The eight-part limited series “Franklin,” which stars and is executive produced by Michael Douglas, has an official trailer available on Apple TV+. On Friday, April 12, the first three episodes will debut internationally on the Apple SVOD service; the next five episodes will air one at a time on Fridays starting after that and continuing until May 17. After all Benjamin Franklin, it turns out, wasn’t content to sit around and master bifocals.
Stacy Schiff’s book “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America” served as the inspiration for the film “Franklin.” The show narrates “the dramatic story of the greatest gamble of Benjamin Franklin’s career”; we assume this means something other than grasping a lightning rod during a rainstorm.
The world-famous inventor is put to the ultimate test in 1776 when he is sent on a covert mission to enlist France in the American Revolutionary War to aid in the struggle for independence. Oh, and he was seventy years old, and transatlantic travel was far from ideal.
According to the Apple TV+ logline, “Franklin outwitted British spies, French informers, and adversarial colleagues by his reputation, charm, and cunning to arrange the Franco-American alliance of 1778 and the peace accord with Great Britain in 1783.”
Historians believe that Franklin’s eight-year trip to France was the most extensive single assignment an ambassador has ever had in the history of our country. All right, Michael Douglas, no pressure.
The cast of “Franklin” also includes Noah Jupe (“A Quiet Place”) as Temple Franklin, Theodore Pellerin (“There’s Someone Inside Your House”) as Marquis de Lafayette, Ludivine Sagnier (“Lupin”) as Madame Brillon, Eddie Marsan (“Ray Donovan”) as John Adams, Assaad Bouab (“Call My Agent!”) as Beaumarchais, Jeanne Balibar (“Irma Vep”) as Madame Helvetius, and Thibault de Montalembert (“Call My Agent!”) as Comte de Vergennes.
The limited series is written and executive produced by Howard Korder (“Boardwalk Empire”) and Kirk Ellis (“John Adams”). The Sopranos’ Tim Van Patten serves as executive producer and director.
Via EDEN Productions, former HBO CEO Richard Plepler serves as executive producer. Via Flame Ventures, Tony Krantz executive produces, and via ITV Studios America, Philippe Maigret does the same. Mark Mostyn co-executives with Douglas, while Author Schiff is the other executive producer. Apple Studios and ITV Studios America are co-producing “Franklin.”
Check out the Trailer Below:
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