The Luminaries (miniseries)

The Luminaries is a joint British and New Zealand drama television miniseries based on Eleanor Catton's 2013 novel The Luminaries. The series is centred on a young adventurer named Anna Wetherell, who has travelled from the United Kingdom to start a new life on the South Island's West Coast during the 1860s West Coast Gold Rush.[1]

This article is about the television miniseries. For the novel, see The Luminaries.

The Luminaries
GenreDrama
Based onThe Luminaries
by Eleanor Catton
Written by
Directed by
Starring
Country of origin
  • New Zealand
  • United Kingdom
Original language(s)English
No. of series1
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Claudia Bluemhuber
  • Georgina Gordon-Smith
  • Claire McCarthy
  • Mona Qureshi
  • Christian Vesper
  • Timothy White
Producer(s)
  • Lisa Chatfield
  • Luke Robinson
  • Judith Tyre
Production location(s)New Zealand
Production company(s)
  • Working Title Television
  • Southern Light Films
  • TVNZ
  • Freemantle Media
  • Silver Reel
DistributorFremantle
Release
Original release17 May 2020 (2020-05-17) –
present

The series premiered on TVNZ 1 on 17 May 2020 and is also available on TVNZ's streaming service TVNZ On Demand.[2][3][4] The series was first broadcast on BBC One in the UK on 21 June 2020. It is distributed worldwide by Fremantle Media.[5]

Synopsis

TVNZ's description: "An adaptation of the Man Booker-prize winning novel, this epic drama tells the 19th-century tale of love, murder and revenge as men and women travel across the world to make their fortunes on the wild West Coast of New Zealand's South Island."[6] The BBC synopsis added that the series is set "in the boom years of the 1860s gold rush". The script was written by Eleanor Catton and was said to be "very different from the book".[7]

Trailers for the series, providing additional specifics, were released by the BBC on 12 June 2020.[8][9]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring
  • Yoson An as Sook Yongsheng
  • Erroll Shand as Harald Nilssen
  • Kirean Charnock as Edgar Clinch
  • Gary Young as Quee Long
  • Charlie Corrigan as Graves
  • Nic Sampson as Sinclair

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date [2][3]UK Airdate
1"Fingerprint"Claire McCarthyEleanor Catton17 May 2020 (2020-05-17)21 June 2020 (2020-06-21)
In 1865, Anna Wetherell befriends a fellow traveller named Emery Staines during the last day of their voyage to Hokitika, a town in New Zealand's West Coast. The two are travelling to exploit the Gold Rush, which has drawn many prospectors. Anna finds lodging with an American fortune teller named Lydia Wells. The greenstone hunter Te Rau Tauwhare discovers the body of a local hermit named Crosbie Wells. A woman is accused of Crosbie's murder but is bailed by the chaplain Cowell Devlin. There is also bad blood between the Chinese digger Sook Yongsheng and the hotelier Edgar Clinch, resulting in the former attacking the hotel.
2"The Place You Return"Claire McCarthyEleanor Catton17 May 2020 (2020-05-17)28 June 2020 (2020-06-28)
3"Leverage"Claire McCarthyEleanor Catton17 May 2020 (2020-05-17)5 July 2020 (2020-07-05)
4"The Other Half"Claire McCarthyEleanor Catton17 May 2020 (2020-05-17)12 July 2020 (2020-07-12)
5"Paradox"Claire McCarthyEleanor Catton17 May 2020 (2020-05-17)19 July 2020 (2020-07-19)
6"The Old Moon in the Young Moon's Arms"Claire McCarthyEleanor Catton17 May 2020 (2020-05-17)26 July 2020 (2020-07-26)

Production

In 2019, it was reported that BBC Two was producing a miniseries adaptation, that was directed by Claire McCarthy with the novel's author Eleanor Catton being involved in the production process. The miniseries was produced by Working Title Television and Southern Light Films for BBC Two in association with TVNZ, Fremantle, and Silver Reel, with funding from the New Zealand Film Commission.[4]

According to Condé Nast Traveler, the production filmed at many locations in New Zealand, including the South Island’s southeast coast and Hokitika on the west and also near Auckland. The Wild West-style main street of Dunedin was set in the parking lot of a film studio. Other locations included the Tāwharanui Peninsula, Te Henga (Bethells Beach) (at and near the water) and a farm where the village of Hokitika and Chinatown were recreated. Because the Arahura River was experiencing flooding, the production shot at Crooked River. The scene of Anna and Emery’s arrival by boat in New Zealand was filmed at Whangaroa; a small set was built on a barge.[10]

Release

The Luninaries premiered on TVNZ 1 on 17 May 2020 and is also available on TVNZ's streaming service TVNZ On Demand.[2][3] In the United Kingdom, the series first aired on BBC One on 21 June.[4][11]

Reception

Early reviews in the UK were quite positive. "It is glorious escapism, perfect for our times ... promises to be as addictive as it was in its original form", according to The Guardian. The Times review was neutral but praised the fine performance by Eve Hewson. The review in The Telegraph was less favourable: "It sounds odd to say that a period drama feels dated ... seemed a stuffy throwback" and complained of the overly dark lighting effects.[12] According to BBC News, "many viewers on social media also pointed out the dim lighting, with some saying they had to turn up their brightness while watching".[13]

Aggregator Rotten Tomatoes indicated that 60% of the five reviews it had found as of 21 June 2020 were favourable; more reviews would be required for a Critics Consensus.[14]

References
  1. Rampton, James (7 May 2020). "NZ score world premiere for Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries TV series". Stuff. Archived from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. "Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries hits TV screens this Sunday". 1 News. 13 May 2020. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  3. Burgess, Linda (17 May 2020). "Review: TV adaptation of The Luminaries has both the glitter and the gold". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  4. "First-look image of Eva Green in BBC Two's The Luminaries". BBC Two. 21 March 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  5. "The seriesLuminaries". Working Title Films. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  6. "Watch The Luminaries". TVNZ On Demand. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  7. When is The Luminaries on TV? Latest news, cast, trailer and more Eleanor Catton has adapted her Man Booker Prize-winning novel into a six-part BBC One drama
  8. The Luminaries Trailer BBC
  9. Lydia and Anna meet at the ‘end of the world’ | The Luminaries | BBC Trailers
  10. [ https://www.cntraveller.com/article/where-is-the-luminaries-filmed WHERE IS 'THE LUMINARIES' FILMED?]
  11. The Luminaries BBC release date, cast, trailer, plot: When is The Luminaries out?
  12. TV CRITICS The Luminaries, My Brilliant Friend
  13. The Luminaries: Warm reviews, but was it (literally) too dark?
  14. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_luminaries/s01#contentReviews THE LUMINARIES: SEASON 1 (2020)]
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