Starz to bring Amadeus miniseries to U.S., starring Will Sharpe and Paul Bettany

Movieweb reports that Starz has acquired U.S. distribution for Amadeus, the five-part TV adaptation of Peter Shaffer's 1979 play, and that the series is expected to premiere later this year.

The show stars Will Sharpe as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Paul Bettany as Antonio Salieri and Gabrielle Creevy as Constanze Weber. Sharpe leads as a 25-year-old Mozart who arrives in Vienna and dazzles those around him while Salieri becomes increasingly tormented and obsessed; Creevy's character witnesses a downward spiral the article says may have ended Mozart's life prematurely. The series originally aired on Sky Atlantic beginning Dec. 21 and ran for five consecutive nights, and it currently sits at 88% on the critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes and 29% on the audience score. Other cast members include Rory Kinnear, Jessica Alexander, Lucy Cohu, Jonathan Aris, Olivia-Mai Barrett and Ényì Okoronkwo.

Per Variety, Starz Networks president Alison Hoffman praised the acquisition, calling Amadeus "a perfect fit for our original series lineup — a bold, character-driven reimagining of one of history's most intoxicating rivalries." The article also notes that Shaffer's original play departs from official documentation and that nothing official points to Salieri having caused Mozart's death, so the series follows a dramatized, interpretive account of their relationship.

Key Topics

Culture, Starz, Amadeus, Will Sharpe, Paul Bettany, Gabrielle Creevy