The new limited series “Franklin,” which stars Michael Douglas, the winner of the Academy, Emmy, and AFI Lifetime Achievement Awards, chronicles Benjamin Franklin’s 1776 trip to France. Based on Stacy Schiff’s book “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America,” the television series recounts Benjamin Franklin’s covert trip to France, where he persuaded an absolute monarchy to support America’s democratic experiment.
Overcoming adversarial colleagues, French informants, and British spies, Franklin, then seventy years old, masterminded the Franco-American Alliance of 1778 and the peace deal with Great Britain in 1783.
Since America could not have won the Revolution without French assistance, Franklin’s eight-year French mission is regarded as his most significant national contribution. The trailer for “Franklin,” which will make its world premiere, was released by Douglas and the Academy.
Given the importance of French assistance to America’s victory in the Revolution, Franklin’s eight-year trip to France is regarded as the most extensive ambassadorial journey in American history. Noah Jupe plays Temple Franklin in the drama, while Daniel Mays plays Edward Bancroft, Assaad Bouab plays Beaumarchais, Jeanne Balibar plays Madame Helvetius, and Théodore Pellerin plays the Marquis de Lafayette.
