This is terrific news! It piqued my interest because hello...history!!

I am wondering though whether he will have an American accent, given it's set in the 17th Century and early period of American history, i wonder whether Robert Puttnam would be British instead, would we hear that delicious 'Hal' accent instead? I'm just speculating, British, American...it's all excellent news, hopefully the first foothold in the ladder towards American career success! I hope it gets picked up to series and more importantly, will be shown in the UK (and not Amazon or Netflix...)

I saw his tweet about being in Boston, isn't the city known for excellent coffee (as well as legendary band Aerosmith) or am i getting confused with Seattle? - I do know that Boston Harbour was the site of the Boston Tea Party ironically enough, it's also the setting for the US version of Being Human too...oh if only both shows were still in production, imagine the possibilities! ;)

Seattle is more known for coffee, Ruby.  That's on the west coast.  Boston has more history and a distinctive accent. 

That's what i thought domino, perhaps the family are descended from the Puritans who came over on the Mayflower perhaps? (though i think they settled in Virginia originally)

Game of Thrones is HBO, right?  That's shown on Sky oin the UK.  I know that Looking is HBO...and I'm pretty sure that's on Sky - so presumably this will turn up on Sky too.  Which means that I need to make friends with somebody who's got Sky pretty quickly - although I don't know if a pilot would make it......

Almost everything I know about the Salem witch trials I've learned through studying The Crucible (which I did at both O and A level) and I know that the characters in that play were real people and that many of the circumstances were real...but Arthur Miller obviously fictionalised their stories.  It'll be really interesting to see another version of those events.....if it goes to series...and if I get to see it.  But it would appear that it's got a lot going for it so I've got my fingers crossed.

 

I have seen some HBO films on Netflix. If there is no other way I will buy the DVD!

Seems there has been an increase in interest in colonial America with shows like Turn and Sons of Liberty, and in witches, with shows like Sleepy Hollow, Witches of Eastwick and Salem.  I've never watched them but from looking at Salem in particular, it's a supernatural show with very little historical accuracy. 

If they are sticking to a historical drama (really think that is more the style of HBO rather than some hokey supernatural show especially considering the lead writer's previous works) then they are in fact going to be telling the story of the real people involved in the Salem Witch Trials. I recognize a few of the names of the show characters in the list of actual people.  Damien plays the brother of one of the young girls that first got sick and made the accusation of witchcraft.  I doubt it will be a straightforward telling, they will probably emphasize the political and familial feuds between some of the prominent families in the two towns involved, Salem Village and Salem Town, and it being "provocative" there's gotta be some juicy angle they use.  It's a delicious irony that Eddie Izzard is playing a staunch, devoted Puritan.  And a few of the actors have done comedy.  Both Orange is the New Black and Weeds have some dark humor, which I would never think to  associate with this subject matter, but who knows.  

Spent way too much time researching this, considering as fifi pointed out, there's a bit of process still to go through before we even know if it will actually get to our screens.  But it is interesting, both in the actual history and the speculation.  Anyway, here's a bit of background:

 

Awesome research there whimsy! The fact that the story has a real history makes it all the more fascinating.
The Putnams are a farming family - according to the original Deadline article, just throwing that in there.
Eddie Izzard is a one of a kind gem of a person, comedian and actor. He has of course acted in other serious roles, I loike his edge.

Always awesome to see Damien's name in a Radio Times headline!

Karen Gillan, Damien Molony and Zawe Ashton join new HBO series from OITNB creator | Radio Times

Digital Spy and Cultbox articles in The Devil You Know  - but Cultbox headlines Damien's name, and have a nice BIG photo...so they win!

 

 

 

Karen Gillan and Damien Molony join HBO pilot ‘The Devil You Know’

POSTED MARCH 16, 2015 BY WILLIAM MARTIN & FILED UNDER HEADLINES.

Doctor Who star Karen Gillan has joined the cast of HBO’s new “provocative period drama” pilot, The Devil You Know.

Co-written by Orange Is The New Black creator Jenji Kohan, Deadline reports thatThe Devil You Know will explore the infamous Salem Witch Trials in 17th century New England, “where intolerance and repression set neighbor against neighbor and led a town to mass hysteria”.

Also starring comedian Eddie Izzard, Damien Molony (Being Human), Julian Rhind Tutt (Banished), Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting) and Zawe Ashton (Fresh Meat), the pilot is due to begin filming in Boston this spring.

Karen Gillan will play Jane Porter, the youngest daughter of Ewen Bremner’s character, Israel Porter, patriarch of the powerful Porter clan.

So... " intolerance and repression set neighbor against neighbor and led a town to mass hysteria” .... a lovely angsty role for Damien then - the kind of role in which he excels!!

Don't want to appear too shallow but I wonder if there is "love interest" in the story!

Once again, forgot to subscribe to topic and been missing out...

I had wondered if Damien will be wearing a wig.  The hat is a given for most scenes, I'm sure, but I'll be sad if that glorious hair is covered the whole time.

I have HBO because there are a few shows I've watched there throughout the years.  It's a premium channel that we pay extra for, on top of "regular" cable, because here in America, there are no free channels.  With a few exceptions their format is 1 hr episodes and they tend to stick to dramas, even Game of Thrones is a drama, although it is fantasy.  I tried watching Sleepy Hollow, and while I appreciated some of the characters and humor, I just couldn't get over the hoaky factor.  I don't see HBO going with the supernatural route, just doesn't seem their style, nor Jenji Kohan's style.  Reading on the actual history, there was so much at play during that time, the superstitions, rigorous religion, politics in the new and old world, survival, and good old fashioned human motivations such as greed, guilt, sex, familial feuds... it sounds like it was a seething pot that boiled over, providing a wealth of material the writers could expound upon.  I've never read or seen The Crucible, but I read Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter in high school, and saw the movie version with Demi Moore and Gary Oldman. It was not great, and she wasn't accused of witchcraft of course, but it had some good elements, focusing on the sentiment of the people at the time.  " intolerance and repression set neighbor against neighbor and led a town to mass hysteria”... definitely alot of fodder for some good drama, without the need for actual witchcraft that could, in my opinion, trivialize the story of the characters.  

As for "love interest", I certainly hope so!  Many of the women accused of witchcraft in that time were outspoken, didn't "know their place", and I daresay, could have been loose with their principles, certainly in the context of the strictness of Puritanism.  How juicy would it be to have the sexy son of the religious patriarch tryst with one of the "witches".   

Domino, I didn't mean to imply that Eddie Izzard wouldn't do serious roles, I just wonder if the show will have a bit of an edge to it, perhaps some dark humor that is totally unexpected for a story about Puritans but would be wonderfully refreshing to modern audiences.