Gunpowder (TV series)

Gunpowder is a British historical drama television miniseries produced by Kudos and Kit Harington's Thriker Films for BBC One. The three-part drama series premiered on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 21 October 2017 and on HBO in the United States on 18 December 2017.^[1]

Gunpowder
Genre	Period drama Thriller
Developed by	Kit Harington Daniel West
Written by	Ronan Bennett
Directed by	J Blakeson
Starring	Kit Harington Peter Mullan Mark Gatiss Liv Tyler
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	3
Production
Executive producers	Kit Harington Ollie Madden Daniel West Stephen Wright
Producer	Laurie Borg
Cinematography	Philipp Blaubach
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Kudos
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	21 October (2017-10-21) – 4 November 2017 (2017-11-04)

The series was developed by Ronan Bennett, Kit Harington, and Daniel West and is based on the Gunpowder Plot in London in 1605. It stars Harington, who is a direct descendant of his character Robert Catesby.^[2] J Blakeson directed the series.^[3]

Cast

Kit Harington portrays Robert Catesby

Main

• Kit Harington as Robert Catesby^[4]
• Peter Mullan as Henry Garnet^[4]
• Mark Gatiss as Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury^[4]
• Liv Tyler as Anne Vaux^[4]

Recurring

• Luke Broughton as Thomas Bates
• Philip Hill-Pearson as Sir Everard Digby
• Tom Cullen as Guy Fawkes
• Daniel West as Thomas Percy
• Joseph Ringwood as Ambrose Rookwood
• Martin Lindley as Francis Tresham
• Christopher T Johnson as Robert Wintour
• Edward Holcroft as Thomas Wintour
• Matthew Neal as Christopher Wright
• Luke Neal as John Wright
• Shaun Dooley as Sir William Wade
• Derek Riddell as James I
• Robert Emms as Father John Gerard
• Thom Ashley as Father Daniel Smith
• Sian Webber as Lady Dorothy Dibdale
• Pedro Casablanc as The Constable of Castile
• Andy Lucas as Juan de Tassis, 1st Count of Villamediana
• David Bamber as Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
• Simon Kunz as Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
• Hugh Alexander as Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
• Sean Rigby as William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle
• Robert Gwyllim as Sir William Stanley
• Andrew Jarvis as Edward Alford

Production

In February 2017, the BBC ordered Gunpowder, then announced the three-part drama series was to be developed by Ronan Bennett, Kit Harington, and Daniel West; written by Ronan Bennett; and produced by Kudos. The series stars Kit Harington, Peter Mullan, Mark Gatiss, and Liv Tyler, and is directed by J Blakeson.^[4] Filming started in late February 2017.^[5]

Filming locations included the National Trust's East Riddlesden Hall and Fountains Abbey, alongside popular visitor attractions such as Oakwell Hall; Ripley Castle; Haddon Hall; Kirkstall Abbey; Bolton Abbey; Lendal Bridge in York City Centre; and Ilkley Moor. Beverley Minster depicted the regal splendour of the Palace of Westminster.^[6]

Episodes

All three episodes were available on the BBC iPlayer following the terrestrial broadcast of the first episode.^[7]

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	UK viewers (millions) [8]
1	"Episode 1"	J Blakeson	Ronan Bennett	21 October 2017 (2017-10-21)	9.33
It is 1603, and as England wars with Spain and the bloody persecution of Catholics intensifies, a young nobleman resolves to avenge his kin and defend his faith by any means necessary.[9]
2	"Episode 2"	J Blakeson	Ronan Bennett	28 October 2017 (2017-10-28)	7.49
As the king's network of spies close in on them, Catesby and Wintour attempt to raise an army for their plot across mainland Europe. Returning to London with Guy Fawkes in tow, Catesby assembles his gang of plotters for the first time. They know they must act fast, and the plan is formed—they will strike next week, 5 November, at the opening of Parliament.[10]
3	"Episode 3"	J Blakeson	Ronan Bennett	4 November 2017 (2017-11-04)	5.25
On the eve of 5 November, Catesby, Fawkes and the plotters load the tunnels below Parliament with barrels of gunpowder. Across the city, Father Garnet is under pressure to reveal Catesby's plot for the good of the Catholic faith.[11]

Broadcast

Gunpowder premiered on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 21 October 2017.^[4] The series premiered in the United States on HBO on 18 December 2017.^[12]

Reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 72% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 7.25/10.^[13] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating, the series has a score 63 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".^[14]

The initial reaction to the first episode was mired with complaints from viewers about the depicted scenes of torture, nudity, and disembowelment despite the broadcast time being 10 minutes after the watershed of 9 pm. In response to complaints, the BBC said: "The scenes aired after 9.30pm with a clear warning given to viewers before the episode started. The methods depicted are grounded in historical fact and reflect what took place during the time of the Gunpowder Plot." It was described as 'a very good drama' by other viewers.^[15]

See also

• Gunpowder, Treason & Plot