A ‘(Dark) Material’ world: Pullman’s trilogy continues on the small screen
Join in on the adventure of a lifetime as the HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman’s well-loved trilogy, “His Dark Materials,” continues with an all-new episode airing Monday, Nov. 30. Now in its second season, the series started off strong and continues to impress fans who are all looking forward to the twists and turns to come.
If you’ve read the books (or saw the 2007 film “The Golden Compass”) you’ll already be looped in on the show’s character lineup and the uniquely magical world created by Pullman. The series follows a young girl, Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen,“logan,” 2015) — also known by the name of Lyra Silvertongue — who is believed to be destined to liberate her world from the grip of the Magisterium — a meddlesome and ultraconservative organization that tries to repress any human connection to magic and sentient animal spirits, known as daemons.
The first book in Pullman’s series was released in 1995 and was titled “Northern Lights,” although it was published as “The Golden Compass” in Northamerica.“the
Subtle Knife” was released in 1997, and “Theamber Spyglass” soon followed in 2000. When “The Golden Compass” movie came out in 2007, many of the book’s readers were extremely disappointed in the film as they felt the book’s integrity was not accurately represented. Luckily, the series adaptation,“his Dark Materials,” has had a much warmer reception, with the first season going on to receive 10 BAFTAAWARD nominations and winning two. Also, while “The Golden Compass” featured a rather high-profile cast, it’s possible that the cast of “His Dark Materials” could be considered even more studded with stars.
Starring alongside Keen to make up the core cast are LinManuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” 2020) as “aëronaut” balloonist Lee Scoresby; Ruthwilson (“The
Affair”) as the stern and menacing Mrs. Coulter; James Mcavoy (“X Men: Dark Phoenix,” 2019) as the powerful and aristocratic Lord Asriel; Anne-marie Duff (“Sex Education”) as grounded matriarch Ma Costa; Lucian Msamati (“Gangs of London”) as John Faa, King of the Gypsies; andandrew Scott (“Victor Frankenstein,” 2015) as renowned scholar and mystic healer Col. John Parry.
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Season 2 continues in this new episode. Simone Missick stars as Los Angeles’ Judge Lola Carmichael, a former deputy district attorney who challenges expectations and pushes boundaries in search of true justice in her new role. Jessica Camacho also stars.
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