HBO, BBC series His Dark Materials: Everything you need to know about hyped show

HBO and BBC have teamed up to bring a popular fantasy trilogy to life on TV, creating one of the “most expensive” shows yet.

We’re always on the hunt for a new addictive TV series to sink our teeth into.

And if this opening sequence is anything to go by, HBO and BBC are bringing us the goods with His Dark Materials, set to hit streaming on Foxtel Now tomorrow.

Adapting Philip Pullman’s award-winning trilogy of the same name, which is considered to be among the best imaginative fiction stories, the series follows Lyra (Dafne Keen), a young orphan from a parallel universe who is in search of her kidnapped friend.

Sound familiar?

It was made into a 2007 film, The Golden Compass, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, but failed to impress critics and fans of the cherished books.

The movie, which was saved with an Oscar win for best visual effects, was the first on-screen adaptation of the books, focusing on just one of the books in the trilogy.

Given its lacklustre reception, no sequels were made, making the TV series all the more exciting given it will cover the story across all three books written from 1995 to 2000 – Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

The networks have just released the show’s opening sequence and it looks like a visual masterpiece while also giving us Game of Thrones vibes. Take a look.

Before it’s even premiered globally, His Dark Materials was renewed for a second series of eight episodes.

Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) has adapted the novels for TV, with the first two episodes directed by Oscar winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) in what is said to be the BBC’s most expensive production ever.

While they haven’t revealed the actual budget, most of it has gone into the special effects.

Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and James McAvoy also star in the first season.

Dafne Keen stars as Lyra in His Dark Materials.

The BBC’s official synopsis for the series reads: “Northern Lights introduces Lyra, an orphan, who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Lyra’s search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. In The Subtle Knife she is joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As Lyra learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds and leads to a thrilling conclusion in The Amber Spyglass.”

Rediscover magic and wonder with epic fantasy His Dark Materials. Get Foxtel Now

Despite the movie’s poor reviews, the series’ executive producer Jane Tranter knew she had an advantage bringing the complex story to TV.

“I thought it was time for the books to be liberated in a space which could do them justice,” she said.

“The various adaptations have all been brilliant in their own ways, but (with) the real estate of contemporary television – being able to stretch those books out and sound every note that Philip Pullman sounded in the novels – I just thought it was time.”

A new episode will drop every week on Tuesdays, with eight episodes making up the first season.

His Dark Materials hits streaming on Foxtel tomorrow

Will you tune in? Let us know in the comments below …