Dracula arrives with a pedigree and a body count. The three-part serial, developed by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, premiered on BBC One on 1 January 2020 and ran over three consecutive nights before releasing on Netflix. Claes Bang plays the Count. The published critical score is 7.5/10.
Trailer, via BBC.
Claes Bang Takes the Count From Transylvania
The premise is loose Stoker, not faithful Stoker. Dracula travels from his origins in Eastern Europe to his battles with Van Helsing’s descendants and beyond. Netflix’s own description promises new tales that flesh out the vampire’s gory crimes and bring his vulnerability into the light.
Bang is the reason to watch. He carries the title character with a calm that makes the violence feel like a decision rather than an outburst. The casting around him is deep. John Heffernan plays Jonathan Harker. Dolly Wells plays Sister Agatha van Helsing. Morfydd Clark plays Mina Murray. Lydia West plays Lucy.
A Three-Night Run on BBC One
Three episodes is a lean shape for a legend this old. BBC One aired them from 1 January to 3 January, then Netflix carried the series.
The show is billed as drama and action and adventure. That second label matters. This Dracula moves.
Gatiss Appears as Frank Renfield
Mark Gatiss does double duty. He co-created the series and appears as Frank Renfield. Renfield is the character who shows what the Count does to a mind.
The Supporting Cast
The February 2019 casting round brought Heffernan, Wells, Joanna Scanlan, Morfydd Clark and Lujza Richter. April added Jonathan Aris, Sacha Dhawan, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Catherine Schell, Youssef Kerkour and Clive Russell. Jonny Campbell, Damon Thomas and Paul McGuigan directed.
The Van Helsing Inheritance
The series follows Dracula into conflict with Van Helsing’s descendants, which is a bigger swing than a straight adaptation. It pushes the story past the novel’s original ground.
What the 7.5 Says
The published score is 7.5/10, drawn from a Metacritic figure of 75/100. Dracula is confident, well cast and never boring. It is also a show that treats the novel as raw material.
The Pairing That Carries It
The part worth watching is Bang against Wells. When those two share a scene, the serial justifies its existence. Everything around them is competent.
The three episodes rank this way in what they deliver:
- Bang’s Dracula, the anchor of every scene he enters.
- Wells as Sister Agatha, the human who refuses to flinch.
- The three-night structure, which keeps the story moving.
That pairing is the reason to start it.
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