Tom Hiddleston & Claire Danes on The Essex Serpent and Making Their Period Drama Series

The upcoming Apple TV series The Essex Serpent (based on the book of the same name by Sarah Perry) follows the recently-widowed Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes), who flees from the London city where she endured an abusive marriage to a small village in Essex after hearing reports that a mythical serpent has been terrifying the local inhabitants. She unexpectedly crosses paths with the village vicar, Will Ransome (Tom Hiddleston), whose philosophical beliefs and skepticism about the existence of the serpent contradict her own willingness to entertain the idea that such a creature might be lurking in the county’s waters. The sweeping, moody, romantic drama show also stars Frank Dillane as Luke Garrett, a local physician who might have his sights set on Cora as more than a mere friend, Clémence Poésy as Will’s wife Stella, Hayley Squires as Cora’s loyal-to-a-fault maidservant Martha, Jamael Westman as Luke’s fellow colleague George Spencer, and Caspar Griffiths as Cora’s son Frankie.