Lost Empires: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Lost Empires takes you to the last days of Britain's innocence and the glamorous, magical world of the great music halls - which once brought entertainment to millions. In 1913, young Richard Herncastle, escapes from a stuffy, provincial English background into the glitter and excitement of the theatre world. Funny, sad, and nostalgic, Lost Empires follows Richard from his naïve, country upbringing to join his uncle Nick Ollanton, a famous music hall illusionist - known as the Indian Magician, Ganga Dun. The mystery of illusions, on and off the stage, is eventually shattered for Richard, whose dream of becoming a famous painter becomes sidetracked while he contends with men gone nearly insane, the lusts of countless women, and a murder that hangs over his head.

Series details

• Title: Lost Empires
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama
• Premiere date: 1986-10-24
• Final broadcast date listed: 1986-12-05
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: ITV1
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 36261
• IMDb ID: tt0090476
• TVDB ID: 250364

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1986-10-24; final listed air date 1986-12-05; episode order: 7.

Source and licence

Adapted from Lost Empires on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.