Collider: Knowing that this show would be a huge undertaking, what compelled you to take it on, in the beginning? Did you realize what you’d be getting yourself into?
MICHAEL HIRST: That’s a big question. After I’d written Elizabeth, I wrote a screenplay about an English king called Alfred the Great, who fought the Vikings. I did some research about the Vikings and I realized that there wasn’t much to research about them. No one knew about the Vikings, but I was interested in their sagas, their myths and their gods. I hoped that, one day, I could talk about it. Ultimately, two years ago, someone said, “Do you want to write about the Vikings?” And I did. To write about the Vikings is not a punishment. It’s a gift. It’s fantastic.
From the moment that you set out to do this show, did you always know who your hero would be, or did that evolve out of the research that you did and figuring out how you wanted to approach the storytelling?
HIRST: I remember reading everything I could read. And then, I have a friend who’s a historian, who is an expert on the Dark Ages, if indeed you can be an expert on the Dark Ages. I think he said, “Look at Ragnar Lothbrok. He’s the first guy who emerges from the myth and legend. He had lots of sons, and he probably was the first person to attack England. Look at him.” So, I found my hero in that way. I thought it was really clever because I had a lead character who had a lot of sons. I thought, “This series could go on forever.”
Have there been any points, along the way, that you thought you were crazy to tackle writing every episode? Did you ever consider sharing that work load?
HIRST: Well, for many years, I wrote movie scripts because no respectable writer would write for TV. And then, things slightly started to change. A young American producer asked me if I could turn The Tudors into an American soap opera, and I said, “I don’t know what you mean. What kind of standard are you talking about here? Do you want me to dumb it down?” I said, “Could you send me lots of examples of good, recent American TV shows?” And he sent me lots of different episodes, but they were all episodes of The West Wing. I thought, “Okay, I’m supposed to do something entertaining that can also be intellectual.” So, I wrote The Tudors. I didn’t know that I could write series TV, but I found that it was very enjoyable. I loved being able to design the characters.
MICHAEL HIRST: That’s a big question. After I’d written Elizabeth, I wrote a screenplay about an English king called Alfred the Great, who fought the Vikings. I did some research about the Vikings and I realized that there wasn’t much to research about them. No one knew about the Vikings, but I was interested in their sagas, their myths and their gods. I hoped that, one day, I could talk about it. Ultimately, two years ago, someone said, “Do you want to write about the Vikings?” And I did. To write about the Vikings is not a punishment. It’s a gift. It’s fantastic.
From the moment that you set out to do this show, did you always know who your hero would be, or did that evolve out of the research that you did and figuring out how you wanted to approach the storytelling?
HIRST: I remember reading everything I could read. And then, I have a friend who’s a historian, who is an expert on the Dark Ages, if indeed you can be an expert on the Dark Ages. I think he said, “Look at Ragnar Lothbrok. He’s the first guy who emerges from the myth and legend. He had lots of sons, and he probably was the first person to attack England. Look at him.” So, I found my hero in that way. I thought it was really clever because I had a lead character who had a lot of sons. I thought, “This series could go on forever.”
Have there been any points, along the way, that you thought you were crazy to tackle writing every episode? Did you ever consider sharing that work load?
HIRST: Well, for many years, I wrote movie scripts because no respectable writer would write for TV. And then, things slightly started to change. A young American producer asked me if I could turn The Tudors into an American soap opera, and I said, “I don’t know what you mean. What kind of standard are you talking about here? Do you want me to dumb it down?” I said, “Could you send me lots of examples of good, recent American TV shows?” And he sent me lots of different episodes, but they were all episodes of The West Wing. I thought, “Okay, I’m supposed to do something entertaining that can also be intellectual.” So, I wrote The Tudors. I didn’t know that I could write series TV, but I found that it was very enjoyable. I loved being able to design the characters.
Source:
Streaming Options
