(CNN) The little-known details of Shakespeare's life have already birthed the Oscar-winning movie "Shakespeare in Love," and even though that was two decades ago, one might think there's not much more to say. "Will," however, adds an intriguing chapter to the bard's legend, in a TNT series that presents him as a young man breathing in fame's first intoxicating fumes.

"I can't spend the rest of my life making gloves," a mid-20s Will (Laurie Davidson) says before leaving Stratford-upon-Avon and his wife and children behind in 1589, eager to pursue his theatrical career in the big city, where he arrives to the strains of the Clash's "London Calling." (The contemporary music is a slightly pandering touch that takes a bit of getting used to.)

Aside from his creative dreams, Will also comes to town with a secret mission, carrying a clandestine message for his cousin, a leader to Catholics subjected to persecution by England's Protestant government.

Meanwhile, the young playwright stumbles into an acting company in desperate and sudden need of a hit, while immediately being drawn to the proprietor's daughter (Olivia DeJonge), whose own artistic ambitions are blunted by the societal mores of the time.

Shakespeare also finds a sort-of champion in established and celebrated writer Christopher Marlowe (Jamie Campbell Bower), although there's a bit of a Mozart-Salieri aspect to their relationship, with Marlowe's admiration tied to a bout of writer's block as he wades into lustful indulgences and distractions.

Read More