'Wolf Hall: The Mirror & The Light' Trailer Promises an Epic Conclusion

Out of all the British series coming to American shores in 2025, the return of Wolf Hall to PBS, a decade after the series initially debuted, might be the most anticipated. The original series covered the two books released by Hilary Mantel at the time, Wolf Hall and Bringing Up the Bodies. While there were rumors at the time of optioning the trilogy's final novel, Mantel's The Mirror & The Light didn't arrive until 2020, arriving to a very different TV landscape. Thankfully, the BBC and Masterpiece kept their word, and while it took another five years, Wolf Hall: The Mirror & The Light is finally here.

The series has already premiered in the U.K. in November 2024, where it was praised to the rafters by TV critics. The Guardian called it "six hours of TV magic," The Independent was less poetic, declaring it "bloody good fun." However, The New Statesman's review is the one that told us what we needed to hear: "We owe a lot to Wolf Hall’s writer, Peter Straughan, whose script is restrained, blessedly non-explicatory and relies on silence for its fullest effects. Peter Kosminsky again directs," the review reads, and "is content for things to unfold – jeopardy, he has learned, loiters in unexpected corners – and he trusts his audience to understand that even when nothing seems to be happening, everything is. In this case, the very particles of the air are replete with murderous intent."

When it debuted in 2015, Wolf Hall stood out in the landscape of prestige TV because of its patience and restraint. Its quietude set it apart from all the other retellings of Henry's first divorce. The new trailer for the series, released by PBS, promises that those silences will be heavy and filled with performances worthy of the original.

Here's the series' synopsis. 

May, 1536. Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife, is dead. As the axe drops, Thomas Cromwell emerges from the bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour. Cromwell, a man with only his wits to rely on, has no great family to back him, and no private army. Navigating the moral complexities that accompany the exercise of power in this brutal and bloody time, Cromwell is caught between his desire to do what is right and his instinct to survive. But in the wake of Henry VIII having executed his queen, no one is safe.

Despite rebellion at home, traitors plotting abroad and the threat of invasion testing Henry’s regime to breaking point, Cromwell’s robust imagination sees a new country in the mirror of the future. All of England lies at his feet, ripe for innovation and religious reform. But as fortune’s wheel turns, Cromwell’s enemies are gathering in the shadows. The inevitable question remains: how long can anyone survive under Henry’s cruel and capricious gaze?

The returning ensemble includes Mark Rylance (The Undeclared War) as Cromwell, Damian Lewis (A Spy Among Friends) as Henry VIII, Kate Phillips (Miss Scarlet) as Jane Seymour, Jonathan Pryce (The Crown) as Cardinal Wolsey, Lilit Lesser (Domina) as Princess Mary, Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Artful Dodger) as Rafe Sadler, Joss Porter (Humans) as Richard Cromwell, James Larkin (Black Mirror) as Master Treasurer Fitzwilliam, Richard Dillane (Argo) as the Duke of Suffolk, Will Keen (His Dark Materials) as Archbishop Cranmer, and Hannah Steele (The Night Manager) as Mary Shelton. 

There have been a few recastings due to availability. Those include Alex Jennings (The Crown) replacing Mark Gatiss as Stephen Gardiner, Lydia Leonard (Gentleman Jack) replacing Jessica Raine as Lady Jane Rochford, Charlie Rowe (Vanity Fair) replacing Tom Holland as Gregory Cromwell and Will Tudor (Industry) replacing Ed Speelers as Edward Seymour. Finally, Timothy Spall (The Sixth Commandment) takes over for the late Bernard Hill as Thomas Howard.

There have also been a few upgrades, with Harriet Walter (Archie) replacing Janet Henfrey as Lady Margaret Pole, Harry Melling (Harvest) replacing Joel MacCormack as Thomas Wriothesley, Tom Mothersdale (Bodies) replacing Bryan Dick as Richard Riche, and Karim Kadjar (Storyland) replacing Mathieu Amalric as Eustache Chapuys. Finally, in new faces playing new characters, there's Maisie Richardson-Sellers (The Undeclared War) as Bess Oughtred, Lucy Russell (Blitz) as Lady Anne Shelton, Viola Prettejohn (The Witcher) as Mary Fitzroy, and Corentin Fila (Notre Dame) as Christophe.

The Mirror & the Light reunites the creative team from the first Wolf Hall series with director Peter Kosminsky (The Undeclared War) helming all six installments, which were adapted for television by Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). 

The series is a Playground and Company Pictures co-production for the BBC and Masterpiece. Executive Producers are Colin Callender and Noëlette Buckley for Playground, Lucy Richer and Kosminsky for the BBC, and Susanne Simpson for Masterpiece. 

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light will premiere on most local PBS stations, the PBS App, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET, directly following the finale of Lucy Worsely Investigates Season 2 at 8 p.m. ET. All six episodes of the new series will be available on PBS Passport for members to stream starting on premiere day. 

Wolf Hall Season 1 is available to stream for members on PBS Passport and on the Prime Video Masterpiece Channel.