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Great Expectations is a historical drama television miniseries developed by Steven Knight, based on the 1861 novel by Charles Dickens. It premiered on BBC One on 26 March 2023,[2] followed by its US premiere on FX on Hulu later the same day.[3]
| Great Expectations | |
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| Genre | Historical drama |
| Based on | Great Expectations by Charles Dickens |
| Written by | Steven Knight |
| Directed by |
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| Starring | |
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| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Running time | 58 minutes |
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| Original release | |
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| Release | 26 March – 30 April 2023 |
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 release in weekly chapters in December 1860.[4]
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- Fionn Whitehead as Pip
- Tom Sweet as young Pip
- Johnny Harris as Magwitch
- Trystan Gravelle as Compeyson
- Owen McDonnell as Joe
- Hayley Squires as Sara
- Tim Key as Mr. Wopsle
- Matt Berry as Mr. Pumblechook
- Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham
- Ashley Thomas as Jaggers
- Shalom Brune-Franklin as Estella
- Chloe Lea as young Estella
- Laurie Ogden as Biddy
- Rudi Dharmalingam as John Wemmick
- Matthew Needham as Bentley Drummle
| No. | Title [5] | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [5] | BBC One broadcast [6] | UK viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | Brady Hood | Steven Knight | 26 March 2023 | 26 March 2023 | 4.51 |
| 2 | "Episode 2" | Brady Hood | Steven Knight | 2 April 2023 | 2 April 2023 | 3.38 |
| 3 | "Episode 3" | Brady Hood | Steven Knight | 9 April 2023 | 9 April 2023 | 2.87 |
| 4 | "Episode 4" | Brady Hood | Steven Knight | 16 April 2023 | 16 April 2023 | N/A |
| 5 | "Episode 5" | Samira Radsi | Steven Knight | 23 April 2023 | 23 April 2023 | N/A |
| 6 | "Episode 6" | Samira Radsi | Steven Knight | 30 April 2023 | 30 April 2023 | N/A |
Knight announced in May 2020 that he would develop a television series adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel in collaboration between the BBC and FX, his second after 2019's A Christmas Carol.[7]
In February 2022, the cast for the series was announced, with Olivia Colman cast as Miss Havisham, and Fionn Whitehead cast as Pip.[8] Filming began by March 2022, with production taking place at Buckler's Hard, Hampshire on 30 March.[9]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 44% of 41 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Even with the inestimable Olivia Colman as a ringer, Steven Knight's try-hard reimagining of Dickens' masterwork falls well below expectations."[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 52 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[11]
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