[1] Starring Anthony Hopkins as the title character, the abridged adaptation is set in a highly militarised version of 21st-century London and depicts the tragedy that follows when the sovereign King Lear announces the end of his reign and the division of his kingdom among his three daughters.

Set in a highly militarized version of a 21st-century London, the sovereign King Lear calls his family together one evening in order for him to announce the division of his kingdom among his three daughters.

It is the wartime landscape left in the wake of the civil war which has just ended following the consequences caused by Lear's previous and ill-fated division on his lands and possessions among his daughters.

In October 2017, the BBC commissioned a new adaptation of the Shakespeare play in a co-production with Amazon Studios, starring Anthony Hopkins as the title character, with Emma Thompson, Emily Watson and Florence Pugh as his daughters.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Led by dual mesmerizing performances from Sir Anthony Hopkins and Dame Emma Thompson and rounded out by a solidly stocked ensemble, this King Lear is a highly watchable adaptation.

"[8] The Wall Street Journal's John Anderson also commended Hopkins' performance, writing that he enjoyed watching him "gnash his teeth, wail and go gloriously mad opposite one of the best supporting casts imaginable.