his dark materials

Based on the fantasy novels by Phillip Pullman, the second series of His Dark Materials introduces viewers to the magical city of Cittàgazze.

Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) has opened a path into a brand-new world and Lyra (Dafne Keen) decides to join him, desperate for a distraction from the overwhelming grief over the death of her best friend.

Once Lyra starts exploring this new abandoned city, she meets Will (Amir Wilson), a boy running from his troubled past and separated from his father.

Everyone who has ever worked in television knows that one of the essential qualities required to produce outstanding TV is the ability to collaborate.

At an RTS discussion, held in early December with key members of the production team of BBC One’s ambitious His Dark Materials, the extent to which different groups worked together to complete the series was made abundantly clear.

That was the main takeaway from an RTS question and answer session following an exclusive screening of the final episode of season one.

All five panellists emphasised how working as a team was fundamental to the show, described by one reviewer as “a riveting realisation” of Pullman’s world.

“We did a lot of talking. It’s not me alone at my desk but a lot of people working together,” explained Jack Thorne who wrote the script for His Dark Materials.

‘Rachel doesn’t let me cycle,” laughs writer Jack Thorne as I am leaving his north London home following our interview. Rachel is his wife, a comedy agent and keen cyclist herself, who laughs back: “Yes, he’d just be cycling along and have a script idea and that would be that.”

The two-part thriller follows Mark Easterbrook (Rufus Sewell) as he investigates a mysterious list of names discovered in a dead woman’s shoe.

Easterbrook’s search for answers leads him to the unusual village of Much Deeping and The Pale Horse, the home to a group of suspected witches.

Rumours have circulated the town that the witches are responsible for the disappearances of wealthy relatives using dark magic yet Easterbrook remains adamant that there are rational explanations to solve these mysteries.

The broadcaster announced in November that it had commissioned the adaptation from Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema.

Philip Pullman’s epic fantasy trilogy has sold close to 17.5 million copies around the globe and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

Philip Pullman's award-winning fantasy trilogy - Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - will be brought to BBC One as part of a New Line Cinema/Bad Wolf joint production. 

The books, published between 1995-2000, follow the life of the orphan child Lyra and her adventures travelling through parallel worlds. They have been praised for their imagination, epic scope and masterful inclusion of broad, often adult themes including religion, conscience, puberty, innocence and knowledge.