How to Watch Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius Online for Free From Anywhere

Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius is a British documentary series on the famous writer marking 400 years since his First Folio was published. The new title premiered on November 8, 2023, on BBC Two and the BBC iPlayer streaming service in the UK, but this service is geo-restricted.

Since BBC iPlayer is only available in the UK, one cannot use its media library while traveling abroad or living in other countries. The service reads your physical location that comes with your IP address, and an error message appears if you’re abroad. Yet, there is a simple and legal workaround available, so don’t worry.

A VPN is an easy way to make it seem like you’re in the UK once you run the app via a British server since this step makes it seem like you’re located where the server is. Now that you get a British IP address, the error message is gone, and you can watch Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius online from anywhere. 

So, let's check out when, where, and how to effortlessly watch Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius online from anywhere, why you need a VPN, the series preview, cast, episode release schedule, and more.

How to Watch Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius Online With a VPN

It’s easy to watch Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius online with a VPN, as running the app via a server from a country where the desired streaming platform works will remove the geo-blockade. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Subscribe to a VPN that works with BBC iPlayer (we recommend NordVPN).
2. Download and install the native VPN app for your device or system.
3. Launch and turn on the VPN app via a UK server.
4. Load the BBC iPlayer service and stream the title.

Why Do You Need a VPN to Watch Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius?

You need a VPN to watch Watch Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius online because all streaming services are geo-restricted. Since BBC iPlayer only works in the UK, people abroad cannot access its media library without such a tool.

Trying to play content on iPlayer from abroad without a VPN reveals an error message on top of the video that says, "BBC iPlayer only works in the UK. Sorry, it’s due to rights issues."

A VPN removes the error message, and all you need to do is launch the VPN app on your device, pick a server from the UK list, and switch on the VPN. Now that you are assigned a British IP address, the platform sees you as being in the UK and lifts the geo-restrictions, so you can stream Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius from anywhere.

We recommend NordVPN to easily unblock all the live TV and streaming platforms out there in a few moments, including iPlayer and more, since it is one of the best VPNs on the market.

Where to Watch Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius

The new limited docuseries premieres on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, on BBC Two at 9 pm local time in the UK, and you can also stream Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius on BBC iPlayer in full after the broadcast ends. The season has three episodes, each 60 minutes long, that will be released weekly on TV. No premiere date has been announced for the US, Canada, and Australia yet. 

Here's where to stream Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius.

Streaming Service	Monthly Price Starting At	Available Locations
BBC iPlayer	Free (with ads)	UK

Next episode: Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius Season 1 Episode 3 (November 22, 2023)

How to Watch Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius in the UK

On Wednesday, November 8, 2023, the first episode airs on BBC Two at 9 pm, and you can stream Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius on BBC iPlayer for free in full after the TV broadcast ends. Just log in with your free BBC account credentials to unblock this title and many other exciting series in the iPlayer library. 

Traveling abroad? This service does not work outside the UK, but a trustworthy VPN running via a UK server will remove the geo-restrictions.

Can I Watch Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius in the US, Canada, and Australia?

No, and we don’t have a premiere date. Until then, you can always use a reliable VPN set to a UK server to stream Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius for free on iPlayer in the US, Canada, Australia, and anywhere else.

Can You Watch Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius for Free?

Yes, you can. BBC iPlayer is free in the UK, and you can use a VPN if you are in another country.

Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius 2023 Preview

Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius is a British TV docuseries narrated by Juliet Stevenson telling the incredible story of how a glover’s son from rural Stratford became the greatest writer who ever lived.

Cinematic drama vignettes depict Shakespeare’s life. The limited series features stars and experts alongside academics and writers to bring fresh insights into the story of the UK’s greatest writer.

Each episode follows the triumphs and setbacks of his writing life, the people he met, and the world he witnessed, with glimpses from an archive of some of the world’s best screen adaptations of the featured plays.

Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius Cast

• Dame Judi Dench
• Brian Cox
• Adrian Lester
• Lolita Chakrabarti
• Helen Mirren
• Martin Freeman 
• Jessie Buckley
• James Shapiro
• Ewan Fernie
• Jeanette Winterson
• Brenda Hale
• The Baroness Hale of Richmond
• Gordon Brown
• Jeremy O'Harris 
• Professor Farah Karim-Cooper

Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius 2023 Episodes

• Season 1 Episode 1: (November 8, 2023) - 1587. William Shakespeare leaves behind the small rural town of Stratford and his father’s struggling glove business to pursue his dreams of becoming a playwright in London - at that time a dangerous, burgeoning metropolis. Public theatre is the new artform, and Shakespeare begins his journey at the bottom, as a stagehand and occasional actor. He grabs an opportunity and writes a gory revenge play, Titus Andronicus, which does well, followed by a teenage romance that he flips to end in tragedy and which becomes a breakout success: Romeo and Juliet.
• Season 1 Episode 2: (November 15, 2023) - Thirty-year-old Shakespeare is at the top of his game; he’s writing and acting with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, and the money is rolling in. Determined to restore his family’s reputation, Shakespeare works harder than ever, producing hit after hit: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry IV, and Julius Caesar. But as his star rises, a series of disasters and setbacks strike. Shakespeare’s life, purpose and family are thrown into chaos. He begins to question his life’s purpose, but tragedy spurs him to new heights of creative brilliance.
• Season 1 Episode 3 (November 22, 2023) - Shakespeare’s life and legacy are threatened when the Gunpowder Plot unearths a secret he has worked all his life to bury: that his family are Catholics, possible traitors to the Crown. When his daughter is implicated in the aftermath, Shakespeare creates a bloodthirsty tragedy about the perils of regicide to appeal to the new king, James I: Macbeth. In his final years, he reflects on his successes and failures, questioning family, forgiveness, and mortality in plays that are, in turn, dark - King Lear and wildly experimental - The Tempest. Catastrophe strikes when The Globe, the theatre he built, is reduced to ash, and Shakespeare retires to Stratford. By the time of his death in 1616, he was almost forgotten, and his greatest work was at risk of being lost forever.

Final Thoughts

You can stream Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius on BBC iPlayer in the UK, but you need a VPN set to a UK server to access the platform if you travel abroad or live in other countries since it is geo-restricted.

We recommend NordVPN, a premium and independently audited tool with military-grade encryption, no logs, over 5,800 VPN servers in 60 countries, high speeds, stable connections, and more. You can even try NordVPN for 30 days risk-free via the money-back policy.