ITV's The Winter King brings MGM+ on board

ITV's big budget series adaptation of The Winter King has found an American home. MGM+ has shot the ten-part Bernard Cornwell film adaptation from His Dark Materials producer Bad Wolf, and the series will be released on the American streamer on Sunday, August 20.



Starring Iain De Caestecker (pictured, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Eddie Marsan (The Power) as The High King, the film is set in the fifth century, long before Britain was united in a brutal land of warring factions and tribes, where lives were often fleeting. The series follows Arthur Pendragon, played by De Caestecker, as he develops from outcast to legendary warrior and leader.

Other cast members include Ellie James (I May Destroy You) as Nimue, Nathaniel Martello-White (Small Axe) as Merlin, Stuart Campbell (SAS: Rogue Heroes) as Derfel, Daniel Ings (The English Game) as Owain, Valene Kane (The Fall) as Morgan, Jordan Alexandra (Mammals) as Guinevere, and Simon Merrells (Good Omens, Knightfall) as Gundleus.

Michael Wright, head of MGM+, described The Winter King as a "cinematic and imaginative reinterpretation of the Arthurian legend".

It's one of the most high-profile series ITV has put into production since the launch of new streamer ITVX. MGM+ recently rebranded from Epix to MGM+ International outside the US.

Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders) is The Winter King's lead director and executive producer, alongside Toby Leslie. Kate Brooke (Bancroft) and Ed Whitmore (Silent Witness) adapted Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles and serve as executive producers. Julie Gardner (Doctor Who), Lachlan MacKinnon (Industry) and Jane Tranter (His Dark Materials) also serve as executive producers along with Sherry Marsh (Pose).

Shelley Browning and Kenneth L. Browning also serve as executive producers and the drama is produced by Catrin Lewis Defis for Bad Wolf, in association with One Big Picture. Sony Pictures Television distributes The Winter King worldwide and the series will air on ITVX in the UK later this year.