Great Expectations, BBC's adaptation of Charles Dicken's 1861 classic novel, will officially hit Hulu on March 26. While a trailer for the limited series was released yesterday, a premiere date for the project has only just been revealed. The teaser featured Miss Havisham (Olivia Colman) meeting Pip (Fionn Whitehead) for the first time, as she takes a very good look at him and appreciates the potential of the young man in front of her. While the video was short, it did a very good job of setting a dramatic, thrilling tone for the upcoming show.
The first two episodes of the limited series will be available to stream in the United States on Hulu, while the rest of the world will be able to enjoy Great Expectations on the BBC, Disney+'s Star brand, or Star+, depending on their region's availability. The remaining episodes will be aired weekly on Sundays following the double-episode premiere. Tom Hardy, Ridley Scott, and Dean Baker are some of the names that serve as executive producers of this adaptation of Charles Dicken's work. The novel, a damning critique of the class system, was released as weekly chapters in December 1860 before being published as a book the following year.
The novel focuses on Pip's coming-of-age story. While starting his journey as a young orphan with a heart full of dreams, he quickly gets himself involved in a dark world of possibilities after meeting Miss Havisham. Colman, who recently had an interview with Collider, is no stranger to period pieces, after starring in productions such as The Favourite and The Crown. The stuffy dresses, heavy wigs and capes certainly suit the actress, with her performances in both stories leading her to win an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actress, respectively.
This is not the First Adaptation of the Famed Story
The upcoming series will not be first adaption of the story, in fact the Dickens' novel has seen several adaptations across stage and screen. Most recently, the story was adapted into a three-part series, also from BBC in 2011, and a feature film in 2012, both of the same. The 2011 series saw Gillian Anderson play Miss Havisham, Douglas Booth as Pip, and Ray Winstone as Magwitch. However, the 2012 film saw Ralph Fiennes in the role of Magwitch, Jeremy Irvine as Pip and Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham. Steven Knight, who is the writer, producer and showrunner of the limited series, is also the creator of Peaky Blinders which starred Cillian Murphy as crime boss Tommy Shelby.
The upcoming series, Great Expectations, premieres on Hulu on March 26.