Clémence Poésy and Emily Beecham have joined the cast of eleventh century period drama “King & Conqueror.”
Based on Middle Ages figures Harold of Wessex and William of Normandy, the upcoming BBC/CBS Studios series stars “Happy Valley’s” James Norton as Harold and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Game of Thrones”) as William.
Beecham (“1899”) joins as Harold’s wife Edith Swan-neck while Poésy (“In Bruges”) will play William’s wife Matilda.
Edith, who married Harold for love as well as protection, has never fitted into his family but their lives are upended further when he ends up fighting for the English crown. Meanwhile Matilda is devious, ruthless and bloodier than even her male opponents after being raised in the Flemish royal court.
“’King & Conqueror’ is the story of a clash that defined the future of a country – and a continent – for a thousand years, the roots of which stretch back decades and extend out through a pair of interconnected family dynasties, struggling for power across two countries and a raging sea,” reads the logline. “Harold of Wessex and William of Normandy were two men destined to meet at the Battle of Hastings in 1066; two allies with no design on the British throne, who found themselves forced by circumstance and personal obsession into a war for possession of its crown.”
Production is set to kick off in Iceland soon.
“King & Conqueror” is created, written and exec produced by Michael Robert Johnson (“Sherlock Holmes”). Baltasar Kormákur (“Everest”) directs the first episode. James Norton exec produces through his company Rabbit Track Pictures alongside Kitty Kaletsky. Coster-Waldau will also exec produce and direct an episode.
The Development Partnership, Rabbit Track Pictures, Shepherd Content, RVK Studios and CBS Studios produce in association with the BBC. Kormákur exec produces for RVK Studios, Robert Taylor for The Development Partnership, Dave Clarke and Richard Halliwell for Shepherd Content, Ed Clarke, Robert Jones, and CBS Studios’ Lindsey Martin.
Paramount Global Content Distribution is repping the show worldwide outside the U.K., where the BBC will broadcast the series.
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