The HBO/BBC drama series GENTLEMAN JACK begins its eight-episode season Monday, April 22 at 10:00 p.m. ET on HBO and Crave. Created, written and co-directed by Sally Wainwright and starring BAFTA Award winner Suranne Jones, GENTLEMAN JACK tells the story of a woman who had a passion for life and a mind for business, and bucked society’s expectations at every turn.
Set in the complex, changing world of 1832 Halifax, West Yorkshire – the cradle of the evolving Industrial Revolution – GENTLEMAN JACK focuses on landowner Anne Lister, who is determined to transform the fate of her faded ancestral home, Shibden Hall, by reopening the coal mines and marrying well. The charismatic, single-minded, swashbuckling Lister – who dresses head-to-toe in black and charms her way into high society – has no intention of marrying a man.
The story examines Lister’s relationships with her family, servants, tenants and industrial rivals and, most importantly, would-be wife. Based in historical fact, the real-life Anne Lister’s story was recorded in the four million words of her diaries, and the most intimate details of her life, once hidden in a secret code, have been decoded and revealed for the series.
GENTLEMAN JACK co-stars: Sophie Rundle as Ann Walker, the wealthy heiress on whom Anne Lister sets her sights as a prospective wife; Gemma Whelan, as Anne Lister’s sister, Marian; Timothy West as Jeremy Lister, the sisters’ father; and Gemma Jones as Aunt Anne Lister.
The additional cast includes: Katherine Kelly as Elizabeth Sutherland, Ann Walker’s sister; Sofie Gråbøl as Queen Marie of Denmark; Stephanie Cole as Ann Walker’s aunt; Peter Davison as William Priestley, Ann Walker’s cousin; Amelia Bullmore as Eliza Priestley, William Priestley’s wife; Vincent Franklin as Christopher Rawson, a businessman and fierce rival to Anne Lister; Shaun Dooley as Jeremiah, Christopher’s brother and business partner; Joe Armstrong as Samuel Washington; Jodhi May as Vere Hobart; Rosie Cavaliero as Elizabeth Cordingley; Thomas Howes as John Booth; Jessica Baglow as Rachael Hemingway and newcomers Albane Courtois as Eugénie Pierre and Ben Hunter as Joseph Booth.
