Julie Walters (Oscar® nominee for "Billy Elliot" and "Educating Rita") stars as the glamorous doyenne of an English social club in the twilight era of British rule in India. Set in a subtropical paradise, INDIAN SUMMERS, a nine-part series, explores the collision of the high-living English ruling class with the local people agitating for Indian independence. As the drama unfolds, the two sides alternately clash and merge in an intricate game of power, politics and passion.
Joining the cast are a galaxy of British, Indian, and Pakistani stars, including Henry Lloyd-Hughes ("Madame Bovary"), Nikesh Patel (BEDLAM), Jemima West (THE BORGIAS), Roshan Seth ("Gandhi"), Patrick Malahide (THE PARADISE), and Bollywood legends Lillete Dubey (“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”) and Alyy Khan ("Sharpe's Challenge"). Also appearing are Alexander Cobb (MR. SELFRIDGE), Aysha Kala (SHAMELESS), Olivia Grant (ENDEAVOUR), Edward Hogg (THE BORGIAS), Fiona Glascott ("Anton Chekhov's The Duel"), Craig Parkinson (LINE OF DUTY), and Richard McCabe (WALLANDER).
Framed by the beginning and end of the summer season, when India’s British rulers left the hot plains for the cool slopes of Simla, Indian Summers centers on three brother-sister pairs. Ralph Whelan (Lloyd-Hughes) is the private secretary to the British Viceroy of India (Malahide). Ralph is an upwardly mobile, politically ambitious bachelor, hiding a checkered past. He is joined by Alice (West), his beautiful younger sister who appears suddenly from England with her little boy — and conspicuously without her husband.
Next there is Aafrin Dalal (Patel), an idealistic clerk in the elite Indian Civil Service, who wins Ralph’s trust by saving his life. Aafrin seems marked for rapid advancement in the British bureaucracy, but his sister Sooni (Kala) threatens his career by agitating tirelessly for national independence.
Then there are two adrift Americans: Eugene Mathers (Hogg), an expatriate architect from a wealthy Chicago family, who has been taken in by Ralph after being stricken with malaria; and Eugene’s seductive sister, Madeline (Grant), who comes to care for him—and ends up caring for Ralph.
Pulling the strings that animate much of the action is Cynthia Coffin (Walters), a manipulative military widow who presides like an empress over the Royal Simla Club, where the ruling class lounges in subtropical splendor, sipping gin and tonics, running the country, and dancing the night away.
Apart from this in-group are two other contingents representing British imperialism: tea plantation owner Stafford Armitage (McCabe), recently joined by his eager and inexperienced nephew Ian McLeod (Cobb); and missionary Dougie Raworth (Parkinson), whose rescue of a nameless mixed-race boy launches a major storyline in the series. Meanwhile, Dougie’s desperately homesick wife, Sarah (Glascott), is slowly losing her mind in this strange land.
Needless to say, illicit encounters, assignations, and forbidden affairs abound. And there are also complications offstage, where pressure is building for an end to British rule. Gandhi has recently been arrested on the viceroy’s orders, and he is staging a hunger strike from his cell, exerting pressure that renders the world’s greatest empire helpless.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Episode 1 airs Sunday, Sept. 27 at 9 p.m. - The British arrive at their summer headquarters in northern India for a season of parties, romance and trouble — including attempted murder.
Episode 2 airs Sunday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. - While Aafrin fights for his life, Ralph confronts the gunman in jail. Sarah is suspicious of Alice’s past. Adam goes missing.
Episode 3 airs Sunday, Oct. 11 at 9 p.m. - Sooni gets into trouble. Witness-tampering runs riot. Ramu confronts Armitage at the annual fair. Dougie confesses to Sarah.
Episode 4 airs Sunday, Oct. 18 at 9 p.m. - The viceroy gets a royal welcome. A crucial piece of evidence is missing. Aafrin sends Alice on an urgent errand. Ian gets bad news.
Episode 5 airs Sunday, Oct. 25 at 9 p.m. - Ralph plays politics at his engagement bash. Eugene tells Cynthia a shocking secret. Adam and his mother make a surprise visit.
Episode 6 airs Sunday, Nov. 1 at 9 p.m. - A mountaineer makes trouble. Aafrin and Alice try to check their growing attraction. Ralph’s covert appointment is thwarted by tragedy.
Episode 7 airs Sunday, Nov. 8 at 9 p.m. - A murder victim is found and a suspect confesses. Ian finds a cause. Aafrin is blackmailed. Meanwhile, the British Club performs Oscar Wilde.
Episode 8 airs Sunday, Nov. 15 at 9 p.m. - While Simla citizens look on, Ramu is tried for Jaya’s murder. Leena and Ian come to his defense. Sarah is humiliated.
Episode 9 airs Sunday, Nov. 22 at 9 p.m. - Madeleine gets a shock. Ramu’s fate is in Ralph’s hands. Aafrin makes two fateful decisions. The club changes course. Ian becomes a local hero.
INDIAN SUMMERS is a Co-Production of New Pictures for Channel 4/MASTERPIECE in association with All3Media International. It is created and written by Paul Rutman. The Executive Producers are Charlie Pattinson, Elaine Pyke, Simon Curtis, and Rebecca Eaton for MASTERPIECE on PBS. The Co-Executive Producer is Indira Varma. The Producer is Dan McCulloch. The Director is Anand Tucker.
MASTERPIECE is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston. Rebecca Eaton is Executive Producer. Funding for the series is provided by Viking River Cruises and Ralph Lauren Corporation with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust, created to help ensure the series’ future.
Watch past episodes of MASTERPIECE online. MASTERPIECE is on Facebook, and you can follow @masterpiecepbs on Twitter.
