I don’t know how far the upcoming Apple TV+ limited series The Essex Serpent will actually lean into its genre elements, but the show’s title and the mention of a mythical serpent in the plot synopsis give me some hope there will be something in this for fans of creature features to enjoy. If there is, they’re not hinting at it in the first look images, which can be seen below. All they’re showing us right now are stars Claire Danes (Homeland) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) in their period piece costumes. This six-episode series will debut globally with its first two episodes on Friday, May 13th.
Directed by Clio Barnard, with Anna Symon serving as the head writer, The Essex Serpent is based on a novel by Sarah Perry that you can pick up at THIS LINK. The story follows
London widow Cora Seaborne (Danes) who moves to Essex to investigate reports of a mythical serpent. She forms an unlikely bond with the village vicar (Hiddleston), but when tragedy strikes, locals accuse her of attracting the creature.
Here’s more information from the book description:
London, 1893. 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 an unhappy one, and she never suited the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space, she leaves the metropolis for coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive eleven-year-old son, Francis, and the boy’s nanny, Martha, her fiercely protective friend.
Once there, they hear rumors that after nearly three hundred years, the mythical Essex Serpent, a fearsome creature that once roamed the marshes, has returned. When a young man is mysteriously killed on New Year’s Eve, the community’s dread transforms to terror. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, is immediately enthralled, certain that what locals think is a magical sea beast may be a previously undiscovered species.
Eager to investigate, she is introduced to parish vicar William Ransome, who is equally suspicious of the rumors but for different reasons: a man of faith, he is convinced the alarming reports are caused by moral panic, a flight from the correct and righteous path. As Cora and William attempt to discover the truth about the Essex Serpent’s existence, these seeming opposites find themselves inexorably drawn together in an intense relationship that will change both of them in ways entirely unexpected. And as they search for answers, Cora’s London past follows her to the coast, with striking consequences.
Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston are joined in the cast of The Essex Serpent by Frank Dillane (Fear the Walking Dead), Clémence Poésy (Tenet), and Hayley Squires (I, Daniel Blake).
Barnard and Symon serve as executive producers alongside Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, and Patrick Walters. The series was produced for Apple TV+ by See-Saw Films.
Here are those images of Danes and Hiddleston: