Knightfall (TV series)

Knightfall is a historical fiction drama television series created by Don Handfield and Richard Rayner for the History channel. Filmed in the Czech Republic and Croatia, it premiered on December 6, 2017, in the United States. On August 13, 2018, History renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on March 25, 2019. In May 2020, it was announced that the series had been cancelled.
"Knightfall" recounts the success, fall, persecution, and suppression of the Knights Templar, as orchestrated by King Philip IV of France on October 13, 1307. The series focuses on the fictional Templar leader Landry du Lauzon, a brave warrior discouraged by the Templars' failures in the Holy Land who is reinvigorated by news that the Holy Grail has resurfaced.
Production.
Development.
In January 2016, History announced it had picked up "Knightfall" for a 10-episode straight-to-series, executive produced by Jeremy Renner. The series was conceived by Renner's production partner Don Handfield and Los Angeles-based British writer and journalist Richard Rayner. British writer-producer Dominic Minghella served as showrunner for the first season. "Knightfall" recounts the fall, persecution, and burning at the stake of the Knights Templar, as orchestrated by King Philip IV of France on October 13, 1307. Minghella said that the Swedish film "Arn – The Knight Templar" was one of the main inspirations for the series.
A Czech-American co-production presented by History, the first season of "Knightfall" was developed and produced by A+E Studios. Dominic Minghella, Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, Barry Jossen, Jana Bennett, Douglas Mackinnon, Jeremy Renner, Don Handfield, Richard Rayner, and Sonny Postiglione are credited as executive producers, while Philip G. Flores acted as co-executive producer. The season was produced by Michael Wray for the first four episodes and Gideon Amir for the last six episodes. Jason Grote, Alex Shevchenko, David Minkowski and Matthew Stillman acted as co-producers, while David Elliot served as supervising producer.
The production team for the first season includes casting director Debbie McWilliams, costume designer Diana Cilliers, composer Andrew Price, production designer Ondrej Nekvasil, editors Nathan D. Gunn for the first, sixth and tenth episodes, Stephen Mark for the second episode, John Coniglio for the third and seventh episodes, Patrick McMahon for the fourth and eighth episode, Peter Mergus for the fifth and ninth episode, and Joe Sawyer for the fifth and sixth episodes, and cinematographer Christopher Manley.
On August 13, 2018, it was announced that "Knightfall" was renewed for a second season. Aaron Helbing was hired as executive producer, writer and showrunner for the second season, replacing Dominic Minghella. "Knightfall" actor Simon Merrells confirmed that ' and ' director Rick Jacobson was also working on the series. The production hired a number of European directors for the second season, including Samira Radsi and Roel Reiné. The second season consists of eight episodes.
A Czech-American co-production presented by History, the second season of "Knightfall" was developed and produced by A+E Studios. Aaron Helbing, Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, Barry Jossen, Rick Jacobson, Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris, Don Handfield, Richard Rayner and Jeremy Renner are credited as executive producers, while Russell Rothberg acted as co-executive producer. The season was produced by Michael Wray for the first three episodes and Nina Heyns for the last five episodes. David Minkowski, Matthew Stillman and Cristina Verano acted as co-producers.
The production team for the second season includes casting director Suzanne Smith, costume designer Diana Cilliers, composer Natalie Holt, production designer Ondrej Nekvasil, editors Garret Donnelly for the first and fifth episodes, Sang Han for the second and sixth episodes, Debby Germino for the third and seventh episodes and Heather Goodwin Floyd for the fourth and eighth episodes, and cinematographers Thomas Yatsko for the first, fourth, fifth and eighth episodes and Boris Mojsovski for the second, third, sixth and seventh episodes.
In May 2020, it was announced that the series had been canceled.
Casting.
With the series' renewal, two new main cast members were announced. Mark Hamill was cast as Talus, an old Templar veteran of the Crusades who lived through a decade of captivity in the Middle East, and now tasked with training younger knights. One of his ex-students is Landry, once a master himself but forced to start over after breaking his vows in the first season. Tom Forbes was cast as Prince Louis, the violent and unpredictable son of King Philip.
Genevieve Gaunt was cast in the recurring role of Isabella, King Philip's daughter and on her way to becoming the woman who history would call the "she-wolf of France". Gaunt replaced Sabrina Bartlett, who portrayed the princess in season one. Additional recurring roles include Irish actor Peter O'Meara as Chartres Temple Master Berenger, "" actress Clementine Nicholson as Princess Margaret, Prince Louis's wife, and Claire Cooper as Sister Anne.
Filming.
Production started with three days of filming during the last week of June 2016 in Dubrovnik on Croatia's southern Adriatic coast, with Douglas Mackinnon "(Outlander)" as director. Set mainly around the Walls of Dubrovnik's Fort Lovrijenac (St. Lawrence Fortress) and the bay of Pile, these scenes depict The Siege of Acre. PAKT Media offered their services, and over 140 Croatian film workers were involved with the production.
Mackinnon served as the principal director, handling most episodes. Metin Hüseyin and David Petrarca ("Game of Thrones") also directed a block each. "Knightfall" was shot primarily in Prague, Czech Republic, with its base at the Barrandov Studios. Several exteriors imitating medieval Paris were built in surrounding suburbs and villages, including Průhonice, and Doksany. Streets in Old Town and Švihov Castle were utilized. Filming started on July 8. According to Barrandov CEO Petr Tichý, the studio was chosen partially based on the quality of the 15th-century interior they had previously built for "Borgia". According to Tom Cullen, the main cast had a two-and-a-half week "boot camp" with French stuntman and fight choreographer Cédric Proust. Cullen had taken fencing classes in the past, but had not swung a sword in eight years. The total cost for the season was CZK 1.1 billion.
On August 26, 2016, a fire broke out at the backlot of Barrandov Studios, destroying the exterior sets for "Knightfall", with an estimated damage of 100 million CZK (US$4.5 million). Only a small part of the set, representing a medieval city, was saved. The following Monday, shooting resumed at another location in the city. The fire affected the production schedule, but the production was not to be moved to another city, and would focus on street locations. David Minkowski, a senior producer at Stillking Films, added, "In conjunction with our insurers and Barrandov construction, we are planning to rebuild the destroyed backlot set as soon as possible and complete filming in Czech Republic. Filming for the first season wrapped in mid-December 2016.
The filming of the second season wrapped on December 19, 2018.
Other locations in the Czech Republic that were used for filming the series included the Doksany Monastery, Točník Castle, Kost Castle near Libošovice, Zvíkov Castle and the Medieval Open-Air Řepora museum.
Release.
A teaser trailer debuted on February 1, 2017, on History Channel, depicting a bloody Templar helmet. The series premiered on December 6, 2017. The second season premiered on March 25, 2019.
The series was pre-sold to SBS in Australia. HBO, its subsidiary Cinemax, and FilmBox Premium also obtained the rights in central and eastern Europe. History, which developed the original series, aired "Knightfall" in North America.
Reception.
Critical reception.
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 had an approval rating of 55% based on 20 reviews. On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes listed only four reviews, with three favorable; two of the reviews praised the addition of Mark Hamill with one commenting that "the barely recognizable Star Wars icon carries every scene in which he appears".
Accolades.
"Knightfall" was nominated for Best Fantasy Television Series at the 44th Saturn Awards.
Other media.
In May 2017, it was announced that A+E Networks had partnered with Titan Publishing to develop original novels and an eight-part comic book series based on the series.