The first trailer for the Prime Video Western series The English has arrived, and it showcases a mother’s determination to get back at the man whom she views as being behind the death of her son.
From the mind of the thrice Primetime Emmy-nominated writer and director Hugo Blick, The English stars the multi-award winning actress Emily Blunt as Lady Cornelia Locke, a wealthy Englishwoman, who reaches out to Pawnee ex-cavalry scout Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), to help her avenge the untimely death of her son. Together they “cross a violent landscape built on dreams and blood”, without being aware of how the past connects them. They face challenge after challenge while making their way to the town of Hoxem, in the state of Wyoming.
When finally the pair reach Hoxen, they are pulled into an investigation by the town’s sheriff Robert Marshall (Stephen Rea), and a young woman who lost her husband, Martha Myers (Valerie Pachner), into a series of odd and grotesque murders that have been happening in the region. This investigation, however, will force Eli and Cornelia to confront their past and carve out their future.
The trailer begins by introducing the initial premise: Blunt portrays a grief-stricken mother who cannot come to terms with the way in which her child was taken away from her. There’s a clear difference between Cornelia at the start of the series, dressed properly like a fancy English aristocrat, and as the plot moves forward, and she is forced to roll up her sleeves and take up arms. “Can you shoot?” Eli asks her when she comes to him with money in her purse and revenge on her mind. “If I have to.” Cornelia replies. “Oh, you’ll have to.” Indeed, she will, as throughout the trailer we can see her pick up weapons, like guns and even a bow and arrow. “Not quite the woman I expected,” says the character portrayed by Oscar-nominated Belfast-born actor Ciarán Hinds. The trailer makes it clear that Cornelia is not a force to be reckoned with, as desperate mothers can tend to be.
The English will be heading to Cannes for Mipcom in the second half of October. The screening will take place the evening prior to the main event, on October 16. Blunt, Spencer, and Blick will be present and will take part in a Q&A after the screening. Mipcom takes place from October 17 to October 20. Co-producing the series in the UK for BBC are Eight Rooks and Drama Republic, and in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand is Amazon Prime Video in association with All3Media International.
The six-episode-long series will come to BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, and Prime Video this November 11. Watch the trailer below: