'Beowulf' starring Kieran Bew and William Hurt to premiere on Esquire Jan. 23

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The Esquire television channel says it will begin airing a 13-part adaptation of the epic poem "Beowulf" on Jan. 23.

The source material is about 1,000 years old and tells the story of a disillusioned and damaged hero.

The one-hour drama it inspired will "chronicle Beowulf's return to his home Herot, to make peace with his past. Unwittingly in search of a cause to believe in and a community to fight for, Beowulf finds himself wrongly accused of murder and hunts down the true perpetrator to avenge the death of his fellow kinsmen," said a synopsis.

The British series stars Kieran Bew as Beowulf; William Hurt as Hrothgar; Joanne Whalley as Rheda; Ed Speleers as Slean; Laura Donnelly as Elvina and David Ajala as Rate.

Beowulf is produced by ITV Studios with Tim Haines and Katie Newman serving as executive producers, along with James Dormer, who wrote the program.