Airdate: The Name of the Rose

Italian-German miniseries The Name of the Rose has its premiere on SBS next week.

Based on the novel by Umberto Eco it stars John Turturro and Rupert Everett.

This is an 8 part series which premiered internationally in March and begins with a double episode.

In 1327, a brilliant English Franciscan friar, William of Baskerville, is sent by the Holy Roman Emperor to an isolated abbey in the North of Italy for a dramatic, pivotal summit. There is a war between the Emperor and the Pope that reflects the fierce ideological war inside the Christian religion – does the Church need to be poor, imitating the life of Christ or does it need riches and power in order to reign over the western world? William is accompanied by a passionate and noble adolescent Adso, who aspires to become a monk while his family wants him to be a warrior. As soon as the two arrive at the abbey, they enter a frightful, unexpected world.

Series One, Episode One:
Adso, a young soldier and son of a German general befriends William of Baskerville, a learned and intelligent English Franciscan friar. The two journey to a remote monastery where an important conference will be held between the Pope’s delegation and that of the Emperor. They arrive just as the body of one of the monks is found – initially dismissed as a suicide, suspicions arise when a second body is discovered shortly after.

Episode Two:
With the Pope’s delegation on their way to the Abbey, William and Adso investigate the mysterious deaths and conclude they are the work of a serial killer. They find a trail that leads straight to the infamous library and devise a plan to break in to the labyrinth.

8:35pm Thursday October 3 on SBS.