Two-time Oscar winner Michael Douglas takes on the titular role in Apple TV+’s Franklin, a limited series based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America by Stacy Schiff. (So glad they shortened the series’ title!) The streaming service just released the first two photos of Douglas in character as Founding Father Benjamin Franklin and announced the series will premiere on April 12, 2024.
The first three episodes will be released simultaneously, followed by a new episode of the eight-episode season every Friday. The finale is set for May 17th.
Joining Michael Douglas for the historical biopic are Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place Part II) as Temple Franklin, Thibault de Montalembert (Call My Agent!) as Comte de Vergennes, and Daniel Mays (Line of Duty) as Edward Bancroft. Ludivine Sagnier (Lupin) plays Madame Brillon, Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) is John Adams, Assaad Bouab (Call My Agent!) is Beaumarchais, Jeanne Balibar (Irma Vep) is Madame Helvetius, and Theodore Pellerin (There’s Someone Inside Your House) plays Marquis de Lafayette.
Douglas is serving as an executive producer along with Emmy and WGA Award-winning writer and executive producer Kirk Ellis (John Adams) and Emmy, WGA, and Pulitzer Prize Award-nominated writer and executive producer Howard Korder (Boardwalk Empire). Emmy and DGA Award-winning director Tim Van Patten (The Sopranos) directs and executive produces.
Additional executive producers include Tony Krantz, Philippe Maigret, and Mark Mostyn, with Richard Plepler producing through his EDEN Productions. The limited series is a co-production between ITV Studios America and Apple Studios.
“Franklin explores the thrilling story of the greatest gamble of Benjamin Franklin’s career. In December 1776, Franklin is world famous for his electrical experiments, but his passion and power are put to the test when – as the fate of American independence hangs in the balance – he embarks on a secret mission to France,” reads Apple TV+’s synopsis. “At age 70, without any diplomatic training, Franklin convinced an absolute monarchy to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy. By virtue of his fame, charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies, French informers, and hostile colleagues to engineer the Franco-American alliance of 1778 and the peace treaty with England in 1783.
The eight-year French mission stands as Franklin’s most vital service to his country, without which America could not have won the Revolution. Diplomats and historians still regard it as the greatest single tour of duty by an ambassador in our nation’s history.”
