WATCH: First trailer and clips of The Watch

The first trailer for The Watch has just been released during the New York Comic Con.

The series is an adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels that specifically focus on the adventures of The Watch. 

Discworld is a fictional fantastic realm on a disc balanced on the backs of four elephants who are all standing on the back of a giant turtle. Terry Pratchett wrote 41 novels in this world, eight of which feature the adventures of the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork. These novels are: Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, Thud!, and Snuff.

The Watch is comprised of a motley crew of characters and mythical creatures including werewolves, trolls, dwarves, and zombies. This department is led by “the gruff but tenacious” Sam Vimes. As previously reported, the show will be a “Pratchett-style CSI” or “CSI: Ankh-Morpork,” since it will combine the elements of a police procedural with more magical and fantastical aspects from Discworld.

Other than the intriguing new trailer, the team behind the show also released several sneak peek videos that give a better sense of the overall tone of the show. Among those featured in the clips are Richard Dormer (Game of Thrones) who stars as Sam Vimes, Lara Rossi (Crossing Lines) as Lady Sybil Rankin, Wendell Pierce (The Wire) as Death, Anna Chancellor (The Hour) as Lord Vetinari, and many others.

Here is the official synopsis of the show:

“The Watch follows an unlikely group of misfits, The City Watch, who are forced to find the guts to save the world, surprising even themselves in the process. The comedic yet thrilling series pits trolls, werewolves, wizards and other improbable heroes against an evil plot to resurrect a great dragon which would lead to the destruction of life as they know it. From lead writer and executive producer Simon Allen, the modern and inclusive series is inspired by the characters created by Sir Terry Pratchett’s famous Discworld novels, including the captain of The City Watch Sam Vimes, the last scion of nobility Lady Sybil Ramkin, the naïve but heroic Carrot, the mysterious Angua and the ingenious forensics expert Cheery, together with The Watch’s own idiosyncratic depiction of Death.”

The Watch will premiere on January 3, 2021 on BBC America.

Check out the trailer and sneak peeks below:

In this clip, Sam Vimes encounters Death:

In this clip, a shackled Sam Vimes encounters the inimitable Lady Sybil Ramkin, who is having some trouble taming a dragon:

In this clip, Sam Vimes suffers a strange attack while his teammates try to get him out of it: