Claire Danes replaces Keira Knightley in Apple TV’s The Essex Serpent

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Keira Knightley was once slated to star in Apple TV's adaptation of Sarah Perry's novel The Essex Serpent, but elected to step away from the project last October due to "family reasons." A representative for Knightley told the Daily Mail at the time that the second wave of COVID-19 in the U.K. made it so "there wasn't a comfortable scenario for Keira that could be put in place for an extended period of childcare required for the four-and-a-half-month production." Production on the series was just weeks away from kicking off at the time, but naturally went on hiatus following Knightley's departure.

Variety has now reported that Claire Danes has signed on to star in The Essex Serpent, which follows "newly widowed Cora (Danes) who, having being released from an abusive marriage, relocates from Victorian London to the small village of Aldwinter in Essex, intrigued by a local superstition that a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent has returned to the area." The series will be directed by Clio Barnard with Anna Symon serving as the head writer.

A synopsis of The Essex Serpent via Amazon:

An exquisitely talented young British author makes her American debut with this rapturously acclaimed historical novel, set in late nineteenth-century England, about an intellectually minded young widow, a pious vicar, and a rumored mythical serpent that explores questions about science and religion, skepticism, and faith, independence and love.

When Cora Seaborne’s brilliant, domineering husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one. Wed at nineteen, this woman of exceptional intelligence and curiosity was ill-suited for the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space in the wake of the funeral, Cora leaves London for a visit to coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive eleven-year old son, Francis, and the boy’s nanny, Martha, her fiercely protective friend.

While admiring the sites, Cora learns of an intriguing rumor that has arisen further up the estuary, of a fearsome creature said to roam the marshes claiming human lives. After nearly 300 years, the mythical Essex Serpent is said to have returned, taking the life of a young man on New Year’s Eve. A keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, Cora is immediately enthralled, and certain that what the local people think is a magical sea beast may be a previously undiscovered species. Eager to investigate, she is introduced to local vicar William Ransome. Will, too, is suspicious of the rumors. But unlike Cora, this man of faith is convinced the rumors are caused by moral panic, a flight from true belief. These seeming opposites who agree on nothing soon find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart—an intense relationship that will change both of their lives in ways entirely unexpected.

Claire Danes starred as Carrie Mathison, a CIA officer with bipolar disorder, in Showtime's Homeland, which wrapped up just last year.