MASTERPIECE PBS has dropped the first trailer for The Forsytes, their newest sweeping costume drama, and it looks primed to scratch the itch for anyone still longing for Downton Abbey or Bridgerton. Set against the lush, rule-bound backdrop of late-Victorian London, the series is built on a heady mix of desire, ambition, betrayal, and the ever-thorny pursuit of love.

Based on John Galsworthy’s celebrated Forsyte Saga novels, the show dives into the lives and scandals of a wealthy stockbroking family before the events of the original books. At its center is a dazzling ensemble that mixes established screen veterans with rising stars. Stephen Moyer (True Blood) takes on the patriarch Jolyon Forsyte Sr., Jack Davenport (The Morning Show) plays James Forsyte, Danny Griffin (Fate: The Winx Saga) is Jo Forsyte Jr., and Doctor Who breakout Millie Gibson stars as Irene Heron — the woman who sets hearts (and fortunes) spinning. Joining them are Tuppence Middleton (Downton Abbey: A New Era), Justine Moore (Call the Midwife), Joshua Orpin (Titans), Eleanor Tomlinson (One Day) and Josette Simon (Anatomy of a Scandal).

A World of Love and Upheaval

The trailer hints at a story that feels both grand and intimate. It teases forbidden glances across candlelit dinner tables, hushed confessions in shadowed gardens, and the looming tension of marriages arranged more for status than affection. Gibson’s Irene Heron finds herself at the center of it all, her arrival disrupting a family bound by old money and rigid tradition.

“The original novel, if I remember rightly, starts with the marriage of Soames and Irene,” Moyer told Collider’s Maggie Lovitt while promoting the series. “And what Debbie [Horsfield, showrunner] done, which I think is really smart, is that she’s rewound a year or six months so that you get to see how Soames meets her, how everything else is playing out prior to them meeting. So, you see both households, as you do in the other show, Jolyon and Jolyon Sr. I play Jolyon Sr., and Jack Davenport, a very dear friend of mine, plays James, Soames’ father. So, that’s been really nice.”

Moyer also revealed that this adaptation is widening the scope compared to earlier versions: “It’s sort of taking the idea of what The Forsyte Saga is, but it’s exploding the world a bit so you see more characters. I think they’ve done a really good job of recreating 1880s London.”

The Forsytes will premiere on MASTERPIECE PBS in 2026, with Season 2 already on the way.

via Collider