Apple TV Plus’ Franklin Trailer showcases the epic adventure of America’s founding father
If you had asked me to suggest a hero for a blockbuster adventure, I would be pretty far down the list before suggesting Benjamin Franklin. But seeing Michael Douglas in the role of the upcoming Apple TV Plus series Franklin suggests I’ve missed a trick. It turns out that the writer, inventor and eventual abolitionist was a true adventurer.
The new series, which debuts in April, is based on the book A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America by Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff, and follows Franklin on the biggest gamble of his career. A secret mission to France in which he outsmarted British spies, French informants and hostile colleagues to forge a French-American alliance and subsequent peace treaty with England.
As Apple puts it, “Diplomats and historians still consider it the greatest ambassadorial tour of duty in our country’s history” – and as you can see in the trailer below, it looks like it’s going to be quite an epic adventure.
Michael Douglas is a man on a mission
It is fair to say that the stakes of this mission were quite high – had Franklin not been successful, American independence would by no means have been assured – and that Franklin was an unlikely hero. He was already seventy and despite his many talents he had no diplomatic training whatsoever. Had his mission been more widely known, there would have been very real fears that Franklin would accidentally cause an international incident. But Franklin was super smart and also had a lot of charisma, qualities that Douglas clearly highlights in the show’s trailer.
The series also features quite the cast: Noah Jupe (A quiet place) as Temple Franklin, Thibault de Montalembert (Call my agent!) as Comte de Vergennes, Daniel Mays (Line of duty) as Edward Bancroft, Ludivine Sagnier (She-wolf) as Madame Brillon, Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) as John Adams, Assaad Bouab (Call my agent!, again) as Beaumarchais, Jeanne Balibar (Irma Vep) as Madame Helvetius and Theodore Pellerin (There is someone in your house) as Marquis de Lafayette. Featuring a writing and production team whose credits include Boardwalk Empire, Masters of the air And The sopranos, Apple has clearly recruited a lot of talent to tell this epic story.
Judging from the trailer, this appears to be a beautifully shot and apparently quite funny historical drama, so it looks like it’s definitely on your to-watch list.
Franklin will premiere worldwide on Apple TV Plus, one of the top streaming services, on April 12, 2024.