'Belgravia': What to expect from Julian Fellowes' second TV series after 'Downton Abbey'
If you've been missing 'Downton Abbey' and are tired of waiting for its America-based prequel 'The Gilded Age' to drop, take heart. 'Belgravia', based on Julian Fellowes' novel of the same name, is set to premiere on Epix this Sunday. In these times of quarantine, the intrigue, gossip, and scandal of a period drama are just what we really need to distract ourselves.
The trailer for this six-part limited series starts off with secrets spilled when Anne Trenchard (Tamsin Greig) goes to meet her neighbor Lady Brockenhurst (Harriet Walter), a rich aristocrat. Both of them live in Belgravia, a rarified enclave for the rich in 19th century London. But while Lady and Lord Brockenhurst (Tom Wilkinson) are blue-bloods, Anne and her husband, James Trenchard (Philip Glenister), are newer entrants to the one percent club and have middle-class origins as tradespeople.
Little does Lady Brockenhurst know that their families' destinies have been intertwined for twenty-five years, until Anne speaks of a secret that she and her husband have guarded about their dead daughter, Sophia, who died giving birth to Lady Brockenhurst's grandson, Charles Pope (Jack Bardoe).
The trailer alludes to this scandalous secret, revealing that Lady Brockenhurst's son, Edmund, had courted and bedded Sophia, after a secret wedding. But he died soon after in the Battle of Waterloo. Thus Lady and Lord Brockenhurst's vast fortune will be left to their nephew, the scheming John Bellasis (Adam James), with whom Anne's daughter-in-law, Susan Trenchard, is having an affair.
But after Anne's revelation, Lady Brockenhurst cannot help but go meet Charles, a cotton trader, and is shocked to see his resemblance to her son. She takes him under her wing, taking an interest in his business and introducing him to London's high society that sets tongues wagging - both upstairs and downstairs.
The secret, kept for so long, is on the verge of being revealed to everyone, as even the servants, unlike the loyal and steadfast ones in 'Downton Abbey', scheme to find ways to use information about their employers for their own benefit.
A secondary plotline is Charles's romantic pursuit of Lady Maria Grey (Ella Purnell), who is way above his station and is supposed to marry John Bellasis. But as the trailer shows, Lady Grey is also enchanted by Charles and wants to run away with him and is refusing to marry John.
With the sides drawn up with both money and the girl at stake, we can expect the clash of class and wealth on the show as Charles conquers London and his lady's heart.
The limited series reunites the award-winning creative team behind 'Downton Abbey'. Julian Fellowes is again at the creative helm, adapting his bestselling novel for TV. John Alexander ('Sense & Sensibility', 'Trust Me') has directed all the episodes with Colin Wratten ('Killing Eve') producing the series.
The show's cast includes Tom Wilkinson, Tamsin Greig, Philip Glenister, Harriet Walter, Alice Eve, Tara Fitzgerald, Ella Purnell, Richard Goulding, James Fleet, Adam James, Paul Ritter, and Saskia Reeves. 'Belgravia' is a Carnival Films co-production with EPIX for ITV and is distributed by NBCUniversal International Distribution.
'Belgravia' premieres on Sunday, April 12, at 9/8c on Epix.