Aired: 6/13/1978
In which Will progresses from ostler to cockerel to ghostwriter - to London's premier playwright as Kit Marlowe falls from grace.
Aired: 6/20/1978
Will's new troupe of actors arrive in a plague-ridden London and perform Richard III to great acclaim, but a death in the family jeopardises all. A handsome rogue is not what he seems, luckily for Will.
Aired: 6/27/1978
Plague over, life returns to normal in London and the theatres reopen. The inconstancy of a dark mistress and the jealousy of an Earl conspire to enlarge Will's understanding of human nature.
Aired: 7/4/1978
Will's taking his son to London to introduce him to life and get to know him proves to be a mixed blessing with a tragic ending.
Aired: 7/11/1978
In the wake of Essex's failure to tame the Irish rebels, the actors' brush with politics has catastrophic consequences.
Aired: 7/18/1978
While Will pleads with the dying Queen for suicidal Hal's life, his poems are stolen, printed and distributed without his permission, setting in motion a chain of events that could prove disastrous.