By Lacy Baugher for Drama on August 10th, 2015

Colin Morgan to Star in BBC Drama ‘The Living and the Dead’

Colin Morgan and Charlotte Spencer in "The Living and the Dead". (Photo: BBC)
Colin Morgan and Charlotte Spencer in "The Living and the Dead". (Photo: BBC)
Merlin’s Colin Morgan and Line of Duty’s Charlotte Spencer have been cast as the leads in upcoming BBC supernatural thriller The Living and the Dead.

The six-part drama will take place in Somerset in 1894 and follow the story of a brilliant young couple who inherit a farm that’s almost as old as the countryside itself. The two move in, determined to start a new life together. But their presence in this isolated corner of England starts to unleash strange, settling and dangerous supernatural phenomenon that will start to threaten their marriage.

Woooo, ghosts, right?  (It’s gotta be ghosts, yeah?)

According to the official press release, The Living and the Dead is a drama steeped in the eeriness of the rural world at the moment when the industrial revolution came crashing in to disrupt all the old certainties. At the series’ heart is the love story of Nathan and Charlotte Appleby: deeply in love with each other but put under extraordinary pressure, they will have to fight to save their marriage and their home.

Dun dun dunnnn. Well, I’m here for this. I love scary stories.

“The Living And The Dead is one of those scripts that you read and are instantly compelled and engaged by,” said Morgan. “It’s intelligent, chilling and engrossing. It’s going to be very special and I can’t wait to start working on it with the wonderful creative team.”

I’m very fond of Morgan as an actor – he made Merlin so much better than it had any real right to be, and it’s nice to see him getting so much work these days. (He’s also currently appearing in the AMC sci-fi drama Humans as well.)

It’s also been announced that drama will screen in the States on BBC America: 

ANNOUNCING: Colin Morgan and Charlotte Spencer are leads of new #bbca drama The Living and the Dead. pic.twitter.com/k1mtLzYQbA

— BBC America (@BBCAMERICA) August 7, 2015

Filming is currently under way in the West Country, and there’s no word on planned airdates just yet. 

Thoughts on this? Sound like something you'd watch or no?

By Lacy Baugher for Drama on August 10th, 2015
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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