‘Mr Selfridge’ to return!
ITV has announced Sunday night period drama ‘Mr Selfridge‘, starring Jeremy Piven (Entourage) as the flamboyant and visionary American entrepreneur Harry Gordon Selfridge is to return for a second 10-episode series.
The series will see many of the characters return alongside new cast members after achieving a peak episode audience of 9.4 million viewers, making it the most watched new ITV drama series, by top episode, since Scott and Bailey in May 2011, with an average 8.5 million viewers, based on consolidated data.
Lead writers Andrew Davies (Bleak House), Kate Brooke (Making of a Lady) and Kate O’Riordan (The Kindness of Strangers) return to write the second series. They will be joined by British historian, Juliet Gardiner who joins the team at ITV Studios as historical advisor alongside author of ‘Shopping Seduction’ and ‘Mr Selfridge’, Lindy Woodhead who continues in her role as advisor on retail history.
Set in 1914 in the run up to the Great War, Harry Selfridge has made his mark and established his iconic store, bringing life to the dead end of Oxford Street and revolutionising shopping in London. Harry’s pioneering ideas and spectacular events have made Selfridge’s a thriving success. However, the onset of war, set to be the greatest and most devastating in history, touches the lives of everyone in the store. In these troubled times, Harry turns to family and friends and sets about healing the rifts of the past.
The series will be produced by Cherry Gould (Lightfields), executive produced by ITV Studios’ Kate Lewis alongside Andrew Davies, Kate Brooke and Kate O’Riordan. The director of episodes 5, 6 and 7 of series one, Anthony Byrne (Silent Witness) will return to direct the first of the new episodes.
Kate Lewis, executive producer for ITV Studios said: “ITV Studios is thrilled to be making a second series of Mr Selfridge. The story of Harry Selfridge, his family and colleagues has drawn in a strong drama audience and we are delighted by the response. The second series will allow us to build on this success and it is a fantastic opportunity to focus on 1914 during the centenary of the Great War.”
Mr Selfridge will begin filming in April on location in Greater London and Kent for transmission on ITV in 2014 to coincide with the centenary of the First World War.
