Period Drama 'The Luminaries' Will Come to America on Starz
Cable network Starz has picked up the six-part period drama The Luminaries, which stars Penny Dreadful's Eva Green and The Knick's Eve Hewson.
Based on the Man Booker prize-winning novel by Eleanor Catton and adapted for the small screen by the author herself, the story is a 19th-century tale of adventure and mystery, set on the Wild West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island in the boom years of the 1860s gold rush. Part mystery, part ghost story, and part dramatic period romp full of flashbacks and twists, this is a series that looks like it has something for everyone.
The story centers on defiant young adventurer Anna Wetherell (Hewson) who has sailed from Britain to New Zealand to begin a new life. There she meets Emery Staines (Himesh Patel), an encounter that triggers a strange kind of connection that neither can explain. As they fall in love, driven together and apart by fateful coincidence, these star-crossed lovers begin to wonder: do we make our fortunes, or do our fortunes make us?
Green plays the scheming fortune teller Lydia Wells, who appears to have her own plans for Anna, none of which seem to bode terribly well for the newcomer. Those who watched Green's performance on Penny Dreadful are already well aware of her ability to play women who exist in shades of morally grey, and it seems as though Lydia will be no different.
As you can see in the trailer below, almost nothing - and no one - in this story is what they appear to be.
The Luminaries will premiere on Sunday, February 14 at 9:30 pm, following the debut of Sam Heughan's Scottish docuseries Men in Kilts.
Does this sound like something you might watch? Have you read the book this series is based on? Let's discuss in the comments.
