Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Wolf Hall producer says Rivals ‘is not a show I would make’

Producer said he would not want to make a series like the recent Hulu-Disney+ hit

Louis Chilton
Sunday 10 November 2024 11:21 GMT
Comments
Rivals trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

One of the producers of the BBC’s new period drama Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light has spoken about the ethos behind making television, amid the success of Hulu’s recent hit Rivals.

Wolf Hall follows the life of Thomas Cromwell during the reign of King Henry VIII, while the Jilly Cooper adaptation Rivals (produced for Hulu and released in the UK on Disney+) follows a feud between two wealthy men in 1986.

Colin Callender, who worked as an executive producer on Wolf Hall, discussed Rivals during an appearance at a Broadcasting Press Guild event in London.

“The fact that something is successful is not necessarily the sole criteria by which I would judge whether it’s something I would want to make or not,” he said, as first reported by The Times.

“What are the things that I look for in a show? Is there a big idea that underpins it, that makes it relevant and interesting to a contemporary audience? Does it have something to say?

“Are the emotions expressed and the situations dramatised truthful? Are they entertaining? Or do they trade in clichés? All the sorts of questions I would ask of a show are such that [Rivals] is not a show I would make.”

He was then asked what he thought the reasons were for Rivals’ popularity and acclaim.

King of the Hall: Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis as Henry VIII
King of the Hall: Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis as Henry VIII (BBC/Playground Entertainment/Nick Briggs)

“I’m not sure anything is surprising anymore,” he said. “I don’t dismiss [looking away from troubling events] as an ambition.”

The Mirror and the Light is a follow-up to the BBC’s 2015 series Wolf Hall, and the second part of an adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s award-winning book trilogy of the same name.

David Tennant in ‘Rivals’
David Tennant in ‘Rivals’ (Disney +)

In a four-star review of the new series, The Independent’s Nick Hilton wrote: “Mantel’s books are a staggering literary achievement; no popular historical novels have achieved the interiority that she managed with Cromwell. This series attempts to mimic that through a non-linear timeline that is constantly suggestive, if not revealing.

“Without the benefit of Mantel’s prose or access to the fragmented Cromwell psyche, it is as much as the show can do to elevate itself beyond The Tudors, The White Queen, or The Spanish Princess. And even if the eventual product is inferior to its source, the story is still riveting and the telling still mature and dynamic.”

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light begins on BBC One at 9pm tonight (10 November).

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in