His Dark Materials UK air date confirmed for third and final TV series

The BBC has confirmed the air date for His Dark Materials’ final season, with the fantasy drama landing as a boxset in December.

Season 3, which is based on Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass, will see Lyra (Dafne Keen) continue to flee the Magisterium, the organisation that rules over a multi-world reality in which humans’ souls are represented by their daemon companions, and her mother Mrs Coulter (Ruth Wilson), who kidnapped her in the season 2 finale.

“UK fans…It’s time to discover new worlds,” the show tweeted. “Catch all episodes of #HisDarkMaterials season 3 on BBC iPlayer Sunday 18th December and weekly on BBC One.”

The series, which is a co-production between the BBC and HBO, will arrive in the US slightly earlier, with fans able to watch the third season on HBO Max from 5th December.

Keen is set to reprise her role as Lyra Belacqua, while Amir Wilson (Will Parry), Ruth Wilson (Marisa Coulter), Will Keen (Cardinal Hugh MacPhail), James McAvoy (Lord Asriel Belacqua) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Lee Scoresby) will also be back for the new series.

Meanwhile, The Crown’s Victoria Hamilton will be joining the cast to voice Lord Asriel’s daemon Stelmaria following the death of Helen McCrory, who originally voiced the character.

The BBC released the first trailer for season 3 earlier this month, teasing James McAvoy’s return as Lord Asriel, who is building an army to go up against the Authority – the first angel to be formed from Dust.

“I am gathering the greatest from every world to help me wage war,” Asriel says in the teaser, before promising that he “would risk everything to ensure victory”.

As for the season as a whole, Ruth Wilson told press that the upcoming episodes are the show’s “most ambitious” yet, adding: “You’ve got so many different worlds to explore – and you’ve got to complete all these storylines.

“So you’ve got to kind of complete the stories for Lyra, for Mrs Coulter, for Asriel. It’s a huge, actually undertaking and you’re in the midst of doing that.”

His Dark Materials season 3 airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 18th December. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.