Production
In October 2010, Camelot was the first series to get the green light from Starz since Chris Albrecht took over as president and CEO of the company. With the announcement of plans for the series, Albrecht said that "The story of Arthur isn't history, it's mythology, and Camelot isn't a place but an idea of hope that has resonated at different times throughout history." The series was also the first project for GK-TV, a television division of GK Films (headed by Academy Award-winning producer Graham King and producer Timothy Headington) launched in January 2010. King called the series "a perfect choice as GK-TV's maiden project," given the company's mandate for "producing compelling cinematic quality programming for television." The series idea is attributed to the U.K.'s Ecosse Films, and an "early incarnation" was set up at Showtime in 2008, with that network announcing plans for the series in conjunction with BBC.
Chris Chibnall, known for writing episodes for Life on Mars (2006–2007) and Torchwood (2006–2008), and former showrunner of Law & Order: UK (2009), was selected to become the showrunner and head writer on the show. Chibnall was no newcomer to the legend of Camelot, having previously been in charge of developing a series about Merlin in 2005 for BBC. However, despite several scripts being written, BBC Head of Drama Jane Tranter eventually decided not to green-light the project, although it later emerged, without Chibnall's involvement, as Merlin (2008–2012).
Chibnall stated that every era needs its own version of the story of Camelot and that this version would include strong currents of politics and romance in an adult drama: "The amazing thing about Camelot is you can talk about political pursuits and it's all about the romance. It's all about the passion. It's all about great ideals compromised by falling in love with the wrong person." Chibnall also stated that the story had a special relevance for today's world because it dealt with the promise of world leaders to create a better world, and then trying to carry through on their promises.
The series was engineered by executive producers Morgan O'Sullivan of Octagon in Ireland and John Weber of Take 5 Productions in Canada. O'Sullivan had experience with the story through his involvement with the 2004 film King Arthur.
Other executive producers included Graham King and Timothy Headington of GK Films, Craig Cegielski of GK-TV, James Flynn of Octagon, Douglas Rae of UK's Ecosse Films, Fred Fuchs, Michael Hirst and Anne Thomopoulos.
The cast assembled at Ardmore Studios in Ireland in June–July 2010 to begin principal photography for the series, which was created as an Irish-Canadian international co-production. After the Ireland filming, post-production and visual effects took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The cost was estimated at $7 million per episode. Starz retained U.S. rights, including digital and home entertainment distribution, Take 5 Productions owned distribution rights in Canada, and GK-TV for the rest of the world. The series aired on Channel 4 in the UK, RTÉ in Ireland, CBC in Canada, Nine Network in Australia, RTL in The Netherlands, and VIER in Belgium.
The series used well-known stories and legends about King Arthur, including Le Morte d'Arthur "but those only provided a starting point". The goal of the producers was to create episodes that "weave historical authenticity into a telling of the Arthur legends that is relatable to contemporary audiences". The relationship between Merlin (Joseph Fiennes) and Arthur (Jamie Campbell Bower) was central to the show. Fiennes has joked that he thinks "of Merlin as a sort of cross between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Donald Rumsfeld," referring to Kenobi's mentoring qualities and Rumsfeld's political agendas. Fiennes described Merlin as a "...sort of tutor. He's a father figure. He's a brutal headmaster. He's got to give this boy all of the tools to be king in a ruthless world, and he has to do it in a very short space of time. So there's a lot of 'cruel to be kind.'"
While the first season was limited to ten episodes, the producers indicated that if the response to the show were strong, they had plans for "several additional seasons". It was announced on 30 June 2011, that Camelot would not be returning for a second season and US network Starz had ruled out production for 2011.
