''Merlin'' (also known as ''The Adventures of Merlin'') is a British

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television programme, loosely based on the Arthurian legends regarding the close relations of

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

and

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

. Created by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, it was broadcast for five series on

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 ...

between 20 September 2008 and 24 December 2012. The programme starred

Colin Morgan Colin Morgan (born 1 January 1986) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He is known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy series ''Merlin'' (2008–2012), Leo Elster in ''Humans'' (2015–2018), and Billy Clanton in Kenneth Branagh' ...

, Bradley James,

Katie McGrath Katie McGrath () is an Irish actress known for several television series: portraying Morgana Pendragon in BBC One's ''Merlin'' (2008–2012), Lucy Westenra on the British-American series ''Dracula'' (2013–2014), Saskia in the TV series ...

, Angel Coulby, Richard Wilson,

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, ...

, and

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

. The programme is a reimagining of the legend, in which young warlock Merlin is sent to the kingdom of

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

by his mother because of his "special gift". After saving Prince Arthur's life in the first episode, he becomes Arthur's manservant. Merlin soon learns that the reason for his gift is to protect Arthur, but Merlin must hide his powers because magic was banned in Camelot by Arthur's father, King Uther Pendragon, and those caught practising it are executed. Over the years and after several adventures together, Merlin and Arthur become trusted friends and companions, with the former doing his best to influence the latter into becoming the king he is destined to be. ''Merlin'' was nominated for several awards, winning the 2011

British Academy Television Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1 ...

for best visual effects. Broadcasting rights were sold to over 180 countries.

Series overview

(

) is a young, powerful warlock who arrives in the kingdom of

after his mother arranges for him to stay with the court physician, Gaius ( Richard Wilson). He discovers that the king,

Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon ( ; the Brittonic languages, Brittonic name; , or ), also known as King Uther (or Uter), was a List of legendary kings of Britain, legendary King of the Britons and father of King Arthur. A few minor references to Uther appe ...

(

), outlawed magic twenty years earlier in an event known as the Great Purge and imprisoned the last dragon, Kilgharrah (voice of

), in the caves beneath the castle. After hearing a mysterious voice inside his head, Merlin makes his way to the cavern beneath the keep to find that he was hearing the dragon's voice. The Great Dragon tells Merlin that he has an important destiny: to protect Uther's only son, Prince Arthur ( Bradley James), who will return magic to Camelot and unite the land of

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scot ...

. When Merlin meets Arthur, Merlin considers him to be an arrogant bully, and Arthur, likewise, is less than impressed with Merlin. After saving the prince's life, Merlin is appointed as his personal manservant. The two experience many adventures, over the course of which they come to respect and trust one another. But when Uther's actions eventually cause his ward, Morgana (

), to turn against Camelot and pursue a path of evil, Merlin and Arthur must join forces with friends, old and new, to protect their home and secure their destinies.

Cast

, Arthur's servant and Gaius' ward, who secretly develops his magical gifts under the gaze of kings Uther and Arthur, both of whom despise the art. Only Gaius and Lancelot are aware of his magic. Merlin also has an alter-ego, "Dragoon the Great" (conjured when Merlin performs an aging spell upon himself), who is considered a criminal by Uther and Arthur, and inspires profound fear in Morgana who recognises him as Emrys, her prophetic nemesis. Despite keeping his capabilities under wraps for years, by the end of the show, more people become aware of Merlin's powers, including Mordred, Agravaine, Morgana, Gwen, and Arthur. * Bradley James as Arthur Pendragon, the Prince and later King of Camelot, and the commander of the kingdom's knights. Despite being charged with carrying out his father's harsh edicts, Arthur is portrayed as a far more compassionate man, who defends the falsely accused before the king, and occasionally defies him. Arthur welcomes commoners Lancelot, Gwaine, Elyan, Mordred, and Percival as knights, and falls in love with Gwen, a serving girl, whom he later marries and makes Queen. He comes to regard his servant Merlin as a close friend and confidant, never realising how many times Merlin has had to save his life using magic. Arthur initially promises to lift Uther's ban on magic when he becomes king, but changes his mind when he thinks magic killed his father. Arthur is prophesied as "The Once and Future King", which means, even though he is killed in the final episode, Arthur Pendragon will rise again. * Angel Coulby as

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th cen ...

("Gwen"), Morgana's servant who later becomes Queen of Camelot. Her relationship with Arthur at first causes conflict within the kingdom, as Uther considers her unworthy due to her low status and forbids Arthur to court her, even accusing her of witchcraft when Arthur's affections for her do not diminish. However, Gwen proves popular among the common people, and strives to make Arthur and his advisers approachable to them. Gwen is brave and selfless, always doing what's right for Arthur and Camelot. *

as Morgana Pendragon, Uther's ward who is later revealed to be his daughter. Initially a kind and empathetic young woman, Morgana comes to despise Uther for his prejudice against magic and when she realizes he would never accept her if he knew of her magical powers, she begins covertly plotting against him. She becomes the show's primary villain by the third series, coveting Arthur's throne. *

(series 1-4; guest series 5), Camelot's stubborn king, who shows Arthur repeated tough love and ruthlessly enforces the kingdom's strict ban on sorcery. Although meaning well, Uther earns himself many enemies in his brutal fight against magic, and Morgana's ultimate betrayal leaves him a broken man. * Richard Wilson as

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (biblical figure) (1st century AD) *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist * Gaius Acilius * Gaius Antonius * Gaius Antonius Hybrida * Gaius Asinius Gal ...

, the court physician and Merlin's surrogate father and mentor. Once a sorcerer himself, Gaius abandoned the practice but occasionally practises it when Merlin needs help. A wise man with a long memory, Gaius is one of Uther's closest advisers, and always among the first to realise what is really happening when magic threatens the kingdom. *

Nathaniel Parker Nathaniel Parker (born 18 May 1962) is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'', and List of Merlin characters#Agravaine de Bois, Agravaine de Bois in the ...

as Agravaine de Bois (series 4), Arthur's uncle who steps in, reputedly as a trusted adviser to Arthur, but is later identified as a traitor. Merlin and Gaius learn quickly that Agravaine's loyalty is to Morgana. *

as the voice of the Great Dragon, also known as Kilgharrah, the last of his kind after Uther destroys all of his kin and makes an example of him by imprisoning him in a vast cave beneath the castle. The Great Dragon gives Merlin advice and forges the sword of

Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...

in his breath for Arthur, but persistently demands his freedom in return. Merlin eventually releases him, unwittingly unleashing a full-on assault on Camelot by the dragon, seeking revenge for his murdered kin. However, Merlin learns from his father that he is descended from a long line of dragonlords, and is able to use that power to control the Great Dragon. Subsequently, Merlin and the dragon become close friends with the dragon often helping Merlin when needed.

Episodes

Production

The programme was conceived by Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. The BBC had been keen on showing a drama based on the character of Merlin for some time. A year before the Shine series was initiated, writer and producer

Chris Chibnall Christopher Antony Chibnall (born 21 March 1970) is an English television writer and producer, best known as the creator and writer of the award-winning ITV (TV network), ITV mystery-crime drama ''Broadchurch'' (2013-17) and as the third showr ...

had been developing a project aimed at a BBC One Sunday night slot, but this was ultimately not commissioned. The Shine version of the project was put into development in late 2006, commissioned by Controller of BBC One Peter Fincham and BBC Head of Fiction Jane Tranter, with Fincham keen on having more series on his channel which embodied "three generation TV – that's TV you can watch with your grandparents and children. There's not enough of that about." The series went into production in March 2008, with filming in Wales and France (at the

Château de Pierrefonds The Château de Pierrefonds () is a castle situated in the commune of Pierrefonds in the Oise department in the Hauts-de-France region, Northern France. It is located on the southeast edge of the forest of Compiègne, northeast of Paris, betw ...

). Two Kent locations were also used: The Barons Hall and Garden Tower at

Penshurst Place Penshurst Place is a historic building near Penshurst, Kent, south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poets and courtiers, siblings Mary Sidney and Philip ...

, and Chislehurst Caves for the first series. The series was produced by Shine in association with BBC Wales, whose Head of Drama Julie Gardner was executive producer for the BBC. ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' chief writer

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...

had been an important influence on the tone and style of ''Merlin''. CGI special effects for the series were provided by Colin Gorry Effects and The Mill. The

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

for spells was written by university scholar and medievalist Dr. Mark Faulkner, and later by the script editing team. Capps and Murphy confirmed on 24 July 2011 that BBC had commissioned a fifth series. Filming for the fifth series began March 2012 in Pierrefonds, France and near

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales. 13 episodes were ordered. On 26 November 2012, it was announced that series 5 of Merlin would be the last, with a two-part special concluding the series over Christmas. In later interviews the co-creators said that while there had not been serious consideration of a sixth series, there had been "advanced talks" about a trilogy of Merlin movies set within the show's original timeline that did not end up being realized, but that they remained creatively interested in the legend. Two of the show's original scripts were published on a BBC website aimed at scriptwriters.

Broadcast

An initial series of 13 episodes, ''Merlin'' began broadcasting in the UK on 20 September 2008. A trailer was prepared in advance for television, cinemas, and online. On 19 September 2009, series 2 began airing on BBC One. On 5 September 2010,

BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the United Kingdom, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Inst ...

in London previewed Episodes 1 and 2 of series 3 for its September Film Funday programme. A ten-episode fourth series was confirmed on 2 October 2010, though it was rumoured to air in early 2012, later than its usual slot in autumn, so that it would not clash with ''

'' which would possibly air during the same period. In March 2011, this was revised, and the fourth series was extended to the standard 13 episodes. Series 5 started broadcasting on 6 October 2012. A documentary series called ''Merlin: Secrets and Magic'' explains how the series was created. Apart from the initial 50-minute special, which was broadcast directly after the series two premiere, all new 50-minute episodes were shown after each ''Merlin'' episode repeat on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Friday evening on BBC Three. In 2009 the BBC broadcast a special in which Morgan and James took a road trip through Wales looking for traces of sites related to Arthurian legend. James said in an interview that while the road trip was fun, it was geographically limited due to being funded by

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

, even though many high profile sites related to Arthurian legend are outside Wales. In April 2008, United States broadcasting rights were purchased by NBC, where it was shown on Sundays at 8 pm ( EST), starting on 21 June 2009. This made it the first British drama in over 30 years to be shown on US network television, as opposed to PBS or cable. The programme moved to Syfy, a cable channel also owned by NBC, for the second series, beginning in 2 April 2010, and for the following series in subsequent years, including the final series in 2013. The distributor, FremantleMedia Enterprises, also sold broadcast rights to CTV in Canada,

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

in Australia and

Prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

in New Zealand. It aired on Choice TV. The series was broadcast in 183 countries. In the UK, the show has reaired on

Sky Mix Sky Mix (formerly Sky Three, Sky3, Sky 3, Pick TV and Pick) is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Sky UK. The channel originally launched on 31 October 2005 as Sky Three. The channel's current name, which was adopted in 202 ...

and

Sky Sci-Fi Sky Sci-Fi (formerly Sci Fi Channel and Syfy) is a British pay television tv channel, channel owned and operated by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast. Launched as The Sci-Fi Channel, it was relaunched as Syfy on 13 April 2010, as part o ...

, in addition to being available on

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available Over-the-top media service, over-the-top on a wide range of devices, including Mobile phone, mobile phones and Tablet computer ...

. The free streaming service Plex launched a ''Merlin'' channel in 2023 for U.S. viewers, in addition to a separate ''Merlin'' channel airing on Amazon Prime's Freevee. In the U.S., the show has also been available on a variety of on-demand paid and free ad-supported streaming platforms, including

Pluto TV Pluto TV is an American free ad-supported streaming television service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Founded by Tom Ryan (business executive), Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in ...

Tubi Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...

, Amazon's Prime Video

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

and

Britbox BritBox is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Video on demand#Subscription models, video on demand Streaming television, streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, ITV which operates in eight countries across Australi ...

Home media

Series one and two were released on DVD in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. Series three is available in the United Kingdom, and was released in Australia on 4 August 2011. Accompanying box sets are featurettes, video diaries, and commentaries. Behind the Magic, a two-part overview of making ''Merlin'' is included with the UK series one box set, while the documentary series, Secrets and Magic, is included with series two. In Australia "The Complete Collection" boxset (23-Discs, Seasons 1–5) was released on 13 May 2015.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack for the first two series featuring music from selected episodes was released on the MovieScore Media record label. ''Merlin'' composer Robert Lane was nominated for Best Original Score for Television for the 10th annual Movie Music UK Awards (2008), the 8th edition GoldSpirit Awards (2008), and the 5th annual International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) Awards (2008). In early October 2012 MovieScore Media released the soundtrack from the third and fourth series along with that from the start of the fifth series.

In other media

Books

A series of books was published including novelizations of episodes from Seasons 1, 2 and 3.

Official magazine

British publisher Attic Brand Media launched an official magazine for the show in September 2011 featuring articles, puzzles and a comic strip written by Damian Kelleher and drawn by Lee Carey. The monthly magazine cost £3.20 per issue and was distributed in British newsagents. Merlin Wax Figure in Warwick Castle

Exhibitions

Merlin: The Dragon Tower

A Merlin attraction was created at

Warwick Castle Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William I of England, William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon, Warwic ...

entitled

: The Dragon Tower, which featured a walkthrough, a projection of Kilgharrah the dragon, ''

'' from the

TV Series ''

'', or at least a true-to-life wax model — which was created with over 300 measurements — and a catalogue of reference shots of

. Upon seeing his wax work, Morgan said, "Little did I think that when I visited Madame Tussauds as a kid that I would have the honour of having the same fantastic team making a wax figure of myself. It's truly amazing and I can't praise their hard work enough in creating such a brilliant life-like me." The wax model cost £150,000, and the entire castle experience was part of a £3 million investment by the Merlin Entertainment Group to promote the show. The attraction closed in 2014 and is now the site of the Warwick Castle Time Tower.

Games

The BBC released two small Merlin-themed video games on the BBC website: a

tower defense Tower defense (TD) is a Video game genre, subgenre of Strategy video game, strategy games where the goal is to defend a player's territories or possessions by obstructing the enemy attackers or by stopping enemies from reaching the exits, usual ...

game called 'Camelot Defence', and an adventure puzzle game named 'Quest for the Mortaeus'. In 2012, a 'real-time cooperative' video game adaptation named 'Merlin: The Game' was announced and launched on Facebook. It has since been taken offline.

Awards and nominations

* 2009: International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) – Best Original Score for a Television Series (Nom) * 2009:

British Academy Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

– Best Interactivity (Nom) * 2009:

Monte-Carlo Television Festival The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Albert II, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony ...

– Outstanding Actor – Drama Series:

(Nom) * 2009:

– Outstanding Actress – Drama Series:

(Nom) * 2009: 7th Visual Effects Society Awards – Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Broadcast Program or Commercial: For the Mark of Nimueh. For series 1 (Nom) * 2009: TV Quick Awards – Best New Drama (Won) * 2010: TV Quick Awards – Best Family Drama (Nom) * 2010:

– Best Visual Effects (Nom) * 2010:

– Best Design (Nom) * 2010:

– Best Director – Film/Drama (Nom) * 2010:

– Outstanding Actress – Drama Series: Angel Coulby (Nom) * 2010:

– Outstanding Actor – Drama Series:

(Nom) * 2010:

– Outstanding Actor – Drama Series: Bradley James (Nom) * 2011:

– Best Visual Effects (Won) * 2011:

– Outstanding Actor – Drama Series:

(Nom) * 2011:

– Outstanding Actress – Drama Series:

(Nom) * 2011: TV Quick Awards – Best Actor:

(Nom) * 2011: TV Quick Awards – Best Family Drama (Nom) * 2012:

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and begun in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted o ...

– Most Popular Drama Series (Nom) * 2012:

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

– Best Sound: Drama (Nom) * 2012:

TRIC Awards The Television and Radio Industries Club (widely known as TRIC) is a British institution chartered in 1931 to "promote goodwill in the television and radio industries". The Club holds an annual awards ceremony each year honouring achievement in t ...

– TV Drama Programme of the Year (Nom) * 2012: TV Quick Awards – Best Actor:

(Nom) * 2012: TV Quick Awards – Best Family Drama (Nom) * 2013: SFX Awards – Best Actor:

(Won) * 2013: SFX Awards – Best Actress:

(Nom) * 2013: Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films – Best Youth-Oriented Series on Television (Nom) * 2013:

– Most Popular Male Drama Performance:

(Won) * 2013:

– Most Popular Drama (Nom) * 2015: Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films – Best DVD/Blu-Ray Television Release For "The Complete Series" release (Nom)

References

External links

* , the official global Merlin site * * *
Merlin production photos
{{TV series based on Arthurian legends 2000s British drama television series 2000s supernatural television series 2008 British television series debuts 2010s British drama television series 2012 British television series endings BBC Cymru Wales television shows BBC television dramas British adventure television series British comedy-drama television shows British fantasy drama television series Demons in television Fiction about druidry British English-language television shows NBC original programming Period television series Television shows about fairies Television shows about magic Television series about dragons Television series about ghosts Television series based on Arthurian legend Television series set in the Middle Ages Television series set in castles Television series by Banijay Television shows adapted into video games Television shows set in Wales Television series about witchcraft Television shows about wizards Works based on Merlin Fantasy adventure television series