| Image Alt: | Series title over characters in silhouette |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Hettie MacDonald |
| Composer: | Nico Muhly |
| Language: | English |
| Num Episodes: | 4 |
| List Episodes: |
|
| Cinematography: | Wojciech Szepel |
| Runtime: | 56–58 minutes |
Howards End is a British-American drama television series based on the 1910 novel of the same name by E. M. Forster. The series was adapted by Kenneth Lonergan, directed by Hettie MacDonald, and stars Hayley Atwell. The four-part series is a co-production between British network BBC One and American network Starz. It premiered on 12 November 2017 in the United Kingdom and 8 April 2018 in the United States.
Howards End examines "the changing landscape of social and class divisions in turn-of-the-century England through the prism of three families: the intellectual and idealistic Schlegels, the wealthy Wilcoxes from the world of business and the working-class Basts."[1]
On 28 November 2012 it was announced that Playground Entertainment, in association with City Entertainment and KippSter Entertainment, had acquired the screen rights to E.M. Forster's novel Howards End with the intention of adapting it into a television drama for BBC Two. Executive producers for the production were set to include Colin Callender, Joshua D. Maurer, Alixandre Witlin, and David A. Stern.[2] On 11 October 2013 it was announced that Kenneth Lonergan had been chosen to adapt the novel. The production had yet to be greenlit by the BBC but it was reportedly expected to consist of four episodes. It was additionally announced that Polly Hill would be executive producing for the BBC.[3] On 28 December 2015 it was announced that BBC One had officially greenlit the production.[4] On 7 June 2016 it was announced that Hettie MacDonald would direct all four episodes of the serial.[5] On 15 February 2017 it was announced that Starz was joining the production as a co-producer.[1]
Alongside the announcement that Starz was joining the production, it was confirmed that Hayley Atwell, Matthew Macfadyen, and Tracey Ullman would star in the series.[1] A few days later, it was announced that Julia Ormond, Philippa Coulthard, Joseph Quinn, Rosalind Eleazar, and Alex Lawther had also joined the main cast.[6]
Principal photography for the drama began during the summer of 2016.[4] The house used for Howards End is Vann House, near Hambledon; dating from 1542 but remodelled by WD Caröe after 1907 with gardens designed by Gertrude Jekyll. Scenes were filmed at Waverley Abbey, West Wycombe Park, Ballard Down, Swanage Pier and Harry Warren House on Studland Bay. London locations included Myddelton Square in Clerkenwell, Great Russell Street, Chancery Lane, the British Museum, Australia House and Simpsons in the Strand.[7] [8] [9]
On 4 May 2017 the first image from the series was released.[10] On 7 December 2017 Starz released the first trailer for American audiences.[11]
On 1 November 2017 the series held its official British premiere in London at the BFI Southbank. On 4 April 2018 the series held its official American premiere in New York City at the Whitby Hotel.[12]
Howards End is broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom, ABC TV in Australia[13] and Starz in the United States.[1] The series premiered in the United States on 8 April 2018 on Starz.[14]
The series was met with a positive response from critics. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an 88% approval rating with an average rating of 7.73 out of 10 based on 34 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Hayley Atwell shines in Howards End, a beautiful, if borderline superficial, adaptation of a much-revered book."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 86 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[16]