Mad Men and Tin Star‘s Christina Hendricks is playing Mrs. St. George in a series adaptation of Edith Wharton’s The Buccaneers. Hendricks joins Kristine Froseth, Alisha Boe, Josie Totah, Aubri Ibrag, Imogen Waterhouse, and Mia Threapleton, who all star in the adaption of Wharton’s unfinished novel.
Katherine Jakeways (Tracey Ullman’s Show) is writing the untitled series currently in production in Scotland. Bleak House and Generation Kill helmer Susanna White directs. According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, Hendricks’ Mrs. St. George is the mother of buccaneers Nan and Jinny, played by Froseth and Waterhouse, respectively. As a girl, she was the belle of the ball herself before she even dreamt of having money. Then when her husband struck gold on Wall Street, she found herself wealthy beyond her wildest dreams but in danger of being the kind of social-climbing outsider that used to bemuse her. Above all else, she wants her daughters to be happy, but soon they’ll discover that marriage might not be the key to that happiness for any of them.
The series revolves around girls with money, men with power, new money, and old secrets. A group of fun-loving young American girls explodes into the tightly corseted London season of the 1870s, kicking off an Anglo-American culture clash as the land of the stiff upper lip is infiltrated by a refreshing disregard for centuries of tradition. Sent to secure husbands and titles, the buccaneers’ hearts are set on much more than that, and saying ‘I do’ is just the beginning.
In addition to writing the series, Jakeways will executive produce with White and The Forge’s Beth Willia and George Faber.
After the success of Netflix’s Bridgerton, featuring well-off women and the men they’ve chosen to love, The Buccaneers will be another project revolving around silver spoon drama. With Hendricks in the lead and other seasoned players getting involved, Apple TV+ could become a significant hit.