The Forsyte Saga

The Forsyte Saga is a British drama television serial that chronicles the lives of three generations of an upper-middle-class family from the 1870s to 1920s. It was based on the books of John Galsworthy's trilogy The Forsyte Saga, which were adapted by Granada Television for the ITV network in 2002 (Series I) and 2003 (Series II). Additional funding was provided by American PBS station WGBH, as the 1967 BBC version had been a success on PBS in the early 1970s. Development The author Malcolm Bradbury wrote that the prospect of the new series "brings a tear to the eye and a smile to the lips"; a tear because time had passed the culturally-significant original by, but smile because investment in a classic project is good. The makers of the 2002 version felt that any new production would be compared with the 1967 version, which set the standards for period drama for the next 25 years. The idea came initially from David Liddiment, ITV's director of channels, who seized on the Forsyte novels not only as a great achievement in English literature, but also for their iconic status in British television. Granada were thinking big from the outset of the project – this was clearly something that could not be dashed off as a two-parter. The initial plan was for two series, the first an adaptation of The Forsyte Saga and the second continuing with A Modern Comedy. Sita Williams attached herself to the project in late 1999 and by the start of 2000 was talking to writers and working on the adaptations. Casting began in 2001, first casting the leading roles of Soames, Irene and Bosinney (Williams had seen Damian Lewis in Band of Brothers).