Poldark (2015 TV series)

Poldark
Genre	Historical period drama Romance
Created by	Debbie Horsfield
Based on	The Poldark novels
Written by	Debbie Horsfield
Starring	Aidan Turner Eleanor Tomlinson Heida Reed Ruby Bentall Jack Farthing Luke Norris Beatie Edney Pip Torrens Caroline Blakiston Kyle Soller Phil Davis Warren Clarke Gabriella Wilde John Nettles Christian Brassington Ellise Chappell Sean Gilder Harry Richardson Josh Whitehouse Tom York Max Bennett Rebecca Front
Composer(s)	Anne Dudley
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	35 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Rebecca Eaton Elizabeth Kilgariff Debbie Horsfield Karen Thrussell Damien Timmer
Producer(s)	Margaret Mitchell
Production location(s)	The Bottle Yard Studios, Bristol
Cinematography	Cinders Forshaw
Editor(s)	Robin Hill
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	Mammoth Screen Masterpiece
Release
Original network	BBC One BBC One HD
Picture format	16:9 1080i
Original release	8 March 2015 (2015-03-08) – present
External links
BBC website

Poldark is a British historical period drama television series based on the novels of the same title by Winston Graham and starring Aidan Turner in the lead role. The series was written and adapted by Debbie Horsfield for the BBC, and directed by several directors throughout its run. Set in the late-18th century, the plot follows the titular character on his return to Cornwall after the American War of Independence.

The series first aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 8 March 2015 in eight parts, and in seven parts on PBS in the United States, which supported the production, on 21 June 2015 as part of its Masterpiece anthology. The first series was based on the first two Poldark novels by Graham.^[1] It is the second screen adaptation of Graham's novels, following a television series broadcast by BBC One between 1975 and 1977.^[2]

On 8 April 2015, the BBC announced that a second series had been commissioned^[3] which premiered on 4 September 2016, and contained content from the third and fourth Poldark novels.^[4] The BBC announced on 6 July 2016, before series two had begun, that a third series had been commissioned based on the fifth and half of the sixth novels.^[5] The fourth series began airing on 10 June 2018.^[6]

Plot

In the late 18th century, Ross Poldark returns from the American War of Independence to his home in Cornwall after three years in the army. Upon his return home, he discovers his father has died, his estate in ruins and in debt, and his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth is engaged to his cousin Francis. In town, he encounters a young woman named Demelza, dressed as a boy. After learning that her father beats her, Poldark offers her lodging and work as a kitchen maid. He then strives to help his father's tenants and the people of the village while attempting to run the copper mines he inherited, sought after by his rival, the greedy and arrogant George Warleggan.

Cast

Episodes

Production

The series was one of the final commissions by former BBC One controller Danny Cohen.^[8][9][10] Filming began in Cornwall and Bristol in April 2014.^{[11][12][13][14]} The production company is Mammoth Screen.^[15] The production base for each series was The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol, England, where purpose-built sets for Poldark's home 'Nampara' and The Red Lion pub have been located since series 1. For series 4, 18 sets were built across 3 studios at The Bottle Yard Studios, including five composite houses (Poldark in Cornwall and London, the Warleggans in Cornwall and London and the Whitworth Vicarage) and a period-correct scale replica of the House of Commons. Production offices, construction, prop workshops and extensive costume department were also based at the Studios.

Filming locations include the north Cornwall coast at St Agnes Head, which represents the 'Nampara Valley', and the Botallack Mine near St Just in Penwith, which is featured as 'Wheal Leisure', the mine that Ross Poldark attempts to resurrect. The beach of Church Cove, Gunwalloe on the Lizard Peninsula was used as a location for a shipwreck scene.^[16] Town scenes were filmed at Corsham in Wiltshire.^[17] and in Frome, Somerset. The underground scenes were filmed at Poldark Mine in Cornwall. Some interior scenes were shot at Prior Park College in Bath, Somerset.^[18] Charlestown near St Austell stood in for the city of Truro. Other film locations include Porthgwarra on the St Aubyn Estates, Porthcothan beach near Newquay, Bodmin Moor, St Breward, the coast between Botallack and Levant, cliffs in the Padstow area, Porthcothan near Newquay, Holywell Bay, Porthcurno, Kynance Cove, Predannack Wollas on The Lizard and Park Head near Porthcothan, all in Cornwall.^[19] Filming of season 4 was reported in Wells, Somerset.^[20]

Broadcasts

In the United States, the series began to be broadcast in June 2015 on PBS, shown as part of the series Masterpiece.^[21][22] Poldark commenced screening on ABC TV in Australia on 12 April 2015, and in New Zealand on 22 April 2015 on Prime. The series has also been airing since 2015 on the UK-based Persian language satellite television network Manoto 1 which beams into different areas in Europe and the Middle East for Persian speakers.^[23] It was shown on SVT in Sweden, first season autumn 2015, second season spring 2017, and on YLE in Finland, first and second season shown October 2016 to February 2017. And the series was also shown on NRK in Norway, starting September 2015.^[24]

References

External links

• Poldark at BBC Programmes
• Poldark at PBS
• Poldark (2015) on IMDb