SHARDLAKE - mon 9pm itv - TV PACE. NO SPOILERS

[Blondeshavemorefun]

New drama starts mon at 9pm. On for 4w

If you witnessed Sean Bean’s impeccable performance in the BBC’s recent crime drama, This City is Ours (https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/a64030538/the-city-is-ours-bbc-one/), we’re here to tell you about another flawless performance that you may have missed the first-time round.

Shardlake is the expertly cast period crime drama (https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/a64914854/the-gentlemen-series-2/) starring Sean
Bean as a brilliantly ruthless Thomas Cromwell and, if you didn’t catch the whodunnit when it came to Disney+ last year, the good news is that it’s heading to ITV...

CJ Sansom's Shardlake (https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/shardlake-disney-season-2-release/) was brought to life by Disney Plus (https://www.radiotimes.com/disneyplus/) last year, and the very same episodes are making their way to ITV1 from Monday 9th June.

The adaptation features a stellar cast (https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/shardlake-disney-plus-cast-characters/)
including Sean Bean as
Thomas Cromwell (https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/shardlake-sean-bean-thomas-cromwell-exclusive-newsupdate/)
and Arthur Hughes as Matthew Shardlake, a 16th-century lawyer tasked with investigating
a murder at a monastery (https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/shardlake-complex-twisty-mystery-newsupdate/)
.

He's not alone, however. His cocky assistant – or possibly Cromwell's spy – Jack Barak (Anthony Boyle) is there to aid him.

A tense mystery unfolds across four episodes, with ITV set to air them weekly.

Variety (https://variety.com/2025/tv/global/extraordinary-shardlake-canceled-disney-1236277218/) reported in January 2025 that Disney Plus wouldn't continue the series, despite there being plenty of CJ Sansom books (https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/shardlake-disney-plus-books-explained/)
to adapt and it receiving favourable reviews, including our very own
four-star rating (https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/shardlake-disney-plus-review/)
.

Perhaps they'll get their chance on ITV.

Arthur Hughes plays Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer with an acute sense of justice and one of the few honest men in a world beset with scheming and plots.

Shardlake works for Thomas Cromwell, played by Sean Bean, the dangerous and all-powerful right-hand man to Henry VIII.

Despite Shardlake’s unwavering loyalty to Cromwell and the Crown, his position in society is unfavoured due to his appearance, as a person living with scoliosis during the Tudor period, suffering the indignity of being abused as a "crookback" wherever he turns.

Shardlake’s sheltered life as a lawyer, however, is turned upside down when Cromwell instructs him to investigate the murder of one of his commissioners at a monastery in the remote town of Scarnsea.

The commissioner was gathering evidence to close the monastery and it’s now imperative for Cromwell’s own political survival that Shardlake both solves the murder and closes the monastery.

He leaves Shardlake in no doubt, we should add, that failure is not an option. So, Cromwell insists that he’s accompanied by Jack Barak (his rather cocky assistant played by Anthony Boyle) to Scarnsea, where the duo are met with hostility, suspicion and paranoia by the monks who fear for their future and will seemingly stop at nothing to preserve their order.

Writer Stephen Butchard has described C.J. Sansom’s novels as "incredibly rich in story, character and history; full of intrigue, excitement, cruelty and compassion – and at the centre of it all is Matthew Shardlake, a hero like no other." He added: “Although these stories are set in Tudor England, the themes absolutely engage and resonate with today’s world. Hundreds of years may have past – but humankind and what makes us tick has changed little.”

Yes – it’s brilliantly atmospheric, the plot is enormously enjoyable and Sean Bean is utterly brilliant as the ruthless Thomas Cromwell. Critics have called it "a Tudor Slow Horses", "an unmissable whodunnit" and "eminently watchable".

Sadly, a Disney spokesperson has confirmed that the drama won’t be returning for a second series and when you watch the series, we have a feeling you’ll be as baffled by the decision as we are.

I love the books so was looking forward to this, but got bored half way through episode 1.
Matthews’s face looks wrong, too rounded and good looking, although I thought the actor had captured his stillness and character.
Seen Been did not seem like Cromwell, he was Sharpe trying to do a posh accent. If Cromwell had any accent it would have been a bit London.
The locations all looked a bit cgi or as a pp said Eastern European.
It was all a bit mumbly and dark.

I might watch the rest though.

Got this recorded, haven't watched yet, was hoping to hear people saying it was fun, not really getting that impression.

I may try again today when not tired

The books' themes are often quite dark, so you wouldn't really expect it to be fun. Will carry on watching, though I agree Sean Bean isn't quite right for Cromwell.

Mark Rylance has nothing to worry about here!

Nope. I can’t get into it. Not for me but Hope others enjoy

reading recap I obv was asleep for longer than I thought as don’t rem most of it

Recap e1

https://reelmockery.com/shardlake-season-1-episode-1-recap/amp/

Well I have read the first two books and I did quite enjoy this and will watch again.

I think it is not too difficult to see why they used Jack Barak instead of Mark. Presumably when they wrote the script they had an eye to this being the first of a series, with all the other books being dramatised in time. I can see how the script writers would find it a problem to have a central character in the first series who then gets written out to be replaced by someone else for the rest, so why not skip straight to the second companion from series one?

Apart from that, and a bit of surprising colour blind casting, it seems to be sticking fairly closely to the plot I think.

I don't remember Duke of Norfolk appearing in book one but I seem to remember he features heavily in book two so maybe why they have given him small scenes in this series to introduce the character. No objection to that when they have the lovely Peter Firth playing him!

I haven't read the books, enjoying it as historical dramas are interesting .

I loved the books. It’s a long time since I read the first one so I couldn’t remember if Jack was in it or whether it was Mark. I didn’t imagine Matthew as being a young man, although I’m not sure what age I thought he was. Despite that I enjoyed it and will watch the whole series.

E2 tonight but I won’t watch

E2 recap

https://reelmockery.com/shardlake-season-1-episode-2-recap/

Barak seems a completely different character from the book.
Very odd that Alice quoted Tennyson! “Better to have loved and lost…”

I came to Shardlake in 'Dark Fire' so I didn't read or listen to 'Dissolution'. When Mark was in the first book, rather than Jack, was he, Mark, keen on Alice?
I know I can catch up on the first book - oh, another thing on the list!

I had been very sceptical about the series so I enjoyed it more than I was expecting. I thought Arthur made a good Shardlake and I liked Barak too, but everyone else seemed to be going through the motions.

I've always wondered why it took them so long to get around to adapting these stories, cost I suppose. However, this whole production was ridiculously lavish, the big dinner where they had suckling pig and were wearing rich red velvet robes was absurdly unrealistic and overdone. For British viewers it was also obvious that the locations were in Europe, and we also found the dialogue rather cod too.

Just what you would expect Disney to think Tudor England to look like. so, better than expected but ultimately disappointing as they are great stories

I found the first episode hard going but I stuck with it and it got better in episode 2 onwards.

Barak is so not like I imagined from the books, he wasn't such an ass in the books. Shardlake is too young but the actor who plays him is good so I can excuse that.

Shame they won't be doing any more though as I would happily watch more.