Britannia (TV series)

Britannia is a historical mystical drama television show. It was created by Jez Butterworth and Tom Butterworth. The show was the first co-production between Sky and Amazon Prime Video and stars Kelly Reilly, David Morrissey, Zoë Wanamaker, Mackenzie Crook, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, and Eleanor Worthington Cox. It first aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK beginning 18 January 2018 and on Amazon Prime Video in the US beginning 26 January 2018. The first series aired on Epix beginning 2 August 2020. The theme song is Donovan's eerie "Hurdy Gurdy Man".
DailyHistory.org says, "[t]he series has a feel of a mixed fictional, fantasy epic that incorporates a historical set of events. 
Synopsis.
"Britannia" is set in A.D. 43, when the Romans invaded Britain. Julius Caesar had failed to conquer Britain 90 years previously. 
General Aulus Plautius is determined to succeed where Julius Caesar failed, by any means necessary. A savvy warrior, he establishes a fortified camp. He gathers information from captives, even children, and learns the Druids are the driving force behind the many kingdoms and tribes. He determines "you don't conquer the people, you must conquer their gods." He meets with the Druids and takes a vision quest, but soon he is talking aloud to Lokka (Loki), the Celtic god of mischief. 
Young Cait of the Cantii tribe was due to ascend to womanhood when the Romans decimated her tribe. She is caught between childhood and womanhood and wanders the forest. She attaches herself to an unlikely protector, Divis "The Outcast".
Divis is a druid with some mystical powers—divination, hypnosis, visions—but seems mad and was driven into exile by Veran, leader of the Druids in Britannia. Divis scours the countryside for clues to his apocalyptic visions, and scampers willy-nilly on some mysterious "mission". 
Kerra, "princess" as daughter of the Cantii King Pellenor, frets for her people's safety. The Cantii are in a perpetual feud with the Regni, a powerful and large tribe. The Cantii's only protection is an impregnable natural fortress carved in granite ravines. Yet King Pellenor makes no preparations for defense or war against the Romans, only relying on the vague hints of the Druids for policy. Kerra's brother, "prince" Phelan is weak and will make a bad king if needed. Kerra takes her own steps to address the Roman threat, calling for a parlay and venturing into Regni territory. But her actions enrage her father, who condemns her to be judged by the Druids, and possibly flayed alive, as happened to her mother.
These four people, and a host of others with their own agendas, cross and clash as the Romans entrench and disaster looms.
Episodes.
Series overview.
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Production.
The first series was produced by Rick McCallum, Vertigo Films and Neal Street Productions and shot on location in Czech Republic and Wales. Most dialogue in the series is spoken in English, which is used mostly to represent Vulgar Latin spoken by the Romans and Brythonic spoken by the Celts. Latin and Welsh are also used to represent Vulgar Latin and Brythonic, respectively.
In March 2018, it was announced that Sky Atlantic had renewed the show for a second series. Amazon was not involved in production and did not stream the second season.
The show was renewed for a third series in January 2020. In June 2020, U.S. premium network Epix announced it would partner with Sky to produce the third series. It would also air the first series beginning August 2, 2020, and the second series beginning October 4, 2020. Filming of the third series was shut down in March 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and resumed in September 2020.
Reception.
The first season received positive reviews. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 76% approval rating, with an average rating of 6.54/10 based on 37 reviews, with site's critics consensus saying "Brilliantly bonkers, Britannia's duplicitous characters and campy fantasy won't be for everyone, but those looking for less-serious swords and sorcery may enjoy its spellbinding madness". On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, it scored 70 out of 100, based on eight reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The series premiered to over 1 million viewers according to BARB, but the final episode finished with only 159,000 viewers, a drop of around 90%.