Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell poster

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell · Season 1 · BBC One

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Season 1

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Season 1 is a MUST-WATCH, BollyMeter 8.3/10. 7 episodes on BBC One from 17 May 2015.

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BollyMeter8.3/1092% on Rotten Tomatoes (36 critics) and 73 on Metacritic (16 critics); Bertie Carvel and Eddie Marsan praised for playing their contrasting magicians with wit and menace in a handsomely realised historical fantasy.

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What BollyAI Thinks

The BBC's seven-episode adaptation of Susanna Clarke's 800-page novel aired in May and June 2015 to strong critical and audience approval. Adaptor Peter Harness and director Toby Haynes faced the challenge of condensing a sprawling alternate history into contained television and largely succeeded: the 92% Rotten Tomatoes score reflected widespread agreement that the tone - stately, dark, shot through with mordant wit - matched Clarke's original register. Eddie Marsan's Norrell is a masterclass in cramped, proprietary anxiety; Bertie Carvel's Strange a charming foil whose confidence shades into hubris. Marc Warren's Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair was cited as one of the most genuinely unsettling fairy presences British television had produced in years. The BFI named the series among the year's ten most important television programmes.

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92%critics positive · n=368.2/10Metacritic user score audience
  • Carvel and especially Marsan give such invigorating performances, and play against each other so beautifully.
    Slate
  • An idiosyncratic tale bracingly told, generously whimsical but embellished with malevolence.
    Newark Star-Ledger