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T10 WHATS UP! July 19 - 25, 2020 England, "Beecham House" turns the tables on her usual MO to explore the life of an English- man living in India who is deter- mined to make a name for him- self as a trader while living a qui- et, peaceful life with his family. "Masterpiece" executive Re- becca Eaton had high praise for the miniseries in a news release announcing that it would be air- ing on the PBS flagship series. "I haven't seen a series as visu- ally sumptuous as 'Beecham House' in a long time," she said. "This is a new time and place for our audience ... India in 1795, be- fore the Raj. There is love and passion, too, and a storyline full of deepening mystery." In the aforementioned inter- view, Chadha made it clear that she was determined to film at least part of the series in India, explaining that the setting couldn't really be duplicated anywhere else. "You can't beat India on cam- era," Chadha explained. "One of the things about India that exist- ed long before the British came along and carried on long after they left, and will carry on, is their architecture, the palaces, the forts. We have used many, many shots of those amazing buildings, and that is India, for me. You cannot shoot that any- where else." The setting is one thing. But the cast is equally impressive. Bateman starred in Sky TV's "The Tunnel" in 2013, the same year he began his run as Giulia- no Medici in the TV series "Da Vinci's Demons." He gained no- toriety for his role as the title character in 2015's "Jekyll & Hyde" TV series. Bateman also starred in the Hollywood films "Snatched" (2017) and "Murder on the Orient Express" (2017) before returning to TV in ITV's "Vanity Fair." Up next, he's set to appear in the Netflix series "Be- hind Her Eyes." Nicol is, of course, familiar as "Downton Abbey" cook Beryl Patmore. The English actress is a three-time SAG award winner, known for her roles in the BBC's adaptations of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "The Silver Chair." American audiences may recognize her for her work on such TV series as "Supernatural," "The Catch" and "The Odd Couple." After getting his start on stage as a boy, Suter appeared in films such as "Maleficent" (2014) and "Fallen" (2016). He has also been seen in the television series "Ransom" and "Sanditon." Richards began acting as a child as well and landed the role of Lyra in "The Golden Com- pass" (2007) at the age of 13. She was cast in the British teen dra- ma "Skins," as well as the TV movie "Dustbin Baby" (2008) and the fantasy film "The Secret of Moonacre" (2008). In addition to the Bollywood films "Besharam" (2013) and "Hawaizaada" (2015), Sharda starred opposite Nicole Kid- man in the Hollywood film "Lion" (2016) and appeared in the Australian medical drama "Pulse." The daughter of two actors, Pilgaonkar began her onscreen career at the age of 5 in the Hin- du television series "Tu Tu Main Main." She worked on the French film "Un plus une" (2015) before making her Bollywood debut in "Fan" (2016). While "Beecham House" was not based on actual events as some have speculated, there is at least one character who was based on a real-life figure, Em- peror Shah Alam II (Roshan Seth, "Gandhi," 1982). Other notable characters in- clude John's friend and business partner, Samuel Parker (Marc Warren, "Band of Brothers"), French mercenary General Cas- tillon (Grégory Fitoussi, "Mr. Selfridge") and Beecham family friend Violet Woodhouse (Bes- sie Carter, "Howards End"). The miniseries has not exactly garnered widespread critical ac- claim and, despite a cliffhanger ending, the program failed to earn a second season in the U.K. But perhaps it will have better luck with American audiences. In this week's episode, it appears that only the Emperor can save John. When he eventually re- turns home, it's evident that tragedy has struck again in "Bee- cham House," airing Sunday, July 19, on PBS. Saiyami Kher and Tom Bateman in "Masterpiece Classic: Beecham House" continued from page T2 Lovers in a dangerous time: Period drama 'Beecham House' airs on PBS TV FEATURE