'Wolf Hall': Prestige TV's Peak TV Returns Right On Time

Wolf Hall originally aired on PBS in 2015, during the year that saw the rise of the phrases "Prestige TV" and "Peak TV." For those unaware, "Peak TV" is a phrase coined by FX CEO John Landgraf to describe the current era of programming where TV production reached unsustainable record-breaking levels. Prestige TV, which some use interchangeably with "Peak TV," refers to the expensive, highbrow shows populated by A-list talent that are a subset of the Peak TV boom. (The phrase "Golden Age of Television" had already been improperly co-opted by the 1950s.)

However, Wolf Hall's timing was less than ideal in 2015. It aired on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET against a block of already established shows, including Game of Thrones and the show's final round that is seen as kicking off this era, Mad Men. As Peak TV wanes and Prestige TV becomes the providence of those who emerge victorious from the streaming wars, Wolf Hall returns with the sequel Wolf Hall: The Mirror & The Light.

For those who missed it the first time, this show adapts the first two of Hilary Mantel's Booker Prize-winning trilogy of novels, which follow the rise of Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) and how his power waxed and waned with the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn (Claire Foy). It also covers Henry VIII's (Damian Lewis) schism with the Catholic Church that begat the Church of England. The title comes from the name of the estate Wulfhall, which was the seat of power of the Seymours - as in Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife. However, from the opening episode, "Three Card Trick," it becomes apparent that Wolf Hall is not your average prestige series.