Merlin is a British fantasy- adventure television programme, broadcasted on BBC One from 20 September 2008 to 24 December 2012.The show is based on the.

• Merlin is a British fantasy-

adventure television

programme, broadcasted on

BBC One from 20 September

2008 to 24 December

2012.The show is based on

the Arthurian legend of the

young wizard Merlin and his

relationship with Arthur

Pendragon. The TV show

have 5 seasons with 13

episodes.

MERLIN

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_(TV_series)

• The first episode begins with the arriving of

the young wizard Merlin in Camelot, after his

mother arranges for him to stay with the

court physician, Gaius. He discovers that the

king, Uther Pendragon, has outlawed magic

and that his destiny is to protect Uther's son,

Arthur, who will be the last and future king.

SERIES OVERVIEW

MAIN CAST

Colin Morgan

• Colin Morgan as Merlin,(born

1 January 1986) is a Northern

Irish actor, best known for

playing the title character in

the BBC TV series Merlin. He

is Arthur's servant and Gaius'

ward, who must secretly

develop his magical gifts

under the gaze of kings

Uther and Arthur, both of

whom despise the art.

• Bradley James as Arthur Pendragon,

(born 2 October 1983) is an English

actor from Exeter, Devon. He made his

television debut in the ITV series Lewis

in 2008 and is best known for

portraying King Arthur in the BBC

television programme Merlin. Despite

being charged with carrying out his

father's harsh edicts, Arthur is

portrayed as a far more compassionate

man. Most importantly, he comes to

regard his servant Merlin as a close

friend, never realizing how many times

Merlin has had to save his life using

magic.

Bradley James

• Katie McGrath as Morgana, (born 24

October 1983) is an Irish actress and

model from Ashford, County Wicklow,

Ireland, best known for playing

Morgana in the BBC One TV series

Merlin. Uther's ward who is later

revealed to be his daughter. Initially

portrayed as a kind and

compassionate young woman,

Morgana comes to despise Uther

when she realizes he would never

accept her if he knew of her magical

powers, and begins covertly plotting

against him. She becomes the show's

primary villain by the third season.

Katie McGrath

• Angel Coulby as Guinevere, (born 30

August 1980 in London) is an

English actress. She is best known

for portraying the character Queen

Guinevere "Gwen" Pendragon in the

BBC fantasy series Merlin.

Morgana's servant who later rises to

become queen of Camelot. Her

relationship with Arthur at first

causes conflict within the kingdom,

however, Gwen proves popular

among the people, and strives to

make Arthur and his advisers

approachable to them.

Angel Coulby

Production history• The series went into production in March 2008, with filming in Wales and

France. The series was produced by Shine in association with BBC Wales,

whose Head of Drama Julie Gardner was executive producer for the BBC.

The Old English for spells was written by a university scholar and later the

script editing team. An initial series of 13 episodes, Merlin began

transmission in the UK on 20 September 2008. A trailer was prepared in

advance for television, cinemas, and online. On 19 September 2009,

Series 2 began airing on BBC One. A ten-episode fourth series was

confirmed on 25 October 2010 so that it would not clash with the BBC's

other primetime drama Doctor Who which would possibly run during the

same period. The fourth series was broadcast in the United States on the

Syfy Channel. In UK, the fourth series began on Saturday 1 October 2011.

Capps and Murphy confirmed on 24 July that BBC had commissioned a

fifth series.

• Filming for the fifth series began March 2012 in Pierrefonds, France and

near Cardiff, Wales. 13 episodes were ordered. Series 5 started

broadcasting on 6 October 2012. On 26 November 2012, it was announced

that the series 5 of Merlin would be the last, with a two-part special

concluding the series over Christmas.

• Château de Pierrefonds castle in France is

used for filming Camelot scenes.

Broadcast• A documentary series called Merlin: Secrets and Magic explains how

the series was created. The show is frequently shown on CBBC.

• In April 2008, US broadcasting rights were purchased by NBC, where

it was shown on Sundays at 8 pm, starting 21 June 2009. This made

it the first British drama in over 30 years to be shown on US network

television, as opposed to PBS or cable. The programme moved to

Syfy, a cable channel also owned by NBC, for the second series,

which premiered on 2 April 2010. Syfy aired the third series in early

2011, after the conclusion of the initial broadcast on BBC. It was

later announced the series would air after Friday Night SmackDown

beginning 7 January 2011 at 10 pm. The distributor, FremantleMedia

Enterprises, also sold broadcast rights to CTV in Canada and Network

Ten in Australia. The series was broadcast in 183 countries.

DVD releases• Series one and two were released on DVD in the UK, US and

Australia. Series three is available in the UK, and was released

in Australia on 4 August 2011. Behind the Magic, a two-part

overview of making Merlin is included with the UK series one

box set, while the documentary series, Secrets and Magic, is

included with series two.

• In Australia Series 1 was released on DVD and re-released in

new packaging on 4 August 2010. Series 2 was released on 22

July 2010 and then re-released in new packaging on 6 January

2011. Series 3 was released on 1 August 2011. Series 4 was

released on 1 March 2012. Series 5 was released on 13

February 2013.

THE END