Three Irish actors have been cast alongside series leads Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer in Hugo Blick's western series, The English, for BBC One and Amazon Studios.
Produced by the multi-award-winning production company Drama Republic (Doctor Foster, Us, Black Earth Rising), filming has already commenced on The English, a 6x60” high-octane epic western led by Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins Returns, A Quiet Place) and Chaske Spencer (The Twilight Saga, Banshee).
The series is being produced for BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and Amazon Prime Video in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in association with All3Media international.
Written and directed by multi-award-winning Hugo Blick (The Honourable Woman, Black Earth Rising, The Shadow Line) and set in the mythic mid-American landscape in the year of 1890, The English follows Cornelia Locke (Emily Blunt), an Englishwoman who arrives into the new and wild landscape of the West to wreak revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son. Upon meeting Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), an ex-cavalry scout and member of the Pawnee Nation by birth, they join together and discover a shared history, which must be defeated at all costs if either of them are to survive.
The cast, which includes Irish actors Stephen Rea (The Shadow Line, The Honourable Woman), Ciaran Hinds (The Terror, The Woman In Black), and Steve Wall (Raised By Wolves, The Witcher), will also include Rafe Spall (The Salisbury Poisonings, Trying), Tom Hughes (A Discovery Of Witches, Victoria), Valerie Pachner (A Hidden Life, The Kingsman), Toby Jones (Marvellous, Detectorists), Malcolm Storry (The Princess Bride, Doc Martin), Nichola McAuliffe (Tomorrow Never Dies, Doctor Who), Sule Rimi (Black Earth Rising, Strike Back), and Cristian Solimeno (Avenue 5, Guilt).
"The chance to make a Western with Emily Blunt and the cast is so delicious I’m still wondering if it’s one of those weird dreams we were all having during lockdown,” said director Hugo Blick. “If not, a thrilling, romantic, epic horse-opera is heading to your screen sometime next year, and I couldn’t be more excited.”
Greg Brenman, CEO of Drama Republic, believes that Blick has created a “compelling, modern love story” set against the epic landscape of a Western. “The English is a true adventure that will tell us as much about the times we live in today as the period in which it is set,” Brenman added.
The English is one of several extremely exciting BBC commissioned dramas announced by Director of BBC Drama, Piers Wenger in recent weeks with Shane Meadows announced to do his first BBC series in tandem with Ireland’s Element Pictures and the Jamie Dornan-led mystery thriller, The Tourist, revealing its first-look images. “I’m delighted that Hugo’s beautiful scripts are finally coming to life in The English,” said Wenger. “With a cast led by the exceptional Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer, I have no doubt that this thrilling and compelling story will be a treat for BBC audiences when it hits our screens.”
Prime Video’s Vice President of Worldwide Licensing, Brad Beale, added that Amazon “can’t wait” to break new ground when bringing the series to Prime Video customers. “We know Hugo Blick’s incredible tale of love, loss, and revenge - brought to life on screen by the talented Emily Blunt, Chaske Spencer, and the entire cast of The English - will captivate Prime members across the globe,” Beale added.
Greg Brenman will executive produce for Drama Republic alongside Hugo Blick and Emily Blunt. Mona Qureshi will executive produce for the BBC, with Colin Wratten (Killing Eve, The Witness For The Prosecution) producing the series. Amazon Studios is co-producing in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in association with All3Media international. IllumiNative are consulting with production on the series.
No release date has been announced for The English, which is currently filming on location in Spain.
