“I don't know who I can trust. I'm here to help my country. But time is running out. But who are you really? We are what the role requires us to be. This is the kind of dangerous game. the kind of game I like."
America's independence is at stake in the trailer for the new miniseries Franklin, arriving on April 12 with the first three episodes on Apple TV+.
Actor and producer Michael Douglas, winner of two Oscars, 4 Golden Globes, a BAFTA Award and an Emmy Award, faces British spies, hostile colleagues and French informants.
“Do we have an alliance?” asks Edward Bancroft (Daniel Mays) off-screen, to which Franklin confidently replies, “We have a battle.”
With the "fate of American independence" hanging in the balance, at the age of 70 (Douglas is 79), American scientist and politician Benjamin Franklin undertook an eight-year secret mission to France.
Franklin sets sail for France on a "secret mission".
Using his fame and charisma and without adequate diplomatic training, Franklin manages to convince the "absolute monarchy to support the American experiment in democracy", a feat that proves vital to winning the Revolutionary War.
Based on the book 'A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America' by Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff, the eight-episode TV series begins in 1776. Franklin, known throughout the world for his studies and experiments on electricity, he takes on the role of ambassador to obtain support from the French absolute monarchy for democracy and the independence of the United States.
Thanks to ingenuity, charisma and fame, the protagonist achieves his objectives: the Franco-American alliance of 1778 and the peace treaty with Great Britain of 1783. Even today, diplomats and historians qualify the mediation of Franklin as the largest assignment given to a single ambassador in the nation's history.
Far from the important contributions he made to the study of electricity, in 'Franklin' the character is analyzed from a political and strategic point of view.
The series, composed of eight episodes, tells the long mission (8 years) of Benjamin Franklin in France where he planned a Franco-American alliance aimed at supporting America during the revolution and subsequent independence.
From the first clips we can admire the sumptuous French courts, lit by betrayals and intrigues, which will be the backdrop to Franklin's mission, considered by historians to be the longest operation of an ambassador for his nation.
At 70, with no diplomatic training, Franklin convinces an absolute monarchy to underwrite the American experiment in democracy.
The mission in France presents itself as a mission of vital importance for his country.
Diplomats and historians continue to consider it the most important period of ambassadorial service in our nation's history, since without French help, the American Revolution would not have occurred.
the series also stars Noah Jupe as Temple Franklin, Thibault de Montalembert as the Comte de Vergennes, Daniel Mays as Edward Bancroft, Ludivine Sagnier as Madame Brillon, Eddie Marsan as John Adams, Assaad Bouab as Beaumarchais, Jeanne Balibar as Madame Helvetius and Theodore Pellerin as the Marquis de Lafayette.
Writers and executive producers are Kirk Ellis and Howard Korder, while Tim Van Patten, winner of an Emmy and a DGA Award and known for the TV series Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones, is both executive producer and director.
The series was filmed in Versailles, France.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA