''Black Narcissus'' is a British

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

serial, based on the 1939 novel of the same name by

Rumer Godden Margaret Rumer Godden (10 December 1907 – 8 November 1998) was an English author of more than 60 fiction and non-fiction books. Nine of her works have been made into films, most notably ''Black Narcissus'' in 1947 and '' The River'' in ...

. The series features one of the final performances of

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in '' On H ...

, who died in September 2020. The drama premiered on November 23, 2020, on FX in the US, and on December 27, 2020, on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

in the UK.

Premise

An Anglican nun sent to establish a branch of her order with her fellow sisters in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

struggles to temper her attractions to a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

veteran they meet.

Cast

Episodes

Production

In October 2019, filming began on a new three part drama loosely based on the 1939

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

, which was also adapted into the film ''

Black Narcissus ''Black Narcissus'' is a 1947 British Psychological fiction, psychological drama film written, produced, and directed by Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and starring Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, Sabu Dastagir, S ...

'' (1947), featuring

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

as Sister Clodagh. The drama is a co-production between the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and FX.

Alessandro Nivola Alessandro Antine Nivola (born June 28, 1972) is an American actor. He has been nominated for a Tony Award and an Independent Spirit Award and has won a Screen Actors Guild Award, a British Independent Film Award (BIFA), and the Best Actor Award ...

and

Gemma Arterton Gemma Christina Arterton (born 2 February 1986) is an English actress and producer. After her stage debut in Shakespeare's ''Love's Labour's Lost'' at the Globe Theatre (2007), Arterton made her feature film debut in the comedy ''St Trinian's'' ...

star in the series, with

Amanda Coe Amanda Coe (born 1965) is an English screenwriter and novelist. Early life Coe was born in Yorkshire in 1965.Anita SethiAmanda Coe: ‘The older I get, the more confident I am about exploring class in my writing’ The Guardian, 23 November 20 ...

writing the screenplay and

Charlotte Bruus Christensen Charlotte Bruus Christensen (born 20 March 1978) is a Danish cinematographer. Biography Born in Denmark, Christensen earned a master's degree in cinematography from the National Film and Television School in the UK, in 2004. After film school ...

directing all three episodes. Filming took place in

Jomsom Jomsom (), (Ward No. 4 of Gharpajhong Rural Municipality) also known as Dzongsam (New Fort) is the centre of Gharapjhong rural municipality in Mustang district and a former independent village development committee situated at an altitude of ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, and at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

. The drama premiered on November 23, 2020, on FX.

Release

The series premiered on November 23, 2020, on FX in the United States, and on December 27, 2020, on

in the United Kingdom. In selected international territories, the series was released on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

under the dedicated streaming hub

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

as an

original series Original programming (also called originals or original programs, and subcategorized as "original series", "original movies", "original documentaries" and "original specials") is a term used for in-house television, film or web series productions ...

, on March 5, 2021. In New Zealand, the series is distributed by

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

's streaming platform

Neon Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...

Reception

For the miniseries, Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 53% based on 19 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5.69/10. The critics consensus reads "''Black Narcissus'' doesn't quite escape the shadow of its cinematic forebear, but this miniseries sufficiently keeps the faith with excellent performances and visual splendor." Metacritic gave the miniseries a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 12 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The series was reviewed for ''The Guardian'' by Lucy Mangan who gave it three stars and called it "erotic, gothic – and totally unconvincing" and Anita Singh for ''The Telegraph'' gave it four stars reporting the first episode as "the hills are alive with the sound of sexually-charged nuns".

References

External links

* official site at FX * * * * {{FX network programming 2020 British television series debuts 2020 British television series endings 2020s British television miniseries 2020s British drama television series BBC television dramas English-language television shows FX Networks original programming Television shows based on British novels Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows filmed at Pinewood Studios