By Nicky Morris
Copyright hellomagazine
Period drama fans, listen up! A new Charles Dickens adaptation is coming to the BBC, starring Industry’s Kit Harington and Strike’s Mirren Mack, and it sounds utterly gripping. The upcoming four-parter, set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, is an adaptation of the classic novel, A Tale Of Two Cities, about the “powerful and complex” love triangle between a young woman named Lucie Manette, French emigré Charles Darnay and lawyer Sydney Carton, who fight to be worthy of her love while Lucie struggles to choose.
As a big period drama fan, I’m counting down the days until A Tale Of Two Cities arrives on our screens. Not only is the series led by Game of Thrones legend Kit Harington, but it’s based on one of the bestselling novels of all time and is described as a “twisting period thriller” with a “contemporary” love triangle at the heart. What’s not to like? Keep reading for all we know about the show so far.
What is A Tale Of Two Cities about?
The upcoming series opens in London, 1782, when tensions are running high in the war between France and Britain. The story follows a young woman, Lucie Manette, whose life is upended when she receives a message from Paris – her father, assumed dead for almost 20 years, may be alive. The synopsis continues: “The messenger – idealistic French emigré, Charles Darnay – is arrested and charged with treason.
“Lucie enlists the help of a brilliant but erratic young lawyer, Sydney Carton, to free Darnay in the hope he will lead her to Paris to track down her father. Lucie’s collision with Darnay and Carton unleashes a powerful and complex love triangle. Both men fight to be worthy of her love, and Lucie is torn over which one to choose. Yet neither man – physically so alike, spiritually poles apart – can escape the other. Instead, they find themselves bound together in life and death, through triumphs, tragedies, marriage, and murder.”
Who stars in A Tale Of Two Cities?
Mirren Mack, who is known for her roles in Strike, Miss Austen and The Doll Factory, stars as Lucie Manette in the series, which begins filming in October. She’s joined by Kit Harington (Industry, Game of Thrones) as Sydney Carton and François Civil (Beating Hearts, The Three Musketeers) as Charles Darnay.
As for the creative team, Hong Khaou (Mr Loverman, Lilting, Alice & Jack) is directing, while Daniel West (Gunpowder, Top Boy) is writing.
What have the cast and creative team said about the show?
Leading star Kit, who is also an executive producer for Thriker Films, and writer/executive producer Daniel teased the series as a “heartbreaking romance” and “brutal revenge mystery”. “We could not be more thrilled to be working with Polly, Sarah, Leo and the team at Federation to bring Dickens’ revolutionary epic to the screen,” they said in a statement. “A Tale of Two Cities is the original historical blockbuster – a heartbreaking romance and a brutal revenge mystery, all set against the iconic backdrop of the French Revolution. Our adaptation will be a twisting period thriller; one with a contemporary, volatile love triangle at its heart. We can’t wait to share it with audiences in 2026.”
