''Great Expectations'' is a
historical fiction series developed by
Steven Knight, based on
the novel
''The Novel'' (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Michener's better known historical fiction, ''The Novel'' is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of ...
by
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
. It premiered on BBC One on 26 March 2023, followed by its USA premiere on
FX on Hulu
FX Networks, LLC, is a company consisting of a network of cable channels plus a production company and a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content segment of The Walt Disney Company. Originally a part of 21st Century Fox, the comp ...
later the same day.
Premise
''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.
Cast
*
Fionn Whitehead
Fionn Whitehead (; born 18 July 1997) is an English actor. He portrayed the lead role in the 2017 film '' Dunkirk'' and the 2018 film '' Black Mirror: Bandersnatch''. His first acting credit was in the 2016 ITV miniseries '' Him''.
Life
Whitehe ...
as
Pip
**Tom Sweet portrays young Pip
*
Johnny Harris as
Magwitch
*
Trystan Gravelle
Trystan Gravelle (born 4 May 1981) is a Welsh theatre, film and television actor.
Life and career
Gravelle was born in the Welsh village of Trimsaran in Carmarthenshire. He attended Ysgol Gyfun Y Strade. He was a member of the Llanelli Youth T ...
as
Compeyson
Compeyson is the main antagonist of Charles Dickens' novel '' Great Expectations'', a 'George Wickham'-esque man, whose criminal activities harmed two people, who in turn shaped much of protagonist Pip's life.
Compeyson abandoned Miss Havisham a ...
*
Owen McDonnell as Joe
*
Hayley Squires
Hayley Squires (born 16 April 1988) is an English actress and playwright, best known for her work in the Ken Loach film ''I, Daniel Blake''. Squires has also appeared in ''Call the Midwife'' (2012), '' Southcliffe'' (2013), ''Complicit'' (2013), ...
as Sara
*
Tim Key
Timothy David Key (born September 1976) is an English poet, comedian, actor, screenwriter and radio personality. He is best known for playing Alan Partridge's sidekick Simon in '' Mid Morning Matters'', '' Alpha Papa'', and '' This Time'', as ...
as Mr. Wopsle
*
Matt Berry
Matthew Charles Berry (born 2 May 1974) is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy series such as '' The IT Crowd'', ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'', ''The Mighty Boosh'', ''Snuff Box'', ''What ...
as Mr. Pumblechook
*
Olivia Colman as
Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham is a character in the Charles Dickens novel '' Great Expectations'' (1861). She is a wealthy spinster, once jilted at the altar, who insists on wearing her wedding dress for the rest of her life. She lives in a ruined mansion wit ...
*
Ashley Thomas
Ashley Thomas is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by John Middleton. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 5 December 1996. It was announced on 22 October 2015 that Middlet ...
as Jaggers
*
Shalom Brune-Franklin
Shalom Brune-Franklin (born 18 August 1994) is an English-Australian actress known for playing Private Maisie Richards in the BBC series ''Our Girl'', Umm Khulthum in ''The State'' and Aoife in the Australian series ''Doctor Doctor''.
She sta ...
as
Estella
Estella may refer to:
People
* Diego de Estella (1524–1578)
* Estella Sneider (born 1950)
*Estella Warren (born 1978), Canadian actress
*Estella, the ''nom de guerre'' of Italian labor leader Teresa Noce
Fictional
*Estella Havisham, a charact ...
*Laurie Ogden as Biddy
*
Rudi Dharmalingam
Rudi Dharmalingam (born ) is an English actor of stage and screen.
Early life and education
Dharmalingam was born in Maidstone, Kent. After joining the National Youth Theatre in 1998, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts, BA in performing arts at the ...
as
John Wemmick
John Wemmick is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's novel '' Great Expectations''. He is Mr Jaggers's clerk and the protagonist Pip's friend. Some scholars consider him to be the "most modern man in the book".Pickrel, Paul. ''Great Expectat ...
*
Matthew Needham
Matthew George Timothy Needham (born 13 April 1984) is a British actor. He has worked on stage and screen, appearing in television series such as '' Casualty'', '' Endeavour'', and ''Sanditon''. For his performance in the play ''Britannicus'', h ...
as
Bentley Drummle
Episodes
Production
Knight announced in May 2020 that he would develop a television series adaptation of the
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
novel in collaboration between the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
cast as Pip. Filming began by March 2022, with production taking place at
on 30 March.
, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 52 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".