Virgin TV ’shakes up Shakespeare’ with new exclusive Will

Virgin Media announces wild, rowdy and seductive drama, Will, as its latest TV exclusive, available to Virgin TV Full House customers.

The TNT original series from Turner stars a host of established and upcoming British talent, charting the lost years of a young William Shakespeare as he finds his feet and fortune in the ‘punk-rock’ lifestyle of Elizabethan London.

Will is a clever, crude and highly entertaining series created by Craig Pearce, who with Baz Luhrmann, has been responsible for writing several anachronistic adaptations of classic tales in a bold, contemporary style. Most notably The Great Gatsby (2013), Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge! (2001).

The new series consists of 10 one-hour long episodes, with the first four episodes launching on Virgin TV on demand from Thursday 28 December, and a new episode released every week thereafter.

A riot of colour, Will tells the story of a young man pursuing his dream of changing the world with his words; a chance encounter at the theatre sets the trajectory for the greatest actor-writer partnership the world has ever seen.

Will successfully sells one of his plays to James Burbage’s theatre and in doing so befriends the company and starts up a relationship with Burbage’s daughter, Alice. Within the context of London’s electric punk-rock theatre scene, the plot unfolds to reveal Will’s grapple with his desire to remain true to his Catholicism in a city hostile to these religious beliefs. The juxtaposition between the protagonist’s focused yet tortured brilliance and his reckless lustful pursuits delivers a dynamic, highly addictive viewing experience by any measure.

David Bouchier, Chief Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, said

“We’re very pleased to have as our ninth Exclusive “Will”, a fun and irreverent portrayal of Will Shakespeare as a young man.  With Craig Pearce (Moulin Rouge, Strictly Ballroom, Romeo & Juliette) leading a fantastic creative team, our customers can enjoy a wild historical drama with plenty of flair that will hook them from the start and make for great viewing after Christmas.”

Will is Virgin Media’s ninth exclusive UK launch and follows in the footsteps of hugely successful box sets, Kingdom, Ash vs Evil Dead, Imposters and more recently Good Behavior. Along with all Virgin TV Exclusives it is available On Demand through the Virgin TV V6 or TiVo boxes as well as on mobile devices through the Virgin TV Anywhere app available on iOS and Android.

Online screeners are available on request. Please see press contacts below.

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