• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, April 3, 2015

It would be a shame if "Wolf Hall" got lost this Sunday in all the hype over the return of "Mad Men."

Both shows are airing at the same time -- “Mad Men” at 10 p.m. Eastern on AMC and "Wolf Hall" on PBS, also at 10. Oh, well -- I guess it’s a situation for which today’s deferred-viewing options are tailor-made.

And that’s a good thing, because "Wolf Hall" -- a six-part “Masterpiece” miniseries -- is not to be missed. Nor should it be dismissed merely because its story -- about the reign of Henry VIII -- has been told in other recent TV shows and movies (most notably “The Tudors” and “The Other Boleyn Girl”).

This miniseries stands all on its own, beginning with a mesmerizing performance by English actor Mark Rylance in the show’s lead role -- Thomas Cromwell, the shrewd, tight-lipped lawyer, counselor and advisor to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and later to King Henry, who reigned from 1509 to 1547.

Rylance plays Cromwell as a circumspect, guarded man of few words who chooses those words with great care. One of the joys of watching Rylance in this role is to observe him in the silent moments, when he’s almost perfectly still and poker-faced -- and yet, you get this sense that gears are shifting and whirring inside his head. Rylance’s Cromwell goes often unnoticed, like the proverbial fly on the wall, but he is nevertheless keenly observant and misses nothing.

The Cromwell character is easily the leading role in this miniseries, since the show’s other primary character -- King Henry -- doesn’t show up until about 45 minutes into the first episode. Henry is played by Damian Lewis, star of “Homeland” on Showtime and, before that, “Band of Brothers” on HBO.

In this version of the Henry VIII story, Henry’s desire to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (Joanne Whalley) annulled is due less to some uncontrollable lust he feels for the younger Anne Boleyn (Claire Foy), and more to political reality. For the survival of his reign, if not the monarchy itself, he needs a male heir, and Catherine cannot apparently produce one for him, so he needs a childbearing wife.

As a result, Lewis plays Henry like a man who is more concerned with the various political consequences of his actions than with mere pleasures of the flesh -- as Henry is usually portrayed. In Lewis’ interpretation, Henry is a man hungry for sage advice -- which presents an opportunity for a man full of advice such as Cromwell.

I liked the whole 16th-century atmosphere conjured on “Wolf Hall” (I watched two of the six episodes PBS provided for preview), which is based on a pair of historical novels by Hilary Mantel -- “Wolf Hall” and its sequel, “Bring Up the Bodies.”

In the miniseries adaptation, the surroundings are damp and chilly and, as a result, they feel authentic. The only light comes from ordinary daylight, which doesn’t exactly pour through the windows of cottages and castles, since the days are generally gray and overcast. Indoors, candles represent the state of the art in lighting, which is understandably dim, no matter how many candelabra are distributed around a room.

Also common to the era: The sudden onset of disease and death, both portrayed starkly and almost without sentiment (at least, not our modern-day type of sentiment).

“Wolf Hall” is a quiet drama that nevertheless builds considerable suspense. A feeling of dread hangs over it because of the dangers lurking in the world of the king’s court, where politics is not for the faint of heart and a single error in judgment can prove fatal.

“Wolf Hall” premieres Sunday (April 5) on “Masterpiece,” 10 p.m. Eastern on PBS.