Sharpe is a British television series of stories starring Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, with Irish actor Daragh O’Malley playing his second in command Patrick Harper. Sharpe and Harper are the heroes of a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books. Produced by Celtic Films and Picture Palace Films for the ITV network, the series was shot mainly in Crimea, a few episodes in Turkey, although some filming was also done in England, Portugal and Spain. Two episodes were filmed in India.

The series originally ran from 1993 to 1997. In 2006, ITV premiered Sharpe’s Challenge, a two-part adventure loosely based on his time in India, with Sean Bean continuing his role as Sharpe; part one premiered on 23 April, with part two being shown the following night. With more gore than earlier episodes, the show was broadcast by BBC America in September 2006. Filming of Sharpe’s Peril, produced by Celtic Film/Picture Palace, began on 3 March 2008 in India. The first part was broadcast on ITV and UTV on 2 November 2008, with the second part shown a week later, although STV, the holders of the Northern and Central Scottish licensees of ITV, decided not to screen Sharpe’s Peril. Sharpe’s Challenge and Sharpe’s Peril were broadcast in the US in 2010 as part of PBS‘ Masterpiece Classic season.