Fresh off the success of WandaVision for Disney+, Paul Bettany is making the jump to Amazon for his next limited series, A Very British Scandal. The actor will join The Crown star Claire Foy in a follow-up to a A Very English Scandal that will focus on the “notorious, extraordinary, and brutal” divorce between the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in the 1960s.
“I’m delighted to be working with the remarkable Claire Foy to tell the fascinating and scandalous story of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll and their very complicated lives,” Bettany told Variety in a statement. “I’m also extremely happy to get the chance to once again be working with the wonderful teams at the BBC and Amazon Studios.”
Although, the series clearly wasn’t timed to coincide with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s damning interview with Oprah, it probably doesn’t hurt that A Very British Scandal is being announced in the midst of intense scrutiny for the British monarchy.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Famed for her charisma, beauty and style, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, dominated the front pages as a divorcee featuring accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, secret recording, bribery, and an explicit polaroid picture all played out in the white-hot glare of the 1960s media. A Very British Scandal turns this scandal inside out in order to explore the social and political climate of post-war Britain, looking at attitudes toward women, and asking whether institutional misogyny was widespread at the time. As her contemporaries, the press, and the judiciary sought to vilify her, Margaret kept her head held high with bravery and resilience, refusing to go quietly as she was betrayed by her friends and publicly shamed by a society that revelled in her fall from grace.
A Very British Scandal will act as a Season 2 to A Very English Scandal, which starred Hugh Grant in its portrayal of the Jeremy Thorpe scandal.
(Via Variety)
