Set in New Zealand during the 1860s gold rush, The Luminaires follows British adventurer Anna Wetherell (Eve Hewson) as she searches for a new beginning across the globe.

When she falls for fortune hunter Emery Staines during an encounter on the Wild West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, the star-crossed lovers become entangled in a world of murder, revenge and tragedy. Especially with the not-so-pleasant Lydia Wells (Eva Green) and rich boy Francis Carver (Marton Csokas) causing trouble for the couple.

With more casting announcements to be come, executive producer for the BBC, Mona Qureshi said, “We’re so excited to have Eva, Eve and Marton join the cast of this extraordinary debut [from] Eleanor Catton.

“With Claire McCarthy directing it promises a wonderfully rich and unique piece of television, full of spirit and heart.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining Working Title and this wonderful team,” added Eva Green. “Eleanor has written a series of brilliant screenplays. I loved her original novel and it’s so exciting that her own screen adaptation reveals yet more exquisite material.”

The novel the series is based on has received critical acclaim worldwide, winning Catton the Man-Booker Prize in 2013.

“I've had tremendous fun adapting this novel for the screen,” said Catton. “Writing a novel is a solitary business, but writing for the screen is emphatically collaborative, and to see the world of The Luminaries enlarged and enriched in ways that go far beyond the scope of my own imagination has been a humbling and hugely exhilarating experience.”

Filming for The Luminaries begins in November in New Zealand. The series will be coming to screens on TVNZ1 in New Zealand and BBC Two in the UK.