TCA SUMMER 2015
Friday, July 31, 2015
Tyler Zlotnick, 646 740 5675
[email protected]
TCA Press Materials: bbcatca.com
THE LAST KINGDOM PREMIERES OCTOBER 10 ON BBC AMERICA
England is born in a new drama from the Emmy® Award and Golden Globe®-winning producers of
Downton Abbey
Beverly Hills – July 31, 2015 – BBC AMERICA’s new original series, The Last Kingdom, is a contemporary
story of redemption, vengeance and self-discovery set against the birth of England. The eight part drama
series follows young warrior and outsider, Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon), on a fierce mission to reclaim
his birthright. The Last Kingdom, from Emmy®-winning executive producers of Downton Abbey, Gareth
Neame and Nigel Marchant, is a Carnival Films co-production with BBC AMERICA for BBC Two and
BBC AMERICA. The Last Kingdom premieres Saturday, October 10, 10:00pm ET on BBC
AMERICA.
Eleven-year-old Uhtred was born a Saxon in 9th century Northumbria. He watches from a cliff top as
invading Danish ships move toward his home, not knowing that his future will soon be turned upsidedown. Young Uhtred witnesses his father killed and the Saxon army defeated. That same day he is taken
by the Danish warlord, Earl Ragnar. His fellow captive is a feisty, sharp-tongued girl named Brida. The
orphans are brought up in the Danish camp.
Fast forward and the two have formed a close personal bond as kindred spirits and lovers. Uhtred is
now a valiant young man and warrior. But it isn’t long before he’s forced to endure yet another painful
and disorienting twist of fate when a group of Danes deliberately set his home ablaze in a vengeful,
personal attack – murdering his surrogate family (including Ragnar, who Uhtred saw as his true father).
A bloody feud between rival Danes ensues. Caught in the middle, Uhtred finds himself exiled – neither
Saxon nor Dane – alone in the world with only his fellow outcast, Brida (Emily Cox). Meanwhile, his
inheritance and lands in Northumbria are taken by his scheming uncle, Aelfric. Enraged, Uhtred swears
to avenge Ragnar and to reclaim his homeland. But his loyalties are ever tested as circumstances force
him to choose between the country of his birth and the people of his upbringing. Uhtred must tread a
dangerous path between both sides if he is to play his part in the birth of a new nation and, ultimately,
recapture his ancestral lands.
Alexander Dreymon (American Horror Story) heads up the international cast from eleven different
countries. Emily Cox (The Silent Mountain) stars as Brida, David Dawson (Peaky Blinders) as King Alfred,
Rune Temte (Eddie the Eagle) as Ubba, Matthew Macfadyen (Ripper Street) as Lord Uhtred, Rutger Hauer
(Blade Runner) as Ravn, Ian Hart (Boardwalk Empire) as Beocca, Tobias Santelmann (Point Break) as Ragnar
the Younger, Peter Gantzler (Italian For Beginners) as Earl Ragnar, Adrian Bower (Mount Pleasant) as
Leofric, Joseph Millson (Penny Dreadful) as Aelfric and Henning Valin Jakobsen (The Bridge) as Storri.
Adapted from Bernard Cornwell’s best-selling series of books “The Saxon Stories,” by BAFTA
nominated and RTS award-winning writer Stephen Butchard, The Last Kingdom combines real historical
figures and events with fiction, re-telling the history of King Alfred the Great and his desire to unite the
many separate kingdoms into what would become England.
Gareth Neame, Nigel Marchant and Stephen Butchard are executive producers, with David
O’Donoghue co-executive producing, and Nick Murphy co-executive producing and directing multiple
episodes. Chrissy Skinns is producer. The Last Kingdom is a Carnival Films co-production with BBC
AMERICA for BBC Two and BBC AMERICA. Carnival Films is part of NBCUniversal International
Studios. The Last Kingdom will be distributed internationally by NBCUniversal International Distribution.
The series was filmed in Hungary and the UK.
Note to editors:
EPISODES 1 AND 2 NOW AVAILABLE IN BBCA ONLINE SCREENING ROOM
Twitter: @LastKingdomBBCA @BBCAMERICA Hashtag: #TheLastKingdom
Website: bbcamerica.com/the-last-kingdom/
Press Room: www.press.bbcamerica.com
CAST & PRODUCTION CREDITS
Uhtred
Lord Uhtred
Alfred
Beocca
Brida
Earl Ragnar
Ragnar the Younger
Ubba
Guthrum
Odda the Elder
Odda the Younger
Aethelwold
Leofric
Ravn
Aelswith
Aelfric
Kjartan
Sven
Thyra
Storri
King Edmund
King Aethelred
Alexander Dreymon (American Horror Story)
Matthew Macfadyen (Ripper Street)
David Dawson (Peaky Blinders)
Ian Hart (Boardwalk Empire)
Emily Cox (The Silent Mountain)
Peter Gantzler (Italian for Beginners)
Tobias Santelmann (Point Break)
Rune Temte (Tatort)
Thomas W. Gabrielsson (The Killing)
Simon Kunz (Sherlock)
Brian Vernel (The Casual Vacancy)
Harry McEntire (Episodes)
Adrian Bower (Mount Pleasant)
Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner)
Eliza Butterworth (DCI Banks)
Joseph Millson (Penny Dreadful)
Alexandre Willaume (Rita)
Ole Christoffer Ertvaag (The Heavy Water War)
Julia Bache-Wiig (Aquitted)
Henning Valin (The Bridge)
Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells)
Alec Newman (The Bastard Executioner)
Writer
Stephen Butchard
Producer
Chrissy Skinns
Director (Episodes 1 & 2)
Director (Episodes 3 & 4)
Director (Episodes 5 & 6)
Director (Episodes 7 & 8)
Nick Murphy
Anthony Byrne
Ben Chanan
Peter Hoar
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Gareth Neame
Nigel Marchant
Stephen Butchard
Co-Executive Producer
Co-Executive Producer
Nick Murphy
David O’Donoghue
CHARACTER GUIDE
UHTRED (ALEXANDER DREYMON)
Born of Saxon nobility but raised a Dane, Uhtred grows up with a conflicted identity. A natural warrior,
Uhtred is a leader of men, fearless, instinctive, and driven by a deep-seated need to reclaim his
homeland of Bebbanburg, Northumbria. Quick-witted, impetuous with a taste for danger, he follows his
gut and abhors the prayer, fasting, and obedience so precious to King Alfred. Like a Dane he believes
life should be lived passionately and fully. He has charm, energy, charisma and an underlying sense of
justice – qualities which make him very attractive to women. But his impulsiveness and irreverence
sometimes land him in trouble.
BRIDA (EMILY COX)
Alongside Uhtred, Brida is captured as a child and raised by Danes. Brida and Uhtred’s similar fates bind
them as kindred spirits; the two become best friends and lovers. Fearless, gutsy, outspoken, and a born
fighter, Brida immediately feels at home in the boisterous world of the Danes.
UBBA (RUNE TEMTE)
The most senior ranking Dane, Ubba is a mountain of a man – loud, brash, violent, playful and a little
unhinged. A ferocious warrior, Uhtred is warned as a boy never to fight Ubba, but fate dictates he
must. Ubba’s weakness is his superstition and reliance on his sorcerer Storri…it may just prove his
undoing.
LORD UHTRED (MATTHEW MACFADYEN)
Uhtred’s father, Lord Uhtred – a formidable fighter and leader of men, is ruler of the kingdom of
Bebbanburg in Northumbria. He is a serious and rather distant man whose commitments to Bebbanburg
leave little time for his two sons. Young Uhtred struggles to win his father’s affection and approval.
RAVN (RUTGER HAUER)
Earl Ragnar’s elderly father, Ravn, is a ‘skald’ (a Viking poet and wise man). Given his considerable life
experience, he is philosophical about the struggles of the Danes and is able to impart his wisdom to
young Uhtred, who often acts as the eyes of blind Ravn.
AELFRIC (JOSEPH MILLSON)
Aelfric is Uhtred’s uncle and usurper of the throne of Bebbanburg. Aelfric is unscrupulous, scheming
and power hungry. He sees Uhtred as a barrier to his claim on Bebbanburg and is committed to his
demise.
ALFRED (DAVID DAWSON)
As the King who dreamt of uniting the separate kingdoms of England, Alfred has integrity and true
gravitas. Where Uhtred is gallant and daring, Alfred is a thinker and master strategist, yet troubled by
poor health. A man of great wisdom, he is committed to the power of the written word and the spread
of Christianity. Learned, pious and cautious – the responsibilities of leadership rest heavily on Alfred’s
shoulders, but his faith and inner strength are forever tested by his habitual infidelities. Despite these
vulnerabilities he remains determined. Even Uhtred, who first sees Alfred as a humorless nit-picker,
grows to admire the man who will become known as King Alfred the Great.
BEOCCA (IAN HART)
Uhtred’s Saxon father’s priest, Beocca, goes on to become Alfred’s most trusted advisor. As such, he
alone has seen Uhtred grow from boy to man and knows his true birth-right. Devout, but with a wry
sense of humor, Beocca is clever and tactical, with an opinion Alfred values greatly. Ever hopeful of
turning stubborn Uhtred from his pagan ways, Beocca maintains a strong paternal affection for his
wayward former charge.
EARL RAGNAR (PETER GANTZLER)
A formidable and infamous Danish warlord, Earl Ragnar is fearless, charming, and a natural leader – but
also a warm-hearted family man. Devoted to his son, Ragnar the Younger, he doesn’t hesitate to also
take Uhtred under his wing, seeing spark and courage in the Saxon boy. Uhtred sees Ragnar as his true
father.
RAGNAR THE YOUNGER (TOBIAS SANTELMANN)
Uhtred’s Danish brother Ragnar the Younger is every inch his father’s son – handsome, brave, loyal and
fair. Ragnar embodies the Viking way of life for Uhtred – freedom, passion, challenge and adventure…a
world away from the strictures of Alfred’s court.
SYNOPSES
EPISODE ONE (SERIES PREMIERE)
When Uhtred loses his father in battle, his lands and inheritance are taken by his scheming uncle, Aelfric,
who becomes a puppet-lord for the ruling Danes. Uhtred is captured by his father’s killers and brought
up by Danish warlord Ragnar whom he grows to love as a father. Now a young Danish warrior, when
his surrogate family is murdered by a group of vengeful Danes, Uhtred finds himself alone; neither Saxon
nor Dane. Episode one premieres Saturday, October 10, 10:00pm ET on BBC AMERICA.
EPISODE TWO
No longer Saxon or Dane, Uhtred and best friend Brida are fugitives on the run from Uhtred’s uncle,
Aelfric. Finding himself blamed for a wedding massacre, Uhtred pleads his innocence to the great Viking
warlord Ubba, but is not believed. His only choice is to return to his Saxon roots and approach the
soon-to-be king, Alfred. Episode two premieres Saturday, October 17, 10:00pm ET on BBC
AMERICA.
BBC AMERICA delivers U.S. audiences high-quality, innovative and intelligent programming. Established in 1998,
it has been the launch pad for talent embraced by American mainstream pop culture, including Ricky Gervais,
Gordon Ramsay, Graham Norton, and successful programming formats including ground-breaking non-scripted
television like Top Gear and top-rated science-fiction like Doctor Who. A joint venture between BBC Worldwide,
the commercial arm of the BBC, and AMC Networks, BBC AMERICA has attracted both critical acclaim and major
awards including four Emmy® Awards, five Golden Globes® and 12 Peabody Awards. The channel attracts one of
cable’s most affluent and educated audiences and is available on cable and satellite TV in nearly 80 million homes. It
broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, with content available On Demand across all major digital
platforms. Online, www.BBCAmerica.com is the place to go to dig deeper into pop culture with a British twist.
Find out more by visiting www.Press.BBCAmerica.com/ or follow us on www.twitter.com/BBCAMERICA.
Carnival Films, a division of NBCUniversal International Studios and the UK’s largest drama specialist, is
responsible for the global sensation Downton Abbey, winner of three Golden Globes and eleven Primetime Emmy
awards. It is the most nominated non-U.S. show in the history of the Emmys with a total of 59 nominations and is
now viewed in 250 territories worldwide. Downton Abbey is executive produced by Carnival’s Managing Director
Gareth Neame, who sold the production company to NBCUniversal in 2008. Carnival has produced many
hundreds of hours of popular drama both in the UK and United States including primetime series such as Poirot,
Hotel Babylon, Whitechapel, Dracula and The Philanthropist, as well as award-winning mini-series such as C4’s iconic
Traffik, David Nicholl’s The 7:39, David Hare’s Worricker Trilogy as well as William Boyd’s BAFTA-winning Any
Human Heart, and Peter Morgan’s BAFTA-winning The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies. Carnival Film’s latest
series Stan Lee’s Lucky Man is in production for Sky 1, along with the sixth series of Downton Abbey. Production on
The Hollow Crown 2: War of the Roses, a co-production with Neal Street starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Judi
Dench for BBC2 and PBS has just completed. Carnival Films has recently announced major new projects such as
Frank Spotnitz and Nicholas Meyers’ Freud, Bill Gallagher’s Jamestown, Neil Cross’s Bay of Plenty with Libertine
Pictures, and Magnum with Magnum Photos.