“The Village” is a BBC television series crafted by Peter Moffat, set against the backdrop of a Derbyshire village during the 20th century. Moffat envisions this series as a 42-hour epic, with the first installment airing in spring 2013, depicting the years from 1914 to 1920. A follow-up series is slated for 2014, which will advance the narrative into the 1920s. Subsequent seasons are anticipated to explore periods such as the Second World War and the era of post-war austerity in Britain.

The narrative unfolds through the perspective of Bert Middleton, a central character whose life in the village is chronicled. Bert is portrayed at different stages of his life by Bill Jones as a child, Alfie Stewart as a teenager, and David Ryall as an elderly man. John Simm takes on the role of Bert’s father, John Middleton, a farmer in the Peak District struggling with alcoholism, while Maxine Peake plays Bert’s mother, Grace. Peake, a favored actress of Moffat, has been described by him as “the best actress of her generation” and has previously appeared in his series “Criminal Justice” and “Silk.”

Moffat has expressed his ambition to create a ‘British Heimat,’ referencing Edgar Reitz’s monumental German series “Heimat,” which chronicled the life of a family in the Rhineland from 1919 to 1982. Unlike “Downton Abbey,” this series offers a portrayal of history from a working-class perspective, where domestic workers are expected to turn away when the master passes by.