The Academy Award-winning star plays Benjamin Franklin in the Apple TV+ series.
The Big Picture
- Dive into the high-stakes world of Benjamin Franklin as he navigates British spies and French informers in a pivotal moment in 1776.
- Franklin’s strategic brilliance led to the Franco-American alliance in 1778 and a peace treaty with England in 1783, a key diplomatic achievement.
-
Franklin
shines when focusing on the complex relationship between Franklin and his grandson Temple, offering a unique perspective on the Founding Father.
Michael Douglas has been back on our screens as Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, in the lush Apple TV+ drama, Franklin, and Collider is excited to offer our readers a sneak peek at the latest episode of the limited series, in which Douglas’ Franklin charms a room full of high society wives playing a game of cards that soon becomes extremely high-stakes. Franklin takes viewers into a pivotal moment in Benjamin Franklin’s life during December 1776. Already incredibly famous for his work with electricity, Franklin, at the age of 70 and with no formal diplomatic training, undertook a critical mission to France.
As the American Revolution teetered, he successfully negotiated with France to support America’s early-days democracy, despite being surrounded by British spies and French informers. Franklin’s strategic brilliance led to the Franco-American alliance in 1778 and later, the peace treaty with England in 1783. His eight-year stint in France is considered one of the most consequential diplomatic achievements in American history.
The series also features Noah Jupe as Temple Franklin,Thibault de Montalembert as Comte de Vergennes, and Daniel Mays as Edward Bancroft, with Ludivine Sagnier, Eddie Marsan, Assaad Bouab, Jeanne Balibar, and Theodore Pellerin playing other key roles. The show is shaped by an acclaimed creative team, including Emmy and WGA Award-winning writer and executive producer Kirk Ellis (John Adams), alongside Howard Korder (Boardwalk Empire) who is also nominated for multiple prestigious awards. Emmy and DGA Award-winning director Tim Van Patten leads the project as director and executive producer.
Is ‘Franklin’ Worth Watching on Apple TV+?
Collider’s Carly Lane hailed the performances of Douglas and Jupe, particularly when paired together.
Understandably,
the series is at its best when Douglas and Jupe are on-screen
. In the beginning, Franklin attempts to teach his grandson the art of playing chess or impart some words of wisdom, but, over time, their relationship starts to become more strained — partially as a result of that generational gap. There’s a built-in foundation of tension already, given that Temple’s father and Franklin’s son, William, is a widely-known Loyalist, something that the British try to use to drive a wedge between grandfather and grandson as the years go by. Although Franklin’s relationship with his son could only be categorized as strained and estranged, his love for Temple is never really in question, even if he’s sometimes befuddled by what his grandson has been gallivanting off to do in France. The evolution these two undergo as a pair is as crucial to the series as their own respective journeys.
New episodes of Franklin will premiere every Friday through May 17, 2024. Check out our exclusive clip of Michael Douglas as one of the Founding Fathers below:
Franklin (2024)
Explores the story of one of the greatest gambles of Franklin’s career. At age 70, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies and French informers while engineering the Franco-American alliance of 1778.
- Release Date
- April 12, 2024
- Cast
- Michael Douglas , Noah Jupe , Thibault de Montalembert , Daniel Mays , Ludivine Sagnier , Eddie Marsan , Asaad Bouab , Jeanne Balibar , Théodore Pellerin
- Main Genre
- History
- Writers
- Kirk Ellis , Howard Korder
This article was originally published on collider.com