Streaming platform MGM+ and British broadcaster the BBC have released the first trailer for A Tale of Two Cities, a four-part miniseries starring actor Kit Harington. The period drama, created and written by Daniel West in co-production with Federation Stories, adapts Charles Dickens' 1859 novel into an agile narrative set amid political turmoil between Great Britain and France in 1782.
Harington, best known for playing Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, serves as executive producer and stars as Sydney Carton. Carton is an erratic but brilliant lawyer trapped in a self-destructive cycle by his addictions and convictions. Harington appears clean-shaven and wearing a period wig to portray the tormented character as he tries to maintain his dignity while the world around him collapses.
Love triangle and political turmoil
The drama centers on a love triangle sparked by Lucie Manette, played by Mirren Mack, as she attempts to discover the truth about her father. Her search links her with Charles Darnay, an idealistic Frenchman arrested for treason who is played by François Civil, and Carton. Although Darnay and Carton look physically similar, they are spiritually opposite, and their clash drives a plot involving love, marriage, crime, and betrayal as war threatens across the English Channel.
Bilingual cast and fast-paced direction
Directed by Richard Clark, the miniseries features a bilingual script performed by a cast of British and French actors, including Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Yannick Renier, and Guillaume Gallienne. The production abandons traditional slow period drama pacing for a fast-paced tempo, relying on modern audiences to follow both English and French without losing the story's emotional impact.
Global premiere on MGM+
A Tale of Two Cities will begin weekly streaming on Sunday, September 6 on MGM+. The series will launch simultaneously across international territories including Spain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Latin America, testing whether Dickens' famous opening premise about the best and worst of times still resonates with global viewers nearly two centuries later.
