TV fantasy shows don’t have to be all white: why Bridgerton, The Mandalorian, and His Dark Materials put diversity first in their casting
- Adaptations of fantasy novels such as The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones had predominantly white casts, but new TV shows are changing their thinking
- We always thought of the possibility of diversity, says a producer of His Dark Materials, while Bridgerton’s creator took a colour-conscious approach to casting
During this season’s penultimate episode of His Dark Materials, Carlo Boreal met his demise.
The character’s fate wasn’t a surprise to those familiar with Philip Pullman’s fantasy novels, as the HBO series, which concluded its second season last month, did not stray too far from the source material for this part of Boreal’s story.
But the Boreal of the TV show, portrayed by actor Ariyon Bakare, was distinct from the Boreal of the book: he played a much larger role on screen, for one. And he’s also generally been perceived as white.
Lord Boreal “is written in the book as a character who’s older with silver grey hair”, says Bakare. “But [Pullman] never actually says what colour he is … People assume, because of his status and his class, that he would be an older white man.”
