Blink and you might have missed it but “Belgravia” wraps up its limited series run on Epix Sunday night, May 17.
The six-episode drama set in the first half of the 1800s is adapted from the novel by Julian Fellowes, by Fellowes himself, just as he wrote all the episodes of “Downton Abbey.”
Many fans of that dearly-missed drama have migrated to “Belgravia,” the name of an upper-class section of London that was being developed in the first part of the 19th century.
The story centers on an entrepreneurial family who is grudgingly accepted into the aristocracy because of its success in business. At the same time, a tragic secret held for decades threatens to tear apart the fabric of the society in which they live.
Deadline Hollywood’s Dominic Patten brought together Fellowes, producer Gareth Neame and series lead Tamsin Greig last week via videoconference for a Q&A after a virtual screening of the first episode.
Fellowes explained that Neame, who was also the executive producer of Downton, came up with the idea for the adaptation – and that it was a unique concept for him to adapt his own novel, especially with the difficulty of portraying a character’s inner thoughts.
“With good actors, they will give you that subtext. They could be talking about walking the dog but it’s really about something else,” Fellowes said.
Greig portrays Anne Trenchard, the key character in the series. She discussed how the constraining clothing of the time made it simpler to step into the character. “Her opaqueness protects her but there is a lot underneath,” said Greig. “Having two women at the center of the story allows the audience to enter the society at first and then the story opens and explores the wideness of it.”
“[Countess] Caroline Brockenhurst is nonplussed by Anne,” Fellowes said of the aristocratic matriarch who is used to doing things on her own terms. “But all of the strings are coming apart as she tries to maneuver Anne and discovers that she can’t be manipulated.”
What both women have in common is the loss of a child, which the creators explained was a typical situation in that era – that many infants did not survive or that mothers died in childbirth. The loss and the grief that never goes away makes the characters relatable to a modern-day audience.
“Grief is a thread that runs through the series and it’s a great leveler and democratizer,” said Greig. “It breaks barriers and gives it a sense of cohesiveness,” Fellowes added.
The series also provides another lens in which to view history. “The Victorians love to present the idea of a stable society but it was an era of innovation and change, as all periods are. It was not a static time– and that’s what we explore,” said Fellowes.
“The difference from ‘Downton Abbey’ is the era. The Trenchards would have been aristocrats in that series,” Neame explained. He also said that the main difference is in how the two series portray the servant class. “In ‘Belgravia,’ they don’t love their masters. They are looking out after number one. People are surprised by that and enjoy the dark elements– and the mystery.”
Even Mrs. Trenchard’s longtime maid is willing to betray her and break their relationship. “Their history has turned to dust,” Greigs said. “It’s like swimming with the sharks in 1840.”
(“Belgravia” runs Sunday nights at 9/8c on Epix and is available through Amazon Prime.)
