Julian Fellowes' new Titanic TV mini-series premieres April 14th and 15th on ABC!

Downton Abbey's creator/writer Julian Fellowes' Titanic (2012) TV mini-series will world premiere this month on ABC on Saturday April 14th and Sunday April 15th (the actual Titanic's 100th Anniversary).

As previously posted here last January, Peter Wight, aka Pride & Prejudice's very own Mr. Gardiner (who also appeared in Atonement with P&P co-stars Keira Knightley and Brenda Blethyn) is one of stars as Joseph Rushton (along with Celia Imrie, who plays his wife Grace Rushton. Celia Imrie is a one of the frequent co-stars of P&P actors having co-starred with Rosamund Pike in Love in A Cold Climate, with Judi Dench and Penelope Wilton in the upcoming The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel film in May, and Calendar Girls with Penelope Wilton to name a few) of the new, upcoming four-part TV mini-series Titanic (2012), which was written by Oscar and Emmy Award winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park, Downton Abbey, The Young Victoria). This Titanic period drama is one of  3 movies coming out of its 100th anniversary this year (including the threatrical re-release in 3D of James Cameron's mega blockbuster hit, the 1997's Titanic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet on April 6th) and will air starting on April 14th on TV around the world to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the disaster.

Here's more info from ABC's 4-part Titanic TV Mini-series:
From the creative minds of Julian Fellowes, Academy Award (Gosford Park), Emmy and Golden Globe winner (Downton Abbey), and BAFTA-winning producer Nigel Stafford Clark (Bleak House) comes the highly anticipated ABC Premiere Event, Titanic, a four-part miniseries that will premiere SATURDAY, APRIL 14 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Parts One-Three will air on April 14, and the miniseries will conclude with Part Four on SUNDAY, APRIL 15 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET), which will actually mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.

Titanic is an extraordinary re-telling of the doomed voyage that cleverly weaves action, mystery and romance over four hours and two nights of programming. Shot in Budapest, Hungary, it features both fictional and historical characters, ranging from steerage passengers and crew to upper class guests and staff, who all come together in an explosive and unforgettable finale. Each hour follows similar events from different points of view, culminating in a cliff-hanger, as the ship begins to founder, and building to an explosive conclusion in the final hour that draws together all the stories. Viewers will be taken on a heart-wrenching journey through Titanic's last moments, as it's revealed who among the characters they've come to know so well will survive, and who will not.

ABC's schedule for Titanic (2012) TV Mini-series
SATURDAY APR 14 8|7c & SUNDAY APR 15 10|9c

Check out Peter Wight's episode stills/screen caps, as well as the preview trailer, and episodes info from the mini-series below...

Titanic (2012) TV Mini-series episode stills/screen captures
featuring Peter Wight as Joseph Rushton

 

(source: Titanic (Julian Fellowes) via Facebook | TitanicTV.net)

Watch the preview ABC promo trailer
(source: TITANIC2012TVSERIES)

More Titanic episodes info below...

On Night One, Part One (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), we meet First Class passengers Hugh, Earl of Manton (Linus Roache, Law & Order), his imperious wife, Louisa (Geraldine Somerville, the Harry Potter films), and their reluctant daughter, Georgianna (Perdita Weeks, The Tudors) -- a suffragette who's recently been arrested in a demonstration. Also on board, in Second Class, are Irish lawyer John Batley, who works for Hugh, and his wife Muriel. The Mantons' servants, Barnes and Watson, have a brush with their American counterparts, while Georgiana is attracted, despite herself, to young American Harry Widener. Life on board is comfortable for the wealthy British and American passengers in First Class, despite a disastrous tea party with the Mantons and the Batleys which highlights the tensions between Louisa and Muriel. But everything changes after the ship encounters an iceberg and the realization dawns that the unsinkable Titanic is going down. Infuriated by Louisa's air of effortless superiority, Muriel launches a violent verbal attack on her, hinting at a dark secret in Hugh's past. Chaos and panic grow on deck, as Officer Lightoller insists on women and children only and lifeboats go down that are not even full. And Louisa finds herself faced with an impossible dilemma, as she has to choose between her husband and her daughter.

Part Two (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) opens with political tensions in Belfast interfering with the construction of new liner Titanic, but White Star Line chairman Bruce Ismay is dismissive of designer Thomas Andrews' concerns. Catholic engineer Jim Maloney longs to leave Belfast, and when offered the opportunity of a new life via the Titanic, he accepts. As cabin steward Annie Desmond prepares for the first passengers to board, she encounters cheeky Italian waiter Paolo Sandrini, who is instantly smitten with her. Jim meets a mysterious steerage passenger, Peter Lubov, who unsettles Jim's wife, Mary, while in the First Class dining room tensions bubble as new and old money collide. In Second Class, Muriel Batley bitterly resents her husband John's subservience and reveals she knows the secret of Hugh Manton, a secret that threatens to destroy his marriage. But John's worries are over-shadowed by a looming iceberg. Captain Smith and Thomas Andrews are horrified to learn the full cost of the collision. The ship has only a couple of hours to live. Chaos erupts in the rush for lifeboats, but there are just too few. Facing death, John and Muriel reconcile, but then John spies a glimmer of hope.

Part Three (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) begins in London, 1911. Winston Churchill is infuriated when Russian anarchist Peter the Painter escapes after a bloody street battle with the army. Cut to April 1912 and Italian ship stoker Mario, who is thrilled when he connives to get his brother, Paolo, a job on the new liner Titanic. The squabbling Mantons' maid, Watson, is seen inexplicably loitering in steerage, and Barnes is shocked to discover the reasons why, while Paolo startles kindly steward Annie with an impulsive gesture. Mary Maloney finally lets her guard down with the mysterious passenger, Lubov, in a manner that enrages her husband, Jim. Their argument is set aside when the ship strikes the iceberg and word spreads that it's sinking. White Star Line chairman Bruce Ismay is concerned that the anxious Italian waiters will contribute to the rising panic, and fear builds in steerage as passengers and crew find themselves behind locked gates. Lubov helps Mary Maloney, the Irish mother, and her children escape to the decks, but when his secret identity is uncovered by ex-policeman Evans, Lubov reacts ruthlessly. Passengers scramble for lifeboats, but the Maloneys' terrified daughter, Theresa, bolts back inside the sinking ship. Paolo searches for his brother as freezing waters surge through the corridors.

The initial celebratory mood on the boat is intercut with a closer look at relationships -- upstairs and down. Throughout the ship, secrets and resentments are revealed, love and fury are sparked, but when the unthinkable happens and one of the biggest maritime disasters levels the playing the field for everyone on board, each person's life will change.

Titanic stars Linus Roache (Law & Order, Batman Begins) as the Earl of Manton, Geraldine Somerville (the Harry Potter films) as Louisa, Countess of Manton, Perdita Weeks (The Tudors) as Lady Georgiana Grex, Lyndsey Marshal (Rome) as Watson, Lee Ross (EastEnders) as Barnes, Glen Blackhall as Paolo Sandrini, Antonio Magro (Little Dorrit) as Mario Sandrini, Jenna-Louise Coleman (Waterloo Road) as Annie Desmond, David Calder (The World is Not Enough) as Captain Smith, Steven Waddington (The Tudors) as Second Officer Lightoller, Brian McCardie as First Officer Murdoch, Toby Jones (My Week with Marilyn) as John Batley, Maria Doyle Kennedy as Muriel Batley, Dragos Bucur (The Way Back) as Peter Lubov, Peter McDonald (The Damned United) as Jim Maloney, Ruth Bradley (Primeval) as Mary Maloney, Georgia McCutcheon as Theresa Maloney, Stephen Campbell Moore (Ben Hur) as Thomas Andrews, James Wilby (Gosford Park) as Bruce Ismay, Noah Reid (Three Inches,) as Harry Widener, Diana Kent as Eleanor Widener, Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones' Diary) as Grace Rushton, Simon Paisley Day as Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon, Linda Kash (Cinderella Man) as Margaret Molly Brown, David Eisner (Flashpoint) as Benjamin Guggenheim, Sophie Winkleman (Peep Show) as Dorothy Gibson, Mark Lewis Jones (Robin Hood) as David Evans, Sylvestra Le Touzel (Amazing Grace) as Lady Duff Gordon and Josephine de la Baume (One Day) as Madame Aubart.

(source: Titanic on ABC)

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