Knightfall (TV series)

Knightfall
Genre	Historical fiction
Created by	Don Handfield and Richard Rayner
Starring	Tom Cullen Julian Ovenden Jim Carter Padraic Delaney Sabrina Bartlett Bobby Schofield
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jeremy Renner Jeff Pinkner Andre Nemec Josh Appelbaum Scott Rosenberg Dominic Minghella Don Handfield
Producer(s)	Michael Wray
Running time	42–45 minutes
Production company(s)	A+E Studios The Combine Midnight Radio Stillking Films PAKT Media
Release
Original network	History

Knightfall is an upcoming American/Czech^[1] historical fiction drama television series on History. It recounts the fall, persecution, and burning at the stake of the Knights Templar, as orchestrated by Pope Clement V and Philip IV of France on Friday, October 13, 1307.^[2] The series focuses on Templar leader Sir Landry, a brave warrior discouraged by the Templars' failures in the Holy Land who is reinvigorated by news that the Holy Grail has resurfaced.^[3]

Knightfall was picked up for a 10-episode straight-to-series in January 2016, with Jeremy Renner as executive producer and likely guest star.^[4][5]

Cast

• Tom Cullen as Landry, leader of the Knights Templar and a veteran of the Crusades, obsessed with finding the Holy Grail.^[3]
• Bobby Schofield as Parsifal, a commoner who joins the Knights Templar pursuing vengeance.^[6]
• Sabrina Bartlett as Princess Isabella, daughter of Philip IV of France and Queen Joan, whose impending marriage promises a strong political alliance for France.^[6]
• Julian Ovenden as Guillaume de Nogaret, Philip's scheming counselor.^[6]
• Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Adelina, a homeless thief rescued as a child by the Templars.^[6]
• Pádraic Delaney as Gawain, formerly the greatest Templar swordsman, but after a leg injury, he is told he can no longer fight^{[6] [7]}
• Simon Merrells as Tancrede, a veteran Templar fiercely loyal to the order.^[6]
• Olivia Ross as Queen Joan of France and Navarre, a "formidable diplomat and strategist".^[6]
• Jeremy Renner^[8]
• Jim Carter as Pope Clement V
• Ed Stoppard as Philip IV of France
• Cengiz Dervis as Roland
• Raymond Waring as Daniel
• Sai Bennett as Marie
• David Sterne as Jacques de Molay, Grandmaster of the Templars
• Akin Gazi as Rashid
• Ryan Early as Reynard
• Edward Bourne as Nicholas
• Oliver Maltman as Earl of Oxford
• Nasser Memarzia as Draper
• Joey Batey as Pierre
• Pablo Raybould as Jesper
• Adam Levy
• Filip Mayer as The Sultans body guard
• Craig McGinlay
• Sam Hazeldine
• Harry Webster as young Landry
• Craig McGinlay
• Ben Loyd Holmes
• Lourdes Faberes
• Thomas Coombes
• Ben Lamb
• Jordi Gràcia Vallès
• Michael Yare
• Zingaro Marco
• Raphael Acloque as Nasir
• Roy McCrerey as Charles
• Jack Sandle as Malraux

Production

Welsh actor Tom Cullen plays Sir Landry in the series.

In January 2016, History announced it had picked up Knightfall for a 10-episode straight-to-series, executive produced by and likely guest starring Jeremy Renner.^[4][5] British writer-producer Dominic Minghella will serve as showrunner and executive producer of Knightfall.^[6] The series was conceived by Renner's production partner Don Handfield and Los Angeles-based British writer and journalist Richard Rayner, who will serve as executive producers along with Renner.^[9] Other executive producers on the series include Jeff Pinkner, André Nemec, Josh Appelbaum, and Scott Rosenberg.^[9][10]

The production started with three days of filming during the last week of June in Dubrovnik on Croatia's southern Adriatic coast, with Douglas Mackinnon (Outlander) as main director. Metin Hüseyin (Outlander) and David Petrarca (Game of Thrones) will also direct a block each.^[11][12][13] Set mainly around the Walls of Dubrovnik's Fort Lovrijenac (St. Lawrence Fortress) and the bay of Pile, these scenes will depict The Siege of Acre. ^{[14] [15]}PAKT Media is offering services, and over 140 Croatian film workers will be involved with the production.^[16]

Knightfall will shoot primarily in Prague, Czech Republic,^[17] with its base at the Barrandov Studios. Several exteriors imitating medieval Paris has been built in surrounding suburbs/villages including Průhonice, and Doksany. Streets in Old Town and Zvíkov Castle will also be utilized.^[18] Filming started on July 8th. This is the same studio that was used for the TV series Borgia, season 2 of Legends, Casino Royale, and The Bourne Identity. According to Barrandov CEO Petr Tichý, the studio was chosen partially based on the quality of the 15th century interior they had previously built for Borgia.^[19] This total cost for the series will be CZK 1.1 billion. ^[20]

On August 26th, a fire broke out at the backlot of Barrandov Studios, destroying the exterior sets for Knightfall, with estimated damage of 100 million CZK ($4.5 million USD).^[21][22] Only a small part of the set, representing a medieval city, was saved. The following Monday, shooting resume at another location in the city. The fire will have an impact on the production schedule but the production will not be moved to another city and will focus on street locations. David Minkowski, a senior producer at Stillking Films, added "In conjunction with our insurers and Barrandov construction, we are planning to rebuild the destroyed backlot set as soon as possible and complete filming in Czech Republic," he added.^[23]

References

External links

• Official website
• Knightfall at the Internet Movie Database