The Hollow Crown

With Apple TV+ releasing The Tragedy of Macbeth on streaming this weekend, here are a few other Shakespeare plays to stream as well.

After a long wait, American audiences are finally getting the chance to see The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses for themselves. The sequel series is airing on PBS’ Great Performances this December. (Friendly reminder: you should definitely check your local listings and find out the specifics because end of year pledge-time may affect what days this airs).

The original The Hollow Crown series adapted four of Shakespeare’s history plays – Richard II, Henry IV Pts. 1 and 2 and Henry V – into a single chronological narrative, with the majority of the relevant actors performing the same roles across all the plays. The three-part sequel takes on the next part of the story, the titular Wars of the Roses, when two families battled for control of England’s throne.

After what feels like an excruciatingly long wait, the highly anticipated sequel to The Hollow Crown, subtitled The Wars of the Roses, is finally airing in America on PBS’ Great Performances this December.

The original Hollow Crown adapted four of Shakespeare’s history plays – Richard II, Henry IV Pts. 1 and 2 and Henry V – into a single chronological narrative, with the majority of the relevant actors performing the same roles across all the plays. The three-part sequel takes on the next part of the story, and will feature adaptations of Henry VI (streamlined into two parts) and Richard III.  The plays recount the story of the titular Wars of the Roses, when two families – the Plantagenets and the Lancasters – battled for control of England’s throne.

PBS has released a new video interview where several members of the Wars of the Roses cast and production team – including star Benedict Cumberbatch – discuss the series, Shakespeare’s works, and the history behind the plays.

Fans of the star-studded Shakespeare adaptation The Hollow Crown will be pleased to know that the sequel series The Hollow Crown: Wars of the Roses has an American airdate at last! The films will premiere as part of the new season of PBS' Great Performances and will air on three consecutive Sunday nights from December 11 -25th.

[Insert multiple screaming face emojis here.]

Love The Hollow Crown? Well, you’re in luck, because it looks as though our run of sumptuous televised versions of Shakespeare’s histories may not be over just yet.

The original Hollow Crown series adapted four of the Bard’s history plays into a single chronological narrative (Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2 and Henry V).  The sequel series focused on the next four, though they were condensed in to three films (the three parts of Henry VI, along with Richard III). But, sadly, we’ve run out of Shakespeare’s English history plays to adapt, which is something of a blow for everyone, because the Hollow Crown installments have been all around wonderful, featuring some of the British actors working today – Tom Hiddleston, Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons, and Benedict Cumberbatch, for a few example – and making some of Shakespeare’s lesser known works accessible to a whole new audience. Well, never fear – there’s still hope. While we may have finished with Shakespeare’s English history plays – remember, he still has more!

The BBC has released another trailer for its upcoming sequel to The Hollow Crown. Subtitled The Wars of the Roses the series is the centerpiece of the corporation’s big celebration to mark the 400th anniversary of playwright William Shakespeare’s death.

The original Hollow Crown aired in 2013 and adapted four of the Bard’s history plays – Richard II, Henry IV Pts. 1 and 2 and Henry V – into a single chronological narrative, and had the same actors play the same roles across all the plays. This second series is comprised of adaptations of Richard III and Henry VI, though they’re streamlining the latter into two films, rather than three. (Which, on the whole, is probably a good decision.)

These plays recount the story of the titular Wars of the Roses, when two families – the Plantagenets and the Lancasters – battled for control of England’s crown. 

This week, the BBC announced that they are planning an all-out celebration to mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death this spring. The month-long BBC 2016 Shakespeare Festival will kick off on the Bard’s birthday – April 23 – and include exiting new programming across all the corporation’s television, radio, online and educational platforms.

A centerpiece of this festival will be the premiere of the highly anticipated sequel to 2013’s critically acclaimed series The Hollow Crown.

The remains of infamous British monarch King Richard III will be reburied in Leicester Cathedral this week – almost three years after they were discovered buried under a car park in Leicester in 2012. The bones were extensively tested and verified via DNA to belong to the King, and will now be ceremonially reburied in the city where his body was returned following his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

Over 20,000 people visited the cathedral to pay their respects to the last Plantagnet king and view his coffin before its reburial on March 26. In a weird twist that provides further evidence that he really is everywhere, Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is set to take part in the ceremony by reading a poem specifically written to mark the occasion of King Richard’s reburial by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

The Wars of the Roses, the highly anticipated follow up to Shakespeare mini-series The Hollow Crown started filming in late September and, happily, the kick off to official production has resulted in some more exciting casting announcements as the massive cast of Yorks and Lancasters gets fleshed out more fully.

Plus, we got our first official look at Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch in his lead role as hunchbacked King Richard III. Huzzah, indeed.