PBS debuts impressive ‘Charles III’
PASADENA, Calif. — As the PBS “Masterpiece” presentation of “King Charles III” (9 p.m. Sunday, WQED-TV) begins, the whole enterprise feels a bit tawdry.
It’s speculative fiction, an imagining of what will happen in the British monarchy after the death of Queen Elizabeth II when the current Prince Charles is expected to take the throne.
After the funeral, Charles (the late Tim Pigott-Smith) directly addresses the camera, airing grievances that his mother didn’t die sooner so he could have been king longer. Camilla (Margot Leicester) speaks of the importance of tradition. William (Oliver Chris) wants to mingle with the crowds while his brother, Prince Harry (Richard Goulding), complains of a headache and retreats to a nightclub.
It all feels a bit unfair to the reallife counterparts. And then “King Charles III” makes a fascinating pivot as the plot directly addresses the glare of the spotlight as fictional prime minister Tristan Evans (Adam James) tries to enact a new law that suppresses the press, much to the dismay of Charles. “King Charles III” ceases to be “The Royals” knockoff it threatened to become earlier and begins its march toward a contemporary game of thrones political thriller.
Written by Mike Bartlett in iambic pentameter and based on the 2016 Tony-nominated Broadway play, “King Charles III” runs a tight 90 minutes and grows exponentially darker as it goes, turning William’s wife, Kate (Charlotte Riley), into a schemer who would do Lady MacBeth proud as Charles stays true to his beliefs in the face of mounting political pressure.
Mr. Pigott-Smith, who died April 7, delivers a heartbreaking
performance as the title character, a man about whom millions have opinion but few actually know.
Not all of the actors bear striking resemblances to their real-life counterparts, but “King Charles III” is more about imagining these relationships than it is about verisimilitude.
At a January PBS press conference, Mr. Bartlett said the heart of the film is the question, is there a value to a head of state?
“There’s a discussion about what is the purpose. What can a monarch do? Do they provide rooting for identity? Can they do anything in the government?” he said. “People are sort of surprised that the king or queen does have to sign every bill into law in Britain. That is a thing they have to do, and if they wanted to, they could decide not to do that. I think the people are sort of surprised about that. But I think the value, and I think what’s interesting about what Kate Middleton says in the piece. … Her point of view would be that monarchy is less about leadership in terms of writing letters to politicians like Charles has done or whether you sign on a bill. It’s about how you choose to present yourself. What’s the picture you choose to display? And I think there’s a tension in that that’s, for me, very interesting.”
Mr. Bartlett said he chose to write “King Charles III” in iambic pentameter because he sees Charles as a Shakespearean tragic hero in the piece.
“And if that was going to happen, then I had to learn how to write iambic pentameter, which I had no idea how to do,” he said. “So I took about 18 months before I started anything on it because I was so scared of it. But I think, actually, it was theright form for that story.”
Kept/canceled/rebooted
Netflix renewed “13 Reasons Why” for a second season.
The dead-only-one-year “American Idol” will be resurrected on ABC. No word yet on a host or judges for Zombie “American Idol,” which will shamble back to TV sometime during the 2017-18 TV season.
USA will bring back comedic drama “Psych” for a two-hour holiday movie in December.
As networks prepare for next week’s fall schedule announcements, the identities of some of the casualties are beginning to emerge: Fox’s “Sleepy Hollow,” “Rosewood,” “Son of Zorn,” “Making History,” “APB” and “Pitch”; NBC’s “Timeless”; ABC’s “Last Man Standing,” “American Crime,” “Dr. Ken” and “Imaginary Mary”; and The CW’s “No Tomorrow” and “Frequency” officially have been canceled.
The Hollywood Reporter says ABC’s “Scandal” will end after the upcoming seventh season airing in the 2017-18 TV season.
Channel surfing
Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns Pittsburgh’s WPGH and WPNT, will acquire Tribune Media for $3.9 billion, including WGN America, which canceled the filmed-in-Pittsburgh drama series “Outsiders” last month as part of an effort to make Tribune more attractive to potential buyers by removing an expensive obligation from its books. … The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania will honor retired KDKA-TV reporter/anchor Mary Robb Jackson and retired KDKATV chief photographer Michael Challik with the President’s Award at the 53rd Golden Quill Awards dinner May 25. The Press Club’s Service to Journalism Award will be presented to Chris Moore, producer/host at WQED Multimedia and the founder of the Frank Bolden Urban Journalism Workshop — now the Frank Bolden Multimedia Workshop — of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation. … Former WTAE general manager John Conomikes was inducted into the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame this past weekend. This year’s Hall of Fame inductees also include Jack Benedict (Renda Broadcasting), Richard Wyckoff (past PAB president) and the late Dow Carnahan (WCNS-AM Latrobe).
Tuned In online
Today’s TV Q&A column responds to questions about networks’ new fall schedules, an HBO series and local news anchor musical chairs. This week’s Tuned In Journal includes posts on “World of Dance.” Read online-only TV content at http:// communityvoices.post-gazette.com/ arts-entertainment-living/ tuned-in.
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