''Gunpowder'' is a British

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

television miniseries produced by

Kudos Kudos may refer to: * ''Kudos'' (computer game), a life simulation game produced by Positech Games * Kudos (production company), a UK-based film and television production company * Kudos, a fictional currency used by the Dwellers in '' The Alge ...

and Kit Harington's Thriker Films for

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. The three-part drama series premiered on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 21 October 2017 and on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

in the United States on 18 December 2017. The series was developed by Ronan Bennett, Kit Harington, and Daniel West and is based on the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...

in London in 1605. It stars Harington, who is a direct descendant of his character

Robert Catesby Robert Catesby ( – 8 November 1605) was the leader of a group of English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Born in Warwickshire, Catesby was educated at Oxford University. His family were prominent recusant Catholics, a ...

. J Blakeson directed the series.

Cast

Main

* Kit Harington as

* Peter Mullan as Henry Garnet *

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. Best known for his acting work on stage and screen as well as for co-creating television shows with Steven Moffat, he has received ...

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612) was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury ser ...

* Liv Tyler as Anne Vaux

Recurring

*Luke Broughton as Thomas Bates * Philip Hill-Pearson as Sir Everard Digby * Tom Cullen as

Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educate ...

*Daniel West as Thomas Percy *Joseph Ringwood as Ambrose Rookwood *Martin Lindley as Francis Tresham *Christopher T Johnson as Robert Wintour * Edward Holcroft as Thomas Wintour *Matthew Neal as Christopher Wright *Luke Neal as John Wright * Shaun Dooley as Sir William Wade * Derek Riddell as James I * Robert Emms as Father John Gerard *Thom Ashley as Father Daniel Smith * Sian Webber as Lady Dorothy Dibdale * Pedro Casablanc as The Constable of Castile *Andy Lucas as Juan de Tassis, 1st Count of Villamediana *

David Bamber David James Bamber (born 19 September 1954) is an English actor. His credits include '' Privates on Parade'' (1983), '' Juliet Bravo'' (1983), '' Crown Court'' (1984), '' Call Me Mister'' (1986), '' The Buddha of Suburbia'' (1993), '' Pride an ...

Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, Order of the Garter, KG (27 April 1564 – 5 November 1632) was an English people, English nobleman. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James VI and I, Ja ...

* Simon Kunz as

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, (24 August 1561 – 28 May 1626), of Audley End House in the parish of Saffron Walden in Essex, and of Suffolk House near Westminster, a member of the House of Howard, was the second son of Thomas Howard ...

*Hugh Alexander as Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke * Sean Rigby as William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle *Robert Gwyllim as Sir William Stanley *Andrew Jarvis as Edward Alford

Production

In February 2017, the BBC ordered ''Gunpowder'', then announced the three-part drama series was to be developed by Ronan Bennett, Kit Harington, and Daniel West; written by Ronan Bennett; and produced by

. The series stars Kit Harington, Peter Mullan,

, and Liv Tyler, and is directed by J Blakeson. Filming started in late February 2017. Filming locations included the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

's East Riddlesden Hall and

Fountains Abbey Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercians, Cistercian monasteries in England. It is located approximately south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, near the village of Aldfield. Founded in 1132, the abbey operat ...

, alongside popular visitor attractions such as Oakwell Hall; Ripley Castle;

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Duke of Rutland, Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rut ...

; Kirkstall Abbey;

Bolton Abbey Bolton Abbey Estate in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England, takes its name from a 12th-century Augustinian monastery of canons regular, now known as Bolton Priory. The priory, which was closed in the 1539 Dissolution of the Monasterie ...

; Lendal Bridge in York City Centre; and

Ilkley Moor Ilkley Moor is part of Rombalds Moor, the moorland between Ilkley and Keighley in West Yorkshire, England. The moor, which rises to 402 m (1,319 ft) above sea level, is the inspiration for the Yorkshire "county anthem" ''On Ilkla Mo ...

Beverley Minster Beverley Minster, otherwise known as the Parish Church of Saint John and Saint Martin, in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, is a parish church in the Church of England. It is one of the largest parish churches in the UK, larger than one-thir ...

depicted the regal splendour of the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

Episodes

All three episodes were available on the BBC iPlayer following the terrestrial broadcast of the first episode.

Broadcast

''Gunpowder'' premiered on

in the United Kingdom on 21 October 2017. The series premiered in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on 18 December 2017.

Reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the series has an approval rating of 72% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 7.25/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalised rating, the series has a score 63 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews". The initial reaction to the first episode was mired with complaints from viewers about the depicted scenes of torture, nudity, and disembowelment despite the broadcast time being 10 minutes after the watershed of 9pm. In response to complaints, the BBC said: "The scenes aired after 9.30pm with a clear warning given to viewers before the episode started. The methods depicted are grounded in historical fact and reflect what took place during the time of the Gunpowder Plot." It was described as 'a very good drama' by other viewers.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunpowder (Tv Series) 2017 British television series debuts 2017 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2010s British television miniseries BBC television dramas British English-language television shows Television series by Banijay Television series created by Ronan Bennett Television series set in the 17th century Television shows set in London Television shows shot in Bradford Television shows shot in Leeds Television shows shot in York Television shows shot in Yorkshire Television shows about terrorism Gunpowder Plot BBC television miniseries Fiction set in 1605 Cultural depictions of Guy Fawkes Cultural depictions of James VI and I