Preview the Plays of ‘The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses’

After a long wait, American audiences are finally getting the chance to see The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses for themselves. The sequel series is airing on PBS’ Great Performances this December. (Friendly reminder: you should definitely check your local listings and find out the specifics because end of year pledge-time may affect what days this airs).

The original The Hollow Crown series adapted four of Shakespeare’s history plays – Richard II, Henry IV Pts. 1 and 2 and Henry V – into a single chronological narrative, with the majority of the relevant actors performing the same roles across all the plays. The three-part sequel takes on the next part of the story, the titular Wars of the Roses, when two families battled for control of England’s throne.

The only really good thing about the unfortunately large gap between the UK and US airdates is that there’s been enough time for a whole new set of promotional materials to be put together, well beyond anything that debuted in front of the series’ British broadcast. This includes individual previews of all three Wars of the Roses installments, which not only give us a bunch of new footage to look at, but feature explanatory voiceovers that may help viewers who aren’t super familiar with the story of the battle between the Lancasters and the Yorks.

Watch the preview for Henry VI, Part I: