BBC One has set a premiere date for its adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy, with the three-part drama beginning on Sunday February 15th at 9pm.
Adapted by Sarah Phelps and directed by Jonny Campbell, the series is a co-production between the BBC and HBO, based on Rowling’s first novel for adults. It is set in the outwardly idyllic English village of Pagford, where the sudden death of parish councillor Barry Fairbrother leaves an empty seat, the casual vacancy of the title, and triggers a bitterly fought by-election.
As the contest plays out, the comfortable surface of village life gives way to a town at war with itself, divided along lines of class and money, with the hidden troubles of its residents dragged into the open. The story takes in addiction, family breakdown and the fate of a teenage girl from the local estate.
The ensemble cast is led by Michael Gambon as Howard Mollison and Rory Kinnear as Barry Fairbrother, alongside Keeley Hawes, Julia McKenzie, Rufus Jones, Monica Dolan and Simon McBurney, and introduces Abigail Lawrie as Krystal Weedon. The series will later air in the United States on HBO.