TV Series (Dec 2023)
“Thy father's moral parts / Mayst thou inherit too!” – Paternal and Generic Legacies in TNT’s Will
Abstract
TNT’s short-lived biopic series Will (2017, created by Craig Pearce), although in many respects presenting itself as an innovative exploration of Shakespeare’s rise to fame, shares a surprising number of features with earlier Shakespearean biopics. Most importantly, the series relies on the familiar conventions of the genre, particularly the image of the solitary author at work, whose rich inner world is contrasted with the drab reality of his miserable daily existence. Apart from this generic legacy, the series also focuses on issues of paternal heritage, presenting the author both as father and son, who is often aware of his moral failures on both fronts. On the one hand, his filial duty to remain loyal to his father’s Catholic beliefs keeps landing him in mortal danger, but his religious obligations also come into conflict with his desire to make his mark in the theatrical world. At the same time, he is also painfully aware of his failure to be an exemplary father to his own son, and of the personal price to be paid for professional success. An often anachronistic combination of inherited and innovative elements adds a carnivalesque dynamic to the series, which, in spite of its short run, manifests television’s continued interest in the Shakespeare phenomenon.
