The BBC Releases New 'King & Conqueror' Images with U.K. Premiere Date Announcement

British period dramas often focus on specific eras more than others. There are numerous reasons for this, including the desire to remain within a recognizable level of societal structure that is familiar to modern audiences, or because a well-known character/author's works are set in a specific era. The Regency Era, for example, is often a go-to choice, as is the mid-Victorian era from the 1860s to the 1880s. Further back in the timeline, we usually see series set during King Henry's first divorce (but rarely his second one), and during his daughter Elizabeth's reign (but seldom Mary's or James').

Period dramas that aren't religious in nature rarely risk going back much further, which is why the forthcoming BBC series, King & Conqueror, set during 1066 (and all that), is such an exciting arrival. Headlined by PBS favorite James Norton (Grantchester) as King Harold and HBO heartthrob Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) as William, Duke of Normandy, better known as William the Conqueror, the series focuses on retelling the Battle of Hastings, perhaps one of the most important key moments in British history that set the island on the path of becoming a global empire.

Considering that 1066 is such a formative era for the Western world, it's almost surprising this is the first time it's been given the big-budget, limited-series treatment. However, it's understandable when you recall that the most significant technological advances of the 11th century were blowing glass and the rediscovery of horseshoes. If the past is a foreign country, the 11th century might as well take place on a different planet.

However, as Game of Thrones proved, you can do a popular series set in an era that runs on pre-medieval levels of technology, as long as you make it sexy and include major battle set pieces. (Dragons optional.) While the Battle of Hastings was certainly bloody enough to fulfill the latter requirement, Norton and Coster-Waldau are working overtime to give viewers the former.

At least, that's what I'm getting from these very "Henry Cavill in The Witcher" inspired matching photos of the two of them naked in the bath.

Here is the series' synopsis:

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 English throne, who found themselves forced by circumstance and personal obsession into a war for possession of its crown.

Alongside Norton and Coster-Waldeau, the series also released images of Eddie Marsan (The Winter King) as King Edward, Bo Bragason (Renegade Nell) as Queen Gunhild, Juliet Stevenson (Professor T) as Lady Emma, Indy Lewis (Industry) as Margaret, Emily Beecham (My Mother's Wedding) as Edith Swan-neck, Clémence Poésy (The Essex Serpent) as Matilda, Clare Holman (Sherwood) as Gytha, and Luther Ford (The Crown) as Tostig. 

Supporting cast not pictured includes Jean-Marc Barr (Hope & Glory) as King Henry, Elliot Cowan (The Jetty) as Sweyn, Bjarne Henriksen (Seaside Hotel) as Earl Siward, Oliver Mascucci (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore) as Baldwin, Geoff Bell (Top Boy) as Godwin, Elander Moore (Kaos) as Morcar, Jason Forbes (My Lady Jane) as Thane Thomas, Ingvar Sigurdsson (Killing Eve) as Fitzosbern, Ines Asserson (Shetland) as Judith, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson (Stella Blómkvist) as Hardrada, and Léo Legrand (Endless Night) as Odo.  

The series was created by Michael Robert Johnson (Sherlock Holmes), who penned all eight installments. Baltasar Kormákur (Everest) directs the premiere episode, and Coster-Waldau will also step behind the camera for an installment, his first time directing an episode of television. Directors Erik Leijonborg (Murder in Sweden) and Bálint Szentgyörgyi (Band of Spies) split helming duties across the other six. 

Johnson, Kormákur, Norton, and Coster-Waldau are executive producers, alongside Kitty Kaletsky for Norton's Rabbit Track Pictures, Robert Taylor for The Development Partnership, Dave Clarke & Richard Halliwell for Shepherd Content, plus Ed Clarke, Robert Jones, and CBS Studios’ Lindsey Martin.

King & Conqueror will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the U.K. on Sunday, August 24, with Episode 2 following directly on Monday, August 25, 2025. It will then settle into its regular air schedule on Sundays through the end of September. Prime Video has yet to announce a release date, but it's pretty safe to assume the series will debut in the U.S. sometime in the final months of 2025 or early 2026.