# The Hollow Crown (2012)

> A BBC Two cycle of Shakespeare's history plays that dramatizes royal succession, rebellion and a prince's reluctant path to the crown.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/40053

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 7
- Episode runtime: 132 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, history
- Network: BBC Two
- Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Patrick Stewart, Barney Harris, Samuel Valentine, Al Weaver, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, David Suchet
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2262456/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: sober, politically sharp, stately, melancholic, earthy comedy

## What critics say

Critics and viewers broadly acclaim the series as finely performed, literate British drama, with the first season's Henry IV material regarded as its strongest work.

## Synopsis

The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) is a British television film anthology adapting William Shakespeare's history plays, broadcast on BBC Two. Ben Whishaw plays the vain King Richard II opposite Patrick Stewart as the ailing John of Gaunt, and later installments follow Jeremy Irons as the anxious Henry IV and Tom Hiddleston as his wayward son Hal, who must grow into kingship. The engine is royal legitimacy: a crown already contested must be defended against rival lords, rebel armies and courtiers angling for advantage, while a young prince weighs tavern revelry with Falstaff (Simon Russell Beale) against the burden of rule. Each feature-length episode runs about two hours, told as a stately sequence of council chambers, battlefields and taverns across two seasons of seven installments. Tone is sober and politically sharp, with flashes of earthy comedy, and the production carries the prestige weight of a classical stage tradition. Fans of I, Claudius, Elizabeth R and Wolf Hall will find resonance in its dynastic power plays and measured period atmosphere.

## Shows like The Hollow Crown

- [Upstart Crow (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/58527)
- [I, Claudius (1976)](https://ember.film/tv/5198)
- [Becoming Elizabeth (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/123832)
- [Elizabeth I (2005)](https://ember.film/tv/12403)
- [King & Conqueror (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/157052)
- [Maximilian and Marie De Bourgogne (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/61682)
- [The Pillars of the Earth (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/30578)
- [The Virgin Queen (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/12780)
- [The White Princess (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/61432)
- [The Borgias (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/30388)

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