Apple TV+ Adaptation of 'The Essex Serpent' Sets May Premiere
After launching several successful series that feel British even if they're technically not (Ted Lasso, Dickinson, Suspicion), Apple TV+ is finally set to launch its first proper British period drama this Spring. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name, The Essex Serpent will officially launch this May.
Sarah Perry’s 2016 historical novel was something of a phenomenon in the U.K., where it sold over 200,000 copies and took home Book of the Year honors at the British Book Awards.
Set in 1893, it follows the story of the newly widowed Cora, who, having fortuitously escaped an abusive marriage by way of her husband's death, relocates from bustling Victorian London to the village of Aldwinter in Essex. Upon arriving, she learns of an intriguing local legend that claims a fearsome creature known as the Essex Serpent is said to have returned after 300 years. As Cora is something of an amateur naturalist, she's fascinated and convinced that this supposedly magical sea beast is some sort of previously undiscovered species.
