Masterpiece introduces some new wealthy British schemers in The Forsytes trailer

According to the logline for the new series, “Desire, ambition and betrayal simmer at the heart of the The Forsytes which chronicles the lives, loves, trials and triumphs of a wealthy Victorian era stockbroking family, whose generations find themselves torn between tradition and self-sacrifice versus personal happiness and the pursuit of love.” The trailer teases the requisite succession intrigue and romantic exploits. Duty and loyalty to family exalted above all else? Check. Meddling mamas marketing maidens on the marriage mart? Check. Young women who long to break past the strictures of society to find freedom? Check!

The Forsytes is inspired by, but not directly adapted from, Nobel Prize winner John Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga novels circa the early 20th century. The books have been adapted before, including a 1949 film starring Erroll Flynn, a BBC series in the late 1960s, and an ITV series in the early 2000s featuring Damian Lewis, Rupert Graves, and Ioan Gruffudd among the cast. Setting Masterpiece’s new show apart from these previous Forsyte ventures, the six-episode first season serves as a prequel to the events in the novel. This cast includes Stephen Moyer, Jack Davenport, Fate: The Winx Saga‘s Danny Griffin, Titans‘ Joshua Orpin, and Doctor Who‘s Millie Gibson.