CARDIFF, Wales — Lin-Manuel Miranda sat patiently in a shabby, capacious hot-air balloon, as a technician checked the lighting on a stuffed bird poised overhead. A puppeteer stood nearby, holding a stand-in for his “daemon” (in this case a hare), the animal that represents an externalization of each individual’s soul in the fantastical world of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials.”

“It’s like a buddy movie,” Miranda said with a laugh, nodding at the puppet.

But this isn’t exactly a buddy movie. The new HBO and BBC One series, based on Pullman’s best-selling fantasy trilogy , features hot-air balloons, talking animals, witches, armored polar bears, multiple worlds, a young heroine on a quest and a world-class villain who happens to be an alluringly beautiful woman. The details of Pullman’s elaborate, wide-ranging narrative have been painstakingly recreated in this first season of “His Dark Materials,” which will have its U.S. premiere on Monday, featuring: Ruth Wilson (“The Affair”) as Mrs. Coulter ; James McAvoy (“X-Men”) as Lord Asriel ; Miranda (“Hamilton”) as Lee Scoresby; and Dafne Keen as the 12-year-old Lyra , the protagonist of the story. (HBO and BBC also committed to a second season, which is currently being filmed.)

Pullman’s elaborate, thrilling narrative , nominally aimed at young adults but read far more widely, has sold around 18 million books worldwide, been translated into 40 languages and turned into well-received stage and radio plays.