The UK branch of Universal Studios has officially announced that it will release on Blu-ray Mr. Selfridge - Series One, starring Jeremy Piven, Zoë Tapper, Amanda Abbington, Tom Goodman-Hill, Katherine Kelly, Frances O'Connor, and Samuel West. Street date is March 11th.
It's London, its 1909, and the most important address in fashion's little black book is but a dust-covered dream strewn on a construction site at "the dead end of Oxford street". The most decadent shopping emporium in the city's history exists only as a fanciful and implausible idea buried within the mind of an ambitious and erratic young man.
Jeremy Piven (Entourage, Serendipity, RocknRolla) stars as the showman behind the retail empire; Harry Gordon Selfridge. Mr Selfridge is supported by a host of top shelf acting talent including; Zoë Tapper (Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Blood, Demons) as temptress and 'Spirit of Selfridges'; Ellen Love, Amanda Abbington (The Bill, Doc Martin, Being Human) as department head Miss Mardle; Tom Goodman-Hill (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Spy) as Mr Grove; Katherine Kelly (Coronation Street, Life on Mars) as the incomparable Lady Mae; Frances O'Connor (A.I, The Hunter, Mansfield Park) as Harry's loving wife Rose; and Samuel West (Hyde Park on Hudson, Notting Hill, Any Human Heart) as reporter Frank Edwards.
Based upon the book Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge by Lindy Woodhead, Mr. Selfridge was created by Emmy and BAFTA award-winning writer Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones, Pride and Prejudice) and written by Andrew Davies, Kate Brooke and Kate O'Riordan. Davies and his writing team have cherry-picked the most intriguing aspects of Harry's real, rags-to- riches life and used them as a spring-board to create all the razzmatazz of this glamorous big city story.
Mr Selfridge tells the story of 'Mile a Minute Harry'. Pioneering and reckless, with an almost maniacal energy, he created a theatre of retail where any topic or trend that was new, exciting, entertaining – or sometimes just eccentric – was showcased. Displaying only the finest merchandise London has to offer, Harry Selfridge wanted to indulge, empower and celebrate the modernised, free-spirited women of his time and so opened the doors of his lavish department store on London's famous Oxford Street in a mission to make the shopping experience as thrilling as sex.
Produced by Chrissy Skinns (Marchlands, Secret Diary of a Call Girl) and directed by Jon Jones (Titanic, Northanger Abbey), John Strickland (Whitechapel, Bodies), Anthony Byrne (Silent Witness, Upstairs Downstairs) and Michael Keillor (Shameless); only the finest production team would suffice for this grand endeavor.
I'm kinda "meh" about this series -- the main actor way over-acts, his wife is blah, and everyone's cheating with everyone else. "The Paradise" was a huge improvement.
