First Look: Amadeus Brings Mozart and Salieri Back to the Small Screen
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Last Updated on October 15, 2025 by Stefanie Hutson
New first look images introduces Will Sharpe as Wolfgang “Amadeus” Mozart and Paul Bettany as court composer Antonio Salieri in Amadeus, a five-part limited series premiering soon. The images set the tone: a young composer pushing for creative freedom in Vienna, and a rival whose admiration hardens into suspicion.
Story and scope
The drama begins when 25-year-old Mozart arrives in bustling 18th-century Vienna, no longer the child touring prodigy and hungry for independence. Interestingly, the British-Japanese Sharpe is 39 (4 years older than Mozart at the time of his death) – so it should be interesting to see how they make him look the part.
Across five episodes, the series charts his rapid ascent in the capital’s musical life, his marriage to Constanze Weber, and his increasingly fraught entanglement with Salieri at the imperial court. As Mozart’s music wins patrons and audiences, his reputation and personal choices draw skepticism from a conservative establishment. Salieri’s faith and self-image are tested by Mozart’s fluency at the keyboard and on the page, and professional rivalry hardens into fixation that stretches across Mozart's remaining years. Rehearsal rooms and performance halls matter as much as salons and family spaces, while court politics, money, and access shape every decision.
Cast
Will Sharpe (The White Lotus, Too Much) plays Mozart, charting the transition from prodigy to independent composer. Paul Bettany (A Very British Scandal) is Salieri, the devout court composer whose proximity to power makes Mozart both a fascination and a threat. Gabrielle Creevy (Black Doves) appears as Constanze Weber, Mozart’s wife and advocate, while Rory Kinnear (The Diplomat) portrays Emperor Joseph. The ensemble also features Lucy Cohu, Jonathan Aris, Ényì Okoronkwo, Jessica Alexander, Hugh Sachs, Paul Bazely, Rupert Vansittart, Anastasia Martin, Nancy Farino, Olivia-Mai Barrett, Viola Prettejohn, and Jyuddah Jaymes.
The series is produced by Two Cities Television (part of STV Studios) in association with Sky Studios. Julian Farino (Giri/Haji) and Alice Seabright (Sex Education, Chloe) direct. Executive producers include Megan Spanjian for Sky Studios; Michael Jackson (Patrick Melrose) and Stephen Wright (Blue Lights) for Two Cities Television; with Joe Barton, Will Sharpe, Paul Bettany, and Julian Farino also serving as executive producers. John Griffin is the series executive producer. NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution handles international sales on behalf of Sky Studios.
From stage to screen
Amadeus adapts Peter Shaffer’s award-winning play, reimagined for television by writer Joe Barton (Giri/Haji, The Lazarus Project). Shaffer’s 1979 work drew inspiration from Alexander Pushkin’s Mozart and Salieri, later set by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The play became Miloš Forman’s 1984 film, which won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture. The new series returns to the same enduring ideas—genius, envy, and the cost of ambition—while taking advantage of the serialized format to offer more detail and drama.
Release plans
Amadeus will debut on Sky and NOW in the UK and Ireland in December 2025. No US premiere date or streaming outlets have been named so far, but we’ll update when we know more.
In the meantime, you can check out the trailer below.
