Tom Sturridge as King Henry VI and Sophie Okonedo as Queen Margaret in "The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses," beginning Sunday, Dec. 11, on PBS' "Great Performances." (PBS photo) "The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses" is a lavish three-part follow-up to the BAFTA winning "The Hollow Crown," which aired in 2013 on PBS' Great Performances series. The new series - "The Wars of the Roses" aired to great acclaim on the BBC in the UK in May, and is now premiering in the USA. The first episode aired last night. If you missed it, PBS had made it available online and is embedded below. "The Wars of the Roses" - which comes to PBS' Great Performances on three consecutive Sundays beginning with last night's premiere - picks up the story with epic film versions of Henry VI (in two parts) and Richard III. The series, a Neal Street co-production with Carnival/NBCUniversal and THIRTEEN for BBC Two, was filmed in locations around the UK. Award-winning director Dominic Cooke (former Artistic Director of The Royal Court theatre) makes his TV directorial debut with the three films.The series features some of the UK's finest acting talent including Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III, Tom Sturridge as Henry VI, Sophie Okonedo as Queen Margaret, Hugh Bonneville as Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Judi Dench as Cecily, Duchess of York, Sally Hawkins as Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, and Keeley Hawes as Queen Elizabeth. Also featured in the all-star cast are Michael Gambon as Mortimer, Philip Glenister as Talbot, Andrew Scott as King Louis, Jason Watkins as Suffolk, Samuel West as the Bishop of Winchester, Stanley Townsend as Warwick, Adrian Dunbar as Plantagenet, Geoffrey Streatfeild as Edward IV, Ben Daniels as Buckingham, Ben Miles as Somerset, Sam Troughton as George, Duke of Clarence, Stuart McQuarrie as Vernon, Anton Lesser as Exeter, Kyle Soller as Clifford, Phoebe FOX as Anne, James Fleet as Hastings and Lucy Robinson as Young Cecily. The Executive Producers are Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Brown, Gareth Neame, and David Horn. The Producer is Rupert Ryle-Hodges. Ben Power (Associate Director of The National Theatre), who previously wrote the screenplays for Richard II and Henry V, adapted the cycle for the screen. A breakdown of each of the 3 parts follows below, courtesy of PBS' press release: -- Henry VI Part 1 (December 11, 9 p.m.) The King is dead and England is in crisis. War rages with the French and divisions within the English court threaten the crown. Young Henry VI causes outrage by marrying Margaret of Anjou, forcing an unwanted truce; the scene is set for Civil War. -- Henry VI Part 2 (December 18, 9 p.m.) Bitter rivalries erupt into the Wars of the Roses. The feeble King Henry is overshadowed by Queen Margaret and her faction of Lancastrian Lords, his reign further undermined by disaffected nobles supporting the House of York. Battle and bloodshed ensues and the Yorkists triumph. Edward IV takes the throne, but his youngest brother Richard has his eyes firmly on the crown. -- Richard III (December 25, 9 p.m.) Richard, the most notorious of Shakespeare's kings, manipulates and betrays his way through the court on a bloodthirsty and ruthless path to the throne. But after Richard's defeat at the battle of Bosworth Field, the Houses of Lancaster and York-the red rose and the white-are united, bringing to an end the Wars of the Roses and long tumultuous period of civil strife. "The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses" is also available from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on both Blu-ray and DVD, and includes deleted scenes and a making-of featurette. Below, watch Part 1 which aired last night, featuring Okonedo as Queen Margaret: