First Look at Starz’ Camelot

Starz has been steadily upping the ante on their original programming for the past couple years. I thought the criminally under-viewed Party Down was the sharpest TV comedy since Arrested Development went off the air and before Community got amazing. And Spartacus: Blood and Sand, while not exactly “good,” was nonetheless an expensive and splashy attempt for the new kid on the block (and, hey, if you wanted to see Xena the Warrior Princess’s bare breasts once a week, you knew where to turn). Rumors on Starz’s newest and biggest effort yet, a revamp of Camelot, have been circulating for a while, although reports on the show have varied. Several sites reported that the show was going to have a modern setting, and message boards fearmongered that it was getting the Twilight treatment. Well, for those who care, now there is a First Look promo which helps set a few things straight.

Most of the footage is behind-the-scenes, so unfortunately it is impossible to say how the show will ultimately feel visually. But I would expect its production values to be significantly higher than the BBC’s Merlin. I never bought that Starz would want a Twilight: Arthur. These are the people who brought us Spartacus: Tits and Dicks, after all; though this video doesn’t really hype sex, so Camelot may not be quite the pandering skin-fest that Spartacus was. I’m sure the series will be playing fast and loose with the Arthurian legends, but that really shouldn’t bother anyone, given that the legends themselves vary from telling to telling, and much of what we consider the “Arthurian Legend” comes from T.H. White’s 1950’s The Once and Future King.

While there is only room in the anticipation sector of my brain for one epic medieval TV series, and that is currently being filled by HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones, I am intrigued by the pedigree of Camelot. It comes from Chris Chibnall (Law & Order: UK, Torchwood, Life on Mars), and has a surprisingly good cast. Playing Arthur is Jamie Campbell Bower, who has been bouncing around some major properties since popping onto the scene in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 2007. He’s since been added to both the Twilight and Harry Potter franchise, and oddly enough will be popping up in the pilot of Game of Thrones. Rounding out Camelot’s cast are Joseph Fiennes (as Merlin), Tamsin Egerton (as Guinevere), Eva Green (as Morgan), and Claire Forlani (Queen Igraine). Ah, Claire Forlani. Remember her?