Filming Wraps on BBC Historical Epic 'King and Conqueror'

Filming has officially wrapped on King & Conqueror, the epic, eight-part BBC period drama that aims to explore the lives of the two men who helped shape the identity of England — and the future of Europe — as we understand it today. 

The drama will follow the story of Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, last crowned Anglo-Saxon ruler of England, and William, Duke of Normandy, otherwise known as William the Conqueror. William’s defeat of King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 ushered in profound changes that shifted the Church, the aristocracy, the government, and even the language in England forever afterward. But the lead-up to the fateful confrontation was almost as intense as the battle itself, involving a complicated succession crisis and two interconnected family dynasties grappling for power.

The series also announced a final round of cast members joining its positively sprawling ensemble, led by James Norton (Grantchester) as Harold and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) as William.

New faces rounding out the ensemble include Elander Moore (Kaos) as Morcar, the power-hungry son of the Earl of Mercia; Indy Lewis (Industry) as Margaret, a sheltered young Mercian woman; Jason Forbes (My Lady Jane) as Thane Thomas, a loyal servant to the Godwins; Ingvar Sigurdsson (The Northman), who takes over the role of Fitzosbern, one of the great early magnates of Norman England; Ines Asserson (Royalteen) as Judith, the cousin of William’s wife; Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson (Heartstone) as famous Viking warrior Harold Hardrada, and Léo Legrand (A Distant Neighborhood) as Odo, William’s half-brother.

Here's the series' description.

King & Conqueror is the story of a clash that defined the future of a country – and a continent – for a thousand years, the roots of which stretch back decades and extend out through a pair of interconnected family dynasties, struggling for power across two countries and a raging sea. Harold of Wessex and William of Normandy were two men destined to meet at the Battle of Hastings in 1066; two allies with no design on the British throne, who found themselves forced by circumstance and personal obsession into a war for possession of its crown.

The new cast members join previously announced stars Emily Beecham (1899), Clémence Poésy (The Essex Serpent), Eddie Marsan (The Winter King), Juliet Stevenson (Professor T), Jean-Marc Barr (The Big Blue), Luther Ford (The Crown), Geoff Bell (Top Boy), Elliot Cowan (Black Cake), Bo Bragason (Renegade Nell), Bjarne Henriksen (Borgen), Clare Holman and Oliver Mascucci (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore). 

King & Conqueror is created, written, and executive produced by created and executive produced by Michael Robert Johnson (Sherlock Holmes), with Baltasar Kormákur (Everest) directing the premiere episode and overseeing the series' creative. Both will also serve as executive producers alongside Norton and Kitty Kaletsky for Rabbit Track Pictures, Baltasar Kormákur for RVK Studios, Robert Taylor for The Development Partnership, Dave Clarke and Richard Halliwell for Shepherd Content, and Ed Clarke, Robert Jones, Coster-Waldau and Martin.

Filming recently concluded in Iceland. King & Conquerer will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Distribution outside the U.K. will be handled by Paramount Global Content Distribution.