For anyone who cannot get enough of “War and Peace,†the BBC on Monday announced that its latest drama project is an adaptation of Tolstoy’s novel. The long novel will become a long series: six hour-long episodes scheduled to be broadcast on BBC One in 2015.
Andrew Davies (“House of Cardsâ€) will write the script, which will be faithful to the novel’s setting in war-torn 19th century Russia but focus more on romance and family conflicts than its philosophical elements, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He is reportedly hoping to cast an unknown actress to play Natasha and two established actors as Pierre and Andrei. Mr. Davies is currently working on the Jeremy Piven series “Mr. Selfridge,†the period drama he created and adapted from the book “Shopping, Seduction and Mr. Selfridge,†which is broadcast on ITV, a rival of the BBC.
Mr. Davies wrote a 1995 TV adaptation o “Pride and Prejudice†starring Colin Firth, as well as the 2008 BBC adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility.†He has also collaborated on the screenplays for the Bridget Jones films based on Helen Fielding’s novels. The BBC broadcast a “War and Peace†series with Anthony Hopkins from 1972 to 1974.
