'The Essex Serpent' First Look: Claire Danes & Tom Hiddleston Star In An Apple TV+ Period Drama For Director Clio Barnard

Ben Stiller’sSeverance” (critically acclaimed), Soo Hugh’s “Pachinko,” (critically acclaimed), “WeCrashed” with Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway (great), “Slow Horses” with Gary Oldman and Kristen Scott Thomas, “Shining Girls” with Elisabeth Moss (I’m under embargo on both, but wow), Apple TV+ may have got off to a rocky start, but is there any recent streamer that has gone on a run as hot as this in three months? On the heels of great shows like “Ted Lasso,” “Physical,” “The Afterparty” and “The Mosquito Coast,” among others, it might be time to recognize that Apple TV+ has more than landed on the TV space. And there’s one more prestige flex in the wings with “The Essex Serpent.”

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From acclaimed director Clio Barnard, “The Essex Serpent” stars Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston. Based on Sarah Perry’s bestselling novel of the same name the six-episode limited series will debut globally with its first two episodes on Friday, May 13, 2022, followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday. And today, Apple TV+ revealed a first glimpse at the series too.

“The Essex Serpent” follows London widow Cora Seaborne (Danes) who moves to Essex to investigate reports of a mythical serpent. She forms an unlikely bond with the village vicar (Hiddleston), but when tragedy strikes, locals accuse her of attracting the creature. Frank Dillane, Clémence Poésy and Hayley Squires co-star.

“The Essex Serpent” is directed by BAFTA Award-nominee Clio Barnard, known for “Ali & Ava,” “The Selfish Giant,” and “The Arbor” and written by BAFTA Award-nominee Anna Symon. Barnard and Symon also serve as executive producers alongside Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, and Patrick Walters. The series is produced for Apple TV+ by See-Saw Films.

“The Essex Serpent” novel is set in the Victorian era, in the year 1893, and the series looks like it will follow in that suit. Check out first-look photos below and keep patient because a trailer is surely around the corner soon.

The Essex Serpent
The Essex Serpent
The Essex Serpent