Director: Justin Chadwick
Tudor England provides the backdrop for this British mystery series, adapted from C.J. Sansom's novels. Arthur Hughes plays Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer sent by Thomas Cromwell's office to investigate a death at a remote monastery, only to find far more buried beneath its walls.
What is Shardlake about?
The year is 1536, and King Henry VIII's break from Rome has thrown England's monasteries into turmoil. Commissioner Thomas Cromwell dispatches Shardlake to Scarnsea Abbey after a royal investigator turns up dead. What should be a routine inquiry becomes tangled in monastic secrets, old grudges, and a pattern of killings that predates his arrival. As Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak press deeper into the abbey's closed community, every monk seems to be protecting something, and the truth puts Shardlake's own safety at risk.
Cast & crew
Arthur Hughes leads as Shardlake, opposite Anthony Boyle as his sharp-tongued aide Jack Barak. Sean Bean appears as Thomas Cromwell, with Babou Ceesay, Paul Kaye, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, Peter Firth, and Matthew Steer rounding out the abbey's suspects and allies.
Context & significance
Justin Chadwick directs the four-part series, based on the first novel in C.J. Sansom's long-running Shardlake mystery series. The production leans into period detail: candlelit corridors, cloistered courtyards, and the anxious atmosphere of a country reordering its faith by royal decree. Hughes, who has radial dysplasia, plays the character's physical difference as written in the source novels rather than glossing over it, a choice praised for its authenticity.
Where & how to watch
Shardlake is available to stream on K-Time with a Farsi subtitle track and a Persian dub, both included for viewers who create a free account. Members can switch between the original English audio and the Persian options at any point during playback, and the interface itself is fully translated for Farsi-speaking audiences.