The BBC and MGM+ are teaming up with a new four-part limited series adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities. Game of Thrones veteran Kit Harington will play Sydney Carton, a cynical English lawyer who gets caught up in a drama that will put him in the middle of the French Revolution, and who finds that he has a greater capacity for self-sacrifice than he thought. We now have first-look images of the limited series, including the one above, where Harington intensely stares at the camera. Sydney Carton is an iconic role that has been played numerous times onscreen, including by Ronald Colman in a 1935 movie version and by Chris Sarandon in a 1980 Hallmark Hall of Fame adaptation. We’ll also meet Lucie Manette, a young woman who has her life upended when she receives a message from Paris revealing that her father, who was assumed dead for nearly 20 years, may be alive. Lucie will be played by Mirren Mack:

Image: Marcell Piti

The message is delivered by idealistic French emigré Charles Darnay, who is later arrested and put on trial in England for treason against the British crown. Lucie enlists Sydney Carton’s help to free him. Darnay will be played by François Civil, featured below:

image: Michael Piti

According to the official synopsis from the BBC, this leads to a love triangle between Lucie, Carton, and Darnay. “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.” At the risk of spoiling a 167-year-old book, it is very important to the story that Darnay and Carton look alike; in that 1980 Hallmark version, Chris Sarandon played both roles. Judge for yourself whether they nailed it in this new version:

Image: Michael Piti

It sounds like they’re changing up some things about A Tale of Two Cities for TV. For instance, in the book, it’s pretty clear early on which of the two men Lucie chooses, so it’s a little odd that the official synopsis is framing the show as a love triangle where Lucy is torn between the two. But this is a BBC production, and they usually stick pretty close to the source material when it comes to classic English texts, so we’ll reserve judgment for when the limited series starts airing later this year. It’ll air on BBC One in the UK and on MGM+ in the US.

Kit Harington seems to have an affinity for these kinds of period dramas. Back in 2017, he starred in Gunpowder, about a failed 1605 regicide attempt. Harington developed that show alongside Daniel West, who is writing this new adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities, so clearly they enjoyed working together. The limited series is directed by Richard Clark, who’s directed episodes of shows like Doctor Who and Outlander. If you want to see Harington in period garb sooner rather than later, he just appeared in The Dreadful, which is set in 15th century England. He starred in that one alongside his Game of Thrones costar Sophie Turner.