Atlantis star Jack Donnelly reveals his gratitude to BBC1’s fantasy drama Merlin, as the second series of Atlantis gets underway.
Speaking about the success of Atlantis’s first series and the darker tone of series two, Jack said: “We were quite fortunate in the fact that Merlin had done so much of the groundwork for us and we had a fan base there to access.”
Made by Merlin creators Howard Overman, Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy, Atlantis tells the story of hero Jason (Jack Donnelly) and his adventures in the doomed, mythical city of Atlantis.
The second series sees Atlantis in the slightly later 8.30pm slot on Saturday night and, as a result, the storylines are somewhat darker than the first, a tone change which Merlin waited a few series before implementing.
Jack explained: “From having watched Merlin myself and talking to Merlin fans, that series definitely went darker in its fourth and fifth season. We have gone that way now [in Atlantis] earlier on.
“It’s not the follow-up you’d expect! It’s reinvented and changed in every single way, and I think it’s better for it.”
“Hopefully the fans will appreciate this in the same way they did with Merlin”
