Oscar and Emmy winner Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method) will take on the role of Benjamin Franklin in a currently-untitled Apple TV+ show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series, based on the book by Stacy Schiff (Cleopatra: A Life), A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, will follow Franklin and his mission to France during the American Revolution.
The limited series will show how Franklin “convinced France’s absolute monarchy to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy,” the logline via The Hollywood Reporter continues, “By virtue of his fame, charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies, French informers and hostile colleagues, all while engineering the Franco-American alliance of 1778 and the final peace with England of 1783. Without his work in France, the United States likely wouldn’t have won the Revolutionary War.”
Douglas, whose Netflix series, The Kominsky Method, wrapped last year and earned him three Emmy nominations, previously voiced Franklin in an episode of PBS’ 2003 series Freedom: A History of US. The actor also played Dr. Hank Pym in Marvel’s Ant-Man franchise and will be playing Ronald Reagan in Paramount’s upcoming limited series about his negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.