After a decade, the Wolf Hall sequel we have all been waiting for has premiered. However, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light almost didn’t happen.
Usually, when a show is shelved, it comes down to the network. This time, it wasn’t linked to the network per se. It was all to do with the production costs. After all, a period drama is expensive, and it can take a village to find a way to save money and keep the show going.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light ended up over budget
Peter Kosminsky, director on the Wolf Hall sequel series, told The Hollywood Reporter that the budget was the problem. They were just six weeks away from production, and they had to start shutting down the set. No matter how much was cut from the show, the money wasn’t available for it.
And so, a late-night meeting was called. Kosminsky and others had to find a way to put money back into the production to keep it going, and it would mean a sacrifice.
"We were so far adrift on the money and we had cut and cut and cut."
Kosminsky shares that he and an executive producer made a pact. They would take major pay cuts for their work to funnel back into the show. When Mark Rylance, who plays Thomas Cromwell in the series, and writer Peter Straughan heard of all of this, they also decided to give up parts of their salary to help get the project going again.
Taking pay cuts is something that we’ve heard of a lot of cast members doing. The Blue Bloods cast took a pay cut to get season 14 greenlit, and the One Chicago, Law & Order, and FBI actors don’t appear in all episodes, effectively taking pay cuts to keep their shows going.
Why did it take so long to make Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light?
The series is based on the final book in Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. When Wolf Hall was first filming, which combines the first two books, Mantel admitted that she was struggling to finish the third. Cromwell’s life is difficult and debated often, but Mantel wanted to paint him in a sympathetic light.
While working on Wolf Hall, Mantel would send Kosminsky parts of her book so that he could comment on what she had written. The novel was finally published in 2020, and work could start on the series. However, tragedy struck in 2022 when Mantel passed away after a stroke.
Once again, the series nearly came to a halt. Kosminsky and others couldn’t see how they could continue without Mantel there. The BBC and PBS Masterpiece suggested that it would become a memorial to Mantel and gave their full support to keep production going.
In the end, many in the UK agree that it was the right move, with the show being praised as it debuted last year. Now it’s time to see what North American audiences think.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light airs on Sundays at 9/8c on PBS.
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