‘The Essex Serpent’: Tom Hiddleston Joins Claire Danes in Apple Drama (PHOTO)

Tom Hiddleston as Will Ransome in The Essex Serpent
Apple TV+

Tom Hiddleston has been cast as “trusted leader” Will Ransome in the Apple TV+ Original drama The Essex Serpent, based on Sarah Perry’s bestselling novel about the people of a small rural community.

He joins Claire Danes, who plays the newly widowed Cora, who relocates to Aldwinter, a small village, after “being released from an abusive marriage,” the logline reads. She’s “intrigued by a local superstition that a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent has returned to the area.”

Hiddleston’s TV credits include the upcoming Loki series on Disney+ (premiering on Friday, June 11), The Night Manager, and Wallander.

Anna Symon is adapting the novel, with Clio Barnard directing the series. They will executive produce with Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Patrick Walters, Iain Canning, and Emile Sherman. Andrea Cornwell will serve as producer.

The Essex Serpent Book Cover

The Essex Serpent joins a growing slate of Apple Original series from award-winning storytellers, including Masters of the Air (executive produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television, and Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone); Slow Horses (starring Gary Oldman); Pachinko (written and executive produced by Soo Hugh); Shantaram (starring Charlie Hunnam); Echo 3 (written by Mark Boal); Acapulco (starring and executive produced by Eugenio Derbez); Suspicion (starring Uma Thurman); and Dr. Brain (written and directed by Kim Jee-Woon).

The Essex Serpent, TBA, Apple TV+