An Underrated History Series Starring Mark Hamill Is Now Streaming Free

Great work often goes under-appreciated in its own time, and that’s especially true in today’s streaming climate, where shows can get picked up and canceled before ever truly finding their target audience. The upside is that fans may find these shows later on, and even if its too late to rescue them from cancellation, at least they’ll get the recognition they deserve. Hopefully, that will be the case with one of Mark Hamill’s most underrated series, which just became free to stream on Tubi.

Hamill played Master Talus, a veteran of the order of the Knights Templar in Knightfall, which aired from 2017 to 2019. This is a historical drama about the rise and fall of the Knights Templar and all the politics and drama that went along with it. The show had two seasons and a total of 18 episodes on History, but sadly, it was canceled in May of 2020. This may have had something to do with the pandemic interrupting Hollywood schedules at the time, but even at the best of times, a scripted drama like this is a big swing for History.

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Knightfall follows brothers of the Knights Templar in the years immediately following the Crusades, when many of them are still eager to go back to fighting for control of “the Holy Land” and searching for relics of Christian mythology. It includes Pope Boniface VIII (Jim Carter) and several French royals, including King Philip (Ed Stoppard), Queen Joan (Olivia Ross), Princess Isabella (Sabrina Bartlett and Genevieve Gaunt), and Prince Louis (Tom Forbes) as they jockey for power and control over this volatile military force.

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Hamill’s character, Talus, is only introduced in Season 2 of the series. He’s the brother in charge of training Templar initiates at the Chartres Temple, and a veteran warrior himself. Talus survived over a decade as a prisoner of war in the Middle East, and offers a unique perspective to the other characters around him. Critics heaped praise on Hamill for his performance in this role, saying he elevated every scene he was in.

Sadly, the show itself has generally mixed reviews, with a 55% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Some critics have even pointed out historical inaccuracies in the story, though the show’s producers dismiss these as matters of creative license. Meanwhile, die-hard fans of the show make up for the criticism with their enthusiastic praise.

Knightfall is streaming now for free on Tubi, as long as you don’t mind watching with commercial breaks. The show is also available to digitally rent or purchase on PVOD stores including Apple TV, YouTube, and Fandango at Home.