The English (6×60’), drama stared by Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins, A Quiet Place, The Girl on a Train) and Eli Whipp (Banshee, The Twilight Saga films) and international distributed by all3media (UK), had its big presentation at MIPCOM last Sunday 16th. The series is an epic chase Western that takes the core themes of identity and revenge to tell a uniquely compelling parable on race, power and love. An aristocratic Englishwoman, Lady Cornelia Locke and a Pawnee ex-cavalry scout, come together in 1890 mid-America to cross a violent landscape built on dreams and blood.
Writer and Director Hugo Blick described: “The English is an epic and intimate love story. We wanted to engage and entertain, and beyond that, show a female character in a role that usually is represented by male actors. In western stories, women usually work in bars or need to be rescued, here, our leading character starts with its ‘pink suite’, but then she picks an arrow and knows how to use it, and it’s not usual to see too”.
Regarding the format and the choice of one hour episodes, Blick highlighted the importance of focus on the story organically and don’t think if it should be longer or shorter. We want the audience to not know where the story is going and be constantly surprised, and the format responds to that journey. It was organic hand in hand with Amazon and BBC, understanding that the format serves the story and not the other way around. The choice is great creativity and good partners. If the format becomes more important than the voice, you will surely end up losing yourself.”Last but not least, producer Greg Brenman completed: ‘The series makes a commitment with audience and concludes as limited series. Many times when you leave the doors open, you lose the power and exaltation that knowing that everything is going to happen on a canvas and frame can have”.
