Drama Series ‘A Suitable Boy’ to premier in U.S. and Canada

November 16, 2020

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Oscar nominated director Mira Nair, 3rd from left, with some of the cast members of A Suitable Boy, a TV series adapted from the novel by the same name by Vikram Seth. Photo: Tanya Maniktala Instagram

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy will make its highly anticipated exclusive U.S. and Canada premiere on Acorn TV on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020 with two episodes followed by weekly episodes through January 4, 2021.

BBC studios’ sweeping period drama series depicts a tale of life and love set in vibrant 1950s India. It premiered on BBC One, UK on July 26, 2020 as one of its highest-rated launches this year, according to a press release from Acorn TV.

Directed by Oscar-nominated film director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Salam Bombay) in her television series debut and adapted by Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice), the show follows the coming of age of Lata Mehra (Tanya Maniktala) a 19-year old student in North India. Vikram Seth is one of the series’ executive producers.

Shot in stunning locations exclusively in India last year, this six-part series features BBC’s first-ever all-Indian lead cast including actors Tabu, Ishaan Khatter, Rasika Dugal, and Ram Kapoor.

“A Suitable Boy has been one of my favorite novels since the day it was written. I read it repeatedly and felt as if it was my best friend. I felt a sense of great companionship and understanding and a sense of evoking a time in India in which I longed to have lived,” Nair is quoted saying in the press release.

Describing it as an “extraordinary tale of love and friendship across class and certainly across religion,” Nair praises Seth for his ability to “reach the depths of human relationships – the heart, the mind and love in all its peculiarities.”

The series has 113 actors and six hours in total, a length and vast canvas that Nair says enable her to let the story unfold. “It’s so full of surprises and rhythms, where things need their time and their pace,” Nair added.

A Suitable Boy was produced by Lookout Point (War and Peace, Les Misérables, Gentleman Jack), and is internationally distributed by BBC Studios.

The series’ score is composed by BAFTA-winning composer Alex Heffes (Touching the Void), with world renowned sitar player Anoushka Shankar (her first for a TV series). The original television soundtrack for A Suitable Boy – released by Silva Screen Records – is now streaming in the U.S. and Canada.