England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the King dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope and most of Europe oppose him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer, and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?
Creators: Peter Straughan, Peter Kosminsky, Hilary Mantel
Network: BBC One, BBC Two
Seasons
2
Episodes
12
Status
Ended
Mark Rylance
Thomas Cromwell
Damian Lewis
Henry VIII
Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Rafe Sadler
Joss Porter
Richard Cromwell
Claire Foy
Anne Boleyn
Kate Phillips
Jane Seymour
Richard Dillane
Duke of Suffolk
Will Keen
Thomas Cranmer
1979