Prime Video has added the first season of Wolf Hall, the historical drama that tells the story of King Henry VIII’s right-hand man Thomas Cromwell and stars Damian Lewis and a pre-MCU Tom Holland, to its library.
All six episodes of the first season, which originally aired on BBC Two in 2015, are available now for Prime Video subscribers to watch as of Saturday (5 September).
Starring Bridge of Spies’ Mark Rylance as Cromwell, Homeland’s Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII and Spider-Man’s Tom Holland as Cromwell’s son Gregory, the first season charts the monarch’s obsession — and later displeasure — with Anne Boleyn, played by The Crown’s Claire Foy.
The season has a near-perfect score of 98% from 53 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Independent calling it “subtle, brutal, elegant… simply brilliant television”.
The Standard said that the show held viewers “captive for six weeks”, writing: “This is a rich and well-drawn presentation of Cromwell”, while Empire called the show “utterly gripping” and Rylance “astounding”.
“Elegant writing, coupled with a naturalistic storytelling, and the actors’ comfortable feel for the material brings the world of Wolf Hall to life,” wrote Collider.
The Guardian‘s review noted that the show had gained some notoriety for being “tricky” to follow, but actually praised it for that reason, asking: “What’s wrong with treating viewers like grownups?”
Season 2, which came out almost a decade later, was slightly renamed to Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light and recast Holland with Charlie Rowe. It isn’t currently available as part of a Prime Video subscription. It is, however, available alongside season 1 on BBC iPlayer.
Director Peter Kosminsky stated last year that season 2 almost didn’t happen, due to the rising cost of making television and harsh budget cuts, as well as the 2022 death of Hilary Mantel, the author of the books the show is based on.
“If it hadn’t been for the support of the BBC and [US broadcaster] Masterpiece at that point, when our morale was pretty low, I think there might’ve been a different outcome,” he said.
Wolf Hall season 1 is available now on Prime Video. Both seasons are available on BBC iPlayer.
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