Wolf Hall (2015)

Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell novels, done with the patience they deserve. Mark Rylance plays Cromwell as a man who says almost nothing and misses nothing, and Damian Lewis's Henry VIII is charming until he very suddenly is not. There are two seasons, and that is the whole story: the 2015 season covers the first two books, and the 2024 return adapts The Mirror and the Light in six episodes and brings Cromwell to the end. The candlelit interiors and whispered negotiations reward full attention, so this is not a show for scrolling through on your phone.