BBC America has tapped “Game of Thrones” actor Richard Dormer to star in its upcoming series “The Watch,” based on Sir Terry Pratchett’s “Discworld” fantasy series.
“The Watch” is set in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, where crime has been legalized. The series centers on a group of misfit cops as they rise up from decades of helplessness to save their corrupt city from catastrophe. “The Watch” is directly inspired by the “City Watch” subset of Pratchett’s bestselling “Discworld” novels.
Dormer will play Sam Vimes, Captain of The Watch, described as “disempowered by a broken society that’s reduced his department’s jurisdiction to almost nothing.” Also joining the cast are Adam Hugill, Jo Eaton-Kent, Marama Corlette, Lara Rossi and Sam Adewunmi.
Below are the character descriptions in the network’s own words:
- Jo Eaton-Kent is Constable Cheery, a non-binary forensics expert, ostracized by their kin and finding a new home and identity.
- Adam Hugill plays Constable Carrot, the idealistic new recruit, raised by dwarfs, but really a human abandoned at birth.
- Marama Corlette is the mysterious Corporal Angua who is tasked with Carrot’s training and keeping the rookie alive.
- Lara Rossi plays the formidable Lady Sybil Ramkin, last scion of Ankh-Morpork’s nobility, who’s trying to fix the city’s wrongs with her chaotic vigilantism.
- Sam Adewunmi is the wounded and wronged Carcer Dun, out to hijack destiny itself, take control of the city and exact a terrible revenge on an unjust reality.
The eight-episode series begins filming in Cape Town, South Africa, on Sept. 30 and is will debut in 2020.
“The Watch” is co-produced by Narrativia and BBC Studios. Simon Allen is writing the series with Joy Wilkinson, Catherine Tregenna, Amrou Al-Khadi and Ed Hime. Craig Viverios will direct.