The Luminaries (promo)

Eleanor Catton's gold rush epic The Luminaries melds astrology, murder, and thwarted romance. Catton made big changes in adapting her book into a six-part miniseries, but the key characters remain intact. After meeting fellow adventurer Emery Staines on a voyage to the South Island, immigrant Anna Wetherell is taken under the wing of charismatic fortune-teller Lydia Wells (Casino Royale's Eva Green). The sprawling cast features Eve Hewson (daughter of singer Bono), Himesh Patel (EastEnders) and Kiwi Marton Csokas. The Luminaries won eight NZ TV Awards, including for Patel and Australian director Claire McCarthy.

...she’s a survivor. She’s a natural entrepreneur ... She is a feminist and she’s very sure of herself, very smart. The men look up to her because she’s created this establishment, The House Of Many Wishes, where they come and escape the grit and grime of digging for gold. It’s like an oasis, and she’s this mysterious, inaccessible creature that the men admire from afar.

– French actor Eva Green on her character Lydia Wells, BBC website

Key Cast & Crew

Lisa Chatfield

Producer

Eleanor Catton

Writer, Original Author, Executive Producer

Eva Green

As: Lydia Wells

Eve Hewson

As: Anna Wetherell

Marton Csokas

As: Francis Carver

Claire McCarthy

Director, Executive Producer