The BBC has just released a trailer for Black Narcissus and it promises Paradise, Perversion, Sanctuary and Sin

The new BBC series Black Narcissus is raising the interest with a provocatively captioned trailer. The first episode is scheduled for 9 pm on Sunday the 27th December, with the third (and final) two days later at the same time. We assume the middle episode is at a time to be determined on the Monday evening. Whenever it’s on, Black Narcissus promises to be a change from programming aimed at at younger audience.

The synopsis for episode 1 is as follows:

Sister Clodagh and her group of Anglo-Catholic nuns travel from Darjeeling on a mission to the palace of Mopu in the Himalayas. With the help of Mr Dean, the agent of General Toda Rai, they start to repair the palace and open a school. But the unsettling atmosphere of their surroundings, the distracting presence of Mr Dean and stories of the palace’s previous occupants weigh heavily on them all, reawakening memories in Clodagh that she thought she had suppressed.

The trailer gives a lot more detail:

From Bafta award-winning writer Amanda Coe (The Trial Of Christine Keeler, Apple Tree Yard), DNA TV and director Charlotte Bruus Christensen comes a new three-part adaptation of the 1939 classic literary novel Black Narcissus, Rumer Godden’s iconic tale of sexual repression and forbidden love. Gemma Arterton (The King’s Man, The Escape) leads the all-star cast in the role of Sister Clodagh. Joining Arterton is Alessandro Nivola (American Hustle, Chimerica) as Mr Dean, Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale, I Know This Much Is True) as Sister Ruth, Diana Rigg (Game Of Thrones, Victoria) as Mother Dorothea, Jim Broadbent (Paddington, Paddington 2, The Iron Lady) as Father Roberts, Gina McKee (Catherine The Great, Bodyguard) as Sister Adela, Rosie Cavaliero (Prey, Unforgotten) as Sister Briony, Patsy Ferran (Tom And Jerry, Jamestown) as Sister Blanche, Karen Bryson (MotherFatherSon, Safe) as Sister Philippa and Dipika Kunwar as Kanchi who makes her television debut.

As well as the cast, it also goes deeper into the story.

If Black Narcissus rings a bell, it may be you’ve seen the 1947 version starring Deborah Kerr. See Mark Kermode review the film is for the BFI here. If the BBC version is even half as good, we are in for a treat.