to find an audience. (And to maintain that audience’s interest, given its unfortunate tendency to focus on the least compelling aspects of its story.) But now, three years, later it’s time to try again. Belgravia: The Next Chapter features a brand new cast and story, and will wrestle with the legacy its first installment left behind.

The follow-up series will pick up three decades after the events of the original, and follow the story of Frederick Trenchard, the third Lord Trenchard, and the illegitimate child Susan (Alice Eve) found herself pregnant with as a result of her ill-advised affair with John Bellasis (Adam James) and that she convinced her seemingly impotent husband Oliver (Richard Goulding) to raise as his own. Frederick’s romance with—and eventual marriage to—newcomer Clara Dunn is the emotional linchpin around which much of the series turns.

But he still carries emotional scars and deep insecurity from his troubled childhood, fueled by a father who resented his existence and a chronically unhappy mother, which color and challenge his relationship with his new wife. How–and if— the pair will learn to navigate these challenges is a question only the show itself can answer, but the show’s attempt to mix new plots with emotional echoes from the previous series certainly helps it stand out from the period drama pack.