Nell Tiger Free, Gemma Arterton, Jim Sturgess, Bill Nighy and Miranda Richardson are coming together for a PBS Masterpiece, BBC and Fox TV adaptation of Henry James’ iconic novel The Portrait of a Lady.
The high-end series from Rebecca Lenkiewicz (Colette, The Salt Path, She Said) and director Aisling Walsh (Room at the Top, Miss Austen, Maudie) comes from Number 9 Films and Fox Entertainment Global (FEG), and looks set to be one of the splashiest U.S.-UK co-productions of recent years.
Game of Thrones star Tiger Free will play Isabel Archer, the vivacious New World ingénue who leaves America for Old World Europe, keen to experience all that life has to offer. Isabel rejects a series of marriage proposals, but when she inherits an unexpected fortune that promises to grant her freedom, she falls prey to two American ex-pat schemers: the elegant Madame Merle, played by Bafta-nominee Arterton (Secret Service, Their Finest), and the charming but calculating Gilbert Osmond, played by Sturgess (Mix Tape, One Day).
Oscar-nominee and Bafta winner Bill Nighy (Joy, Living) plays Mr. Touchett, while Oscar-nominee and Bafta winner, Miranda Richardson (The Last Anniversary, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) plays Mrs. Touchett, Isabel’s fantastically eccentric aunt, who takes her to Europe in search of a husband.
Filming has kicked off in the UK, Hungary and Croatia on The Portrait of a Lady, which was published in 1881 and is one of American-British author James’ most famous novels. It hasn’t been adapted since Jane Campion did so in 1996 for a double-Oscar-nominated movie starring Nicole Kidman and John Malkovich. It was previously made into a BBC TV series in 1968 with Richard Chamberlain and Suzanne Neve.
Further The Portrait of a Lady casting includes Jack Wolfe (Shadow and Bone, Ancestors) as Ralph Touchett, Calypso Cragg (An American in Austen, Switch) as Pansy Osmond, Maisie Richardson-Sellers (Nine Perfect Strangers, Insidious: Out of the Further) as Henrietta Stackpole, Hugh Skinner (Two Weeks in August, Twenty Twenty Six) as Lord Warburton, Hamish Frew (Dear England, The Girlfriend) as Casper Goodwood, Thomas Coombes (The Agency, Legends) as Mr Bantling, Lydia Leonard (Down Cemetery Road, A Woman of Substance) as Countess Gemini and Edward Rosier will be played by Dean-Charles Chapman (1917, Game of Thrones).
Number 9 Films is producing in association with Beta Film, along with the nascent High Road Entertainment, while FEG is selling worldwide. The news comes 18 months after Fox TV boss Michael Thorn said the American major could help resolve the British drama industry’s “blinking greenlights” problem by funding projects. Rather than full greenlight, the BBC has pre-bought the series in this instance.
The BBC and Masterpiece have worked together plenty down the years on co-productions like Wolf Hall and Miss Austen. FEG, meanwhile, has during past years struck development deals with Walter Iuzzolino’s Eagle Eye and The Serial Killer’s Wife producer Clapperboard, while it is working on an adaptation of hit British sitcom The Kumars At No. 42.
Number 9 Films bosses Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen said the classic “was far ahead of its time,” while Masterpiece scripted content chief Suzanne Simpson added: “The caliber of talent behind this series is exceptional.”
The deal was brokered by Richard Tulk-Hart for High Road Entertainment and Liz Tang for FEG.
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