Marchlands follow on series for ITV

Following last years successful drama Marchlands, which followed the fortunes of a house through three different periods in time, Lightfields follows the same format.

ITV describe the latest drama commission as ‘a compelling supernatural drama set on a remote farm on the Suffolk coast. The story follows three families who each live in Lightfields farmhouse at different time periods (1944, 1976 and 2012) and who are linked by a spine chilling presence: the ghost of a teenage girl who died in mysterious and tragic circumstances.’

Lightfields has been scripted by Simon Tyrell and commissioned for ITV1 by drama commissioning team, Laura Mackie and Sally Haynes who said, “We’re delighted to build on the success of Marchlands with another highly original take on the format. It’s a very distinctive addition to our slate.”

The five part drama, produced by ITV Studios, opens in 1944, in wartime Britain, where we meet fresh young teenager, Lucy, who lives and works on the farm with her 9 year old brother, Pip, and parents, Martha and Albert. When worldly teenager, Eve, arrives as an evacuee from London with her little sister, she and Lucy become friends. Although her parents have their eye on a bright and ambitious local boy for their daughter, Lucy’s head is soon turned by Eve’s beau – dashing, dangerous American airman Dwight. As Lucy is increasingly drawn to Dwight, her childhood friend, Tom, can only watch jealously from the side-lines.

One fateful summer evening, a fire rips through the hay barn and a family and local community are torn apart by grief. The events of that night hold the key to a mystery that will haunt generations to come…

In the scorching summer of 1976, Vivien arrives at Lightfields with her teenage daughter, Clare. Fragile and estranged from her husband, Vivien does not initially understand why she has been drawn to the farmhouse. She has no memory of it though she was evacuated to the area during the war. But over time disturbing supernatural events force her to confront the childhood trauma that is at the root of her troubled mind….

In 2012, Barry and his wife, Lorna, have recently moved in and are trying to set the farmhouse up as a Bed & Breakfast whilst also trying to raise their 8 year old grandson, Luke. When Barry’s 77 year old father (Pip from 1944) arrives to live with them, he strikes up an understanding with Luke. It seems momentarily as if Barry’s worries are over, but Pip’s presence serves to disturb the restless spirit in the house which seems intent on unravelling and unlocking the past…The pressure builds when out of the blue, the boy’s estranged father, Paul, turns up demanding full custody of their 8 year old son, Luke, at any cost. If Barry takes his eye off the ball, even for a moment, the consequences for Luke could be fatal….

Ultimately, there is the chance for resolution for all of the characters in the series, the living as well as the dead. The story culminates in 2012, when an elderly visitor to the B&B finally reveals the truth behind that fateful night in 1944…

“Simon Tyrell has found a bold and authored way to approach the format that inspired Marchlands for us last year,” said executive producer, Kate Lewis. “The scripts are incredibly atmospheric and there’s great complexity to the characters as they interweave across the decades,” Sally Haynes adds.

Marchlands debuted on ITV1 in 2011 and secured a place in the top ten most watched dramas on television across all channels that year. Like Marchlands, Lightfields has been developed from an original US pilot called ‘The Oaks’ created by David Schulner for Twentieth Century Fox Television.