Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television series developed by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began its broadcast on the channel BBC One on 20 September 2008. The series is based on the Arthurian legends of the mythical warlock Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur, but differs from traditional versions of the legend in many ways, especially the characters. It is produced by independent production company Shine Limited. After a successful first season, American broadcaster NBC began airing the program on 21 June 2009, but after a decline in viewership, was moved to the cable network Syfy, where it began broadcast of the second season on 2 April 2010. The second season began airing on 19 September 2009 on BBC One.[2] On 5 September 2010, BFI Southbank in London previewed the first two episodes of the third season for its September Film Funday program.[3]
The concept for Merlin was influenced by the American show Smallville, about the early years of Superman.[4] After many failed attempts to bring the program to life,[4][5] development of the current Merlin began in late 2006,[5] with physical production beginning in March 2008.[6] The series received generally mixed reception when it began its broadcast. Critics were upset with the flat dialogue[7] and the modern look to the series.[8] One critic, in particular, called the whole concept "bland".[9] The series première drew an overnight average of 6.65 million viewers in the 19:00 slot, a final consolidated figure of 7.15 million, despite being scheduled against popular ITV series The X Factor.[10] The first series as a whole had an average of 6.32 million viewers,[11] which is fewer than Doctor Who attracted during its first series, and slightly more than those received by Robin Hood.[12] Merlin was also the fifth most watched program on BBC iPlayer in 2008.[13] The third series of Merlin began on 11 September 2010,[14][15] and ended on 4 December 2010.
A ten-episode fourth series was confirmed on 25 October 2010 and was rumored to air in early 2012, later than its usual slot in autumn so that it wouldn't clash with the BBC's other prime time drama Doctor Who running in the same period.[16] In March 2011, this was revised and the series was extended to the standard 13 episodes, with the show's star Colin Morgan confirming it would air in autumn 2011.[17]
