Hugo Blick’s six-part series The English is set in the American West in the 1890s, and stars Emily Blunt as an aristocratic Englishwoman seeking revenge for the death of her son. She joins forces with a Pawnee ex-cavalry scout, played by newcomer Chaske Spencer, for a harrowing journey through 1890s America.
The romantic drama is produced by Greg Brenman of London-based Drama Republic and is distributed and sold by All3Media International. Commissioned by the BBC, The English will premiere in November on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in the UK followed by Prime Video in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
In Europe, the series has scored a multi-territory acquisition with Canal+ in France, Disney+ covering The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, Deutsche Telekom / Magenta TV for Germany and Cosmote in Greece and Amazon Video in the Nordics. HBO Max has signed a pan-territory deal for the CEE region, Spain and Portugal and a further pan-territory deal covering Latin America.
In Asia, streaming service Pumpkin Film has secured the drama for China, and NAVER Webtoon has picked up rights for South Korea.
“Westerns are universal stories about survival and independence, about the positions of men and women in the world and they always reflect the times,” says Brenman. “The English, while set in 1890, tells you as much about today as it does about life then. It is essentially about love and revenge which are driving forces within any drama or narrative.”
Blunt signed on to the project even before financing was secured. “I know we normally get green lights, then cast, but our budget was of such a size I knew we needed a big name from the start,” Brenman explains. “Emily was number one on our list, she responded within a week and two weeks later, she joined Hugo and me in LA to hit the road for funding. It was a leap of faith from her and for us. She’s been a fantastic partner as both our lead and an exec producer.”
All was not quiet on the Western front, however. As soon as producers secured Amazon and the BBC, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Production was all set to kick off, pre-production had already started in Spain and all was set for a September 2020 shoot, but was halted for nine months due to the pandemic, leaving the production to keep things together in the interim. The team managed to keep cast and crew together and re-entered Spain in May of 2021 and shot through September of last year.
“We were haemorrhaging cost and doing everything to keep the team together,” says Brenman, paying tribute to the fact Blunt stayed attached and committed to the project. “We had the best Spanish crew so to lose and reassemble everyone would not have been optimal. Emily as an anchor point was crucial.”
Despite the challenges of Covid protocols and uprooting many of the talent and production execs and crews from other countries, Brenman said, “Around 90% of every shooting day we were outside,” but added that their close proximity to Madrid meant they were “mixed with the real world, so we had to be smart. It was all done with military precision.”
The show was shot entirely in Spain (bar one day) due to a combination of attractive costs, high production value and pragmatic Covid-related decisions.
“The crews in Spain are talented and more cost-effective. The tax credit was great. Everything was possible there which is really important to a show this size,” Brenman says.
While southern Spain has been more habitual terrain for Western-style productions, the producers opted to shoot closer to Madrid. “We didn’t want a desert, New Mexico-like feel. Our journey was in the northern states of the US, so we wanted more prairies and mountains. The countryside there is extraordinary,” Brenman said. He adds that juxtaposed against the natural décor is “a bit of CGI mountain range in the distance.”
Historical accuracy
Set on the cusp of the frontier’s closure, The English featuress wide- open spaces, extraordinary light and detailed period costumes. “Everything you see on camera, we built,” Brenman confirms
Historical accuracy, inclusivity and representation was key. Blick sent the script to Crystal Echo-Hawk, CEO of IllumiNative, a Native-led racial and social justice organisation which introduced him to representatives of the Pawnee and Cheyenne Nations specialised in the cultural and military history of their respective Nations.
Production worked closely with a non-profit organization Illuminative “to help guide us and work with us on representation of Native American characters within our show,” Brenman explains. “ It was Impossible to tell that story without it being a little bit political.”
“Every Native American on screen is [played b] a Native American.”
The English is premiering at the BFI London Film Festial before going on to screen at Mipcom.
“As Hugo says, Westerns are about wide open spaces and about people’s place in these wide open spaces,” says Brenman. “So that’s what we show on screen. It works as a piece of TV, but knocks you even further on a big screen. It’s essentially a six-hour movie.”
Next projects
Brenman is now co-executive producing Drama Republic’s The Confessions Of Frannie Langton, an adaptation of Sara Collins’ debut novel about a slave-turned-servant who travels from a Jamaican plantation to 1800s London where she is accused of murdering her master and mistress. Collins penned the script for the series directed by Andrea Harkin, produced by Carol Harding and Drama Republic’s Beccy De Souza. All3 Media is again distributing the anticipated mini-series.
The company is also behind upcoming prestige drama projects One Day for Netflix and The Lovers for Sky.
Drama Republic has notably recently joined forces with the joint venture of Mediawan and Leonine Studios, which has acquired 51% of the company. Brenman calls the new relationship “just a very good partnership. It has supported how we’re doing things because they’re into premium content and they are equally excited about our projects and talent. There is a vision in being commercial and being the best at what they do. You can make great content and still be commercial.
“At Drama Republic, we have three rules: only work with people we like on projects we’re passionate about and never chase money.”
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