FRANKLIN
HAMILTON: THE NON-MUSICAL SPIN-OFF
Big wigs Benjamin (Michael Douglas) and Temple (Noah Jupe).
★★★
OUT NOW (APPLE TV+) / EPISODES VIEWED 8 OF 8
SHOWRUNNER Kirk Ellis
CAST Michael Douglas, Noah Jupe, Daniel Mays, Eddie Marsan, Ludivine Sagnier, Thibault de Montalembert, Assaad Bouab
PLOT 1776. Benjamin Franklin (Douglas) embarks on a secret mission to France to garner backing in the war for independence against the English.
Below: “Enchanté!” Franklin and Madame Brillon (Ludivine Sagnier).
MICHAEL DOUGLAS TOOK the title role of Benjamin Franklin in this enjoyable Apple TV+ series because he “wanted to see how I looked in tights”. This sartorial experimentation sees Douglas elevate the eight-episode period drama, having a costumed ball of a time playing one of America’s Founding Fathers. The haphazard switching between English and subtitled French suggests a Euro-pudding but, well-played by an international cast, Franklin is an entertaining sortie though powdered wigs and power politics without ever becoming completely gripping.