'The Pillars of the Earth': an Epic Miniseries with Ian McShane

[WyldeMan45]

Click the photo to watch the preview

Premieres Friday July 23 on Starz

This epic tale of passion and greed begins when a mysterious secret disrupts the succession to the English crown and an unlikely member of King Henry’s family takes the throne. A power struggle between Henry’s daughter, Maud, and nephew, Stephen, causes England to be torn by war as battles rage for the rightful heir. Meanwhile, Bishop Waleran Bigod and the Hamleigh family manipulate the conflict to satisfy their own ruthless ambitions. Within this tumultuous setting, Prior Philip fights insurmountable obstacles to keep Kingsbridge and his dream of building a magnificent cathedral alive. The task is daunting, but master-mason Tom Builder, his gifted stepson, Jack, and noblewoman Aliena work together to achieve their dreams. And in the process, the long-hidden secret is revealed.

Ian McShane as “Waleran”
Donald Sutherland as “Bartholomew”
Rufus Sewell as “Tom Builder”
Matthew Macfadyen as “Prior Philip”
Sarah Parish as “Regan Hamleigh”
David Oakes as “William Hamleigh”
Robert Bathurst as “Percy Hamleigh”
Hayley Atwell as “Aliena”
Sam Claflin as “Richard”
Eddie Redmayne as “Jack”
Liam Garrigan as “Alfred”
Skye Bennett as “Martha”
Gordon Pinsent as “the Archbishop”
Natalia Worner as “Ellen”
Anatole Taubman as “Remigius”
Goetz Otto as “Walter”
Jody Halse as “Johnny Eightpence”
David Bark Jones as “Francis”

The eight-parts miniseries The Pillars of the Earth will premiere on July 23 at 9 PM on The Movie Network and Movie Central, which are respectively two Canadian premium cable networks from Eastern and Western Canada, along with Starz, an American premium cable network.

The miniseries is obviously based on a novel by Ken Follett. Moreover, it's a co-production between Canada and Germany that was made with a budget of $40 million. Speaking about the shooting locations, the show was shot in Budapest and Austria.

Finally, here are the Canadian broadcast details:

* The first two episodes of The Pillars of the Earth will debut as a two-hour special on Friday, July 23 at 9 p.m., day-and-date with Starz in the U.S.
* On Monday, July 26, the two-hour special will repeat at 9 p.m., the miniseries’ regular timeslot.
* For the following four weeks, new one-hour episodes will premiere Monday nights at 9 p.m.
* The miniseries will conclude with a special two-hour finale on Monday, August 30 at 9 p.m.