Academy Award and Emmy winner Michael Douglas will star as Founding Father Benjamin Franklin in a limited series event at Apple TV+.
Douglas’ previous TV credits include The Kominsky Method (where he racked up four of his eight career Emmy Nods), HBO’s Behind The Candelabra (for which he won his Emmy), and The Streets of San Francisco (another three nominations).
Based on Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff’s A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, written by Kirk Ellis (HBO’s John Adams) and directed by Tim Van Patten (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire), the as-yet-untitled ITV Studios America and Apple Studios co-production promises to explore “the thrilling story of one of the greatest gambles of Benjamin Franklin’s career.”
Meaning: “At age 70, without any diplomatic training, Franklin convinced France — an absolute monarchy — to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy,” the synopsis reads. “By virtue of his fame, charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies, French informers, and hostile colleagues, all while engineering the Franco-American alliance of 1778 and the final peace with England of l783. The eight-year French mission stands as Franklin’s most vital service to his country, without which America would not have won the Revolution.”
In addition to starring, Douglas will serve as executive producer alongside Ellis and Van Patten, Richard Plepler, Tony Krantz and Mark Mostyn, while novelist Schiff will serve as a co-executive producer.
What do you think of Douglas’ casting? is it positively… electric?
