Never one to let a good limited series—especially one that might hypothetically be gunning for its own most treasured franchises—slip out of its hands, HBO has acquired a stake in the BBC’s upcoming adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. Per Variety, the network has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the expensive, expansive take on Pullman’s beloved religious fable, airing it in the U.S., and everywhere else outside its native United Kingdom. HBO will also co-produce the series.
Just the other day, the BBC pledged its obvious love for the Pullman adaptation, which stars James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, and Logan’s Dafne Keen in the starring role as a plucky orphan. The organization bumped its order from one eight-episode series to a second, ensuring that His Dark Materials gets the slow, subtle treatment that fans of Pullman’s tale of armored polar bears, interdimensional travel, and soul-affecting antics have been demanding for more than a decade, when film adaptation The Golden Compass went badly awry in theaters.
