Titanic is a British costume drama television mini-series created by Nigel Stafford-Clark, written by Julian Fellowes and based on the sinking of the RMS Titanic to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the world's most famous maritime disaster on 15 April, 1912.
It sets out to paint a portrait of a whole society, telling the stories of a wide range of characters, both real and imagined, from every social level. Their narratives are interwoven over the first three episodes, with the fourth and final episode drawing all of the stories together and revealing who survives.
The series aired in the UK on ITV from 25 March to 15 April, 2012. There are four hour-long episodes in the series.
Titanic premiered in South Africa with a double bill on DStv's BBC Entertainment channel on Sunday 15 April 2012, at 19h30. Thereafter new episodes broadcast weekly at 19h30.
Synopsis
Oscar award-winning writer Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park; Downton Abbey) and a stellar cast lead by Linus Roache and Geraldine Somerville collaborate in a spectacular retelling of the epic disaster.
Marking the 100th anniversary of the tragedy which continues to captivate the world's imagination, Titanic follows four separate, yet intertwined, narratives building to a dramatic climax.
It sets out to tell the story not just of a single ship, but of an entire society – one that was heading towards its own nemesis in the shape of the First World War as carelessly as Titanic towards the iceberg.
All human life is on Titanic as she sets out on her maiden voyage. The upper-class family with their suffragette daughter and their warring servants; the wealthy elite of American society; the Irish lawyer in Second Class with his embittered wife; the young cabin steward and the impetuous Italian waiter who falls for her; the Catholic engineer fleeing Belfast with his wife and family to escape the sectarian conflict; the mysterious stranger in Steerage fleeing who knows what.
And then there are the officers and crew.
As their stories interweave and we find our first impressions are often undermined by what we learn, there is one thing that we know for certain and they do not. That not all of them will survive.
The plot is woven together with action, mystery and romance, and provides an insight into the world of 1912 and the tragic events which lead to the deaths of more than 1,500 passengers.
This world, soon to vanish forever, is brought alive by a cast of over 80, featuring the cream of acting talent from Britain and beyond, including Linus Roache), Geraldine Somerville, Celia Imrie, Toby Jones, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Perdita Weeks, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Steven Waddington, Lyndsey Marshal, Ruth Bradley, Peter McDonald and Timothy West, amongst many others.
Produced by multiple BAFTA award-winning Nigel Stafford-Clark, Titanic is the global television event of 2012. A Deep Indigo Productions, Sienna Films and Mid-Atlantic Films production in association with ITV Studios and Lookout Point.