Shalom Brune-Franklin, Ashley Thomas, Rudi Dharmalingam and Parth Thakerar take part in FX’s adaptation of Great Expectations. The limited series also stars Fionn Whitehead, Olivia Colman and Matt Berry and will stream March 26 on Hulu.
The limited series is based on the 19th-century Charles Dickens novel of the same name, and follows Pip (Whitehead), a poor young man who receives an anonymous fortune and becomes a member of high society. According to the synopsis:
Great Expectations is the coming-of-age story of “Pip,” an orphan who yearns for a greater lot in life, until a twist of fate and the evil machinations of the mysterious and eccentric “Miss Havisham” shows him a dark world of possibilities. Under the great expectations placed upon him, Pip will have to work out the true cost of this new world and whether it will truly make him the man he wishes to be. A damning critique of the class system, Dickens’ novel was published in 1861 after first releasing it in a series of weekly chapters beginning in December 1860.
As seen in the trailer below, Brune-Franklin plays Estella, the young woman Pip falls in love with, but contains a multitude of secrets. Thomas plays Jaggers, the lawyer of recluse Miss Havisham (Colman) and Pip’s guardian after he enters high society. Wemmick is played by Dharmalingam, and is Pip’s friend and Jaggers’ clerk. Thakerar plays Pip’s best frenemy Herbert Pocket.
Much of Pip’s life centers around Colman’s Miss Havisham, who mourns a lost love and lives as a relic of time, never changing from the wedding dress she wore years ago when she expected to be a bride. Berry’s Mr. Pumblechook is Pip’s great uncle and is the person who brings Pip to Miss Havisham’s home. The remainder of the cast includes Johnny Harris, Hayley Squires, Owen McDonnell, Laurie Ogden, Trysten Gravelle and Matthew Needham, with Tom Sweet and Chloe Lea as Young Pip and Young Estella.
Steven Knight writes and executive produces the limited series. Tom Hardy, Ridley Scott, Dean Baker, David W. Zucker and Kate Crowe also executive produce. FX Productions produces in association with the BBC, Scott Free and Hardy Son & Baker.
