“Thy father's moral parts / Mayst thou inherit too!” – Paternal and Generic Legacies in TNT’s Will

TNT’s short-lived biopic series Will (2017, created by Craig Pearce), although in many respects presenting itself as an innovative exploration of Shakespeare’s rise to fame, shares a surprising number of features with earlier Shakespearean biopics. Most importantly, the series relies on the familiar...

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Main Author: Kinga Földváry
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Groupe de Recherche Identités et Cultures 2023-12-01
Series:TV Series
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/tvseries/7919
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author Kinga Földváry
author_facet Kinga Földváry
author_sort Kinga Földváry
collection DOAJ
description TNT’s short-lived biopic series Will (2017, created by Craig Pearce), although in many respects presenting itself as an innovative exploration of Shakespeare’s rise to fame, shares a surprising number of features with earlier Shakespearean biopics. Most importantly, the series relies on the familiar conventions of the genre, particularly the image of the solitary author at work, whose rich inner world is contrasted with the drab reality of his miserable daily existence. Apart from this generic legacy, the series also focuses on issues of paternal heritage, presenting the author both as father and son, who is often aware of his moral failures on both fronts. On the one hand, his filial duty to remain loyal to his father’s Catholic beliefs keeps landing him in mortal danger, but his religious obligations also come into conflict with his desire to make his mark in the theatrical world. At the same time, he is also painfully aware of his failure to be an exemplary father to his own son, and of the personal price to be paid for professional success. An often anachronistic combination of inherited and innovative elements adds a carnivalesque dynamic to the series, which, in spite of its short run, manifests television’s continued interest in the Shakespeare phenomenon.
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spelling doaj.art-70290e06fa38441db5ccd356102296532024-01-09T15:02:36ZengGroupe de Recherche Identités et CulturesTV Series2266-09092023-12-0122“Thy father's moral parts / Mayst thou inherit too!” – Paternal and Generic Legacies in TNT’s WillKinga FöldváryTNT’s short-lived biopic series Will (2017, created by Craig Pearce), although in many respects presenting itself as an innovative exploration of Shakespeare’s rise to fame, shares a surprising number of features with earlier Shakespearean biopics. Most importantly, the series relies on the familiar conventions of the genre, particularly the image of the solitary author at work, whose rich inner world is contrasted with the drab reality of his miserable daily existence. Apart from this generic legacy, the series also focuses on issues of paternal heritage, presenting the author both as father and son, who is often aware of his moral failures on both fronts. On the one hand, his filial duty to remain loyal to his father’s Catholic beliefs keeps landing him in mortal danger, but his religious obligations also come into conflict with his desire to make his mark in the theatrical world. At the same time, he is also painfully aware of his failure to be an exemplary father to his own son, and of the personal price to be paid for professional success. An often anachronistic combination of inherited and innovative elements adds a carnivalesque dynamic to the series, which, in spite of its short run, manifests television’s continued interest in the Shakespeare phenomenon.http://journals.openedition.org/tvseries/7919Shakespearebiopicgenre conventionsauthorshiplost years
spellingShingle Kinga Földváry
“Thy father's moral parts / Mayst thou inherit too!” – Paternal and Generic Legacies in TNT’s Will
TV Series
Shakespeare
biopic
genre conventions
authorship
lost years
title “Thy father's moral parts / Mayst thou inherit too!” – Paternal and Generic Legacies in TNT’s Will
title_full “Thy father's moral parts / Mayst thou inherit too!” – Paternal and Generic Legacies in TNT’s Will
title_fullStr “Thy father's moral parts / Mayst thou inherit too!” – Paternal and Generic Legacies in TNT’s Will
title_full_unstemmed “Thy father's moral parts / Mayst thou inherit too!” – Paternal and Generic Legacies in TNT’s Will
title_short “Thy father's moral parts / Mayst thou inherit too!” – Paternal and Generic Legacies in TNT’s Will
title_sort thy father s moral parts mayst thou inherit too paternal and generic legacies in tnt s will
topic Shakespeare
biopic
genre conventions
authorship
lost years
url http://journals.openedition.org/tvseries/7919
work_keys_str_mv AT kingafoldvary thyfathersmoralpartsmaystthouinherittoopaternalandgenericlegaciesintntswill