Bring in the new year with an adaptation of literature’s most famous race against the calendar. Based on Jules Verne’s classic adventure novel of the same name, Around the World in 80 Days brings to life the thrilling journey of literature’s greatest explorer, Phileas Fogg. Introducing new themes, characters, and stories, MASTERPIECE updates Verne’s popular tale, drawing in part on the author’s personal experience of disappointment in love and the record-breaking around-the-world trip in 1890 by journalist Nellie Bly.
Shot on location in two continents, the miniseries follows David Tenant (Good Omens, Doctor Who) as Phileas Fogg, Ibrahim Koma (OSS 117, Wùlu) as Jean Passepartout, Fogg’s irrepressible valet, and actress Leonie Benesch (The Crown, Babylon Berlin) as Abigail “Fix” Fortescue, a determined and headstrong journalist. With a wager of 20,000 British pounds at stake, the three heroes take ships, trains, balloons, camels, stagecoaches, and more as they try to make it back to the reading room of London’s snobbish Reform Club no later than one o’clock on Christmas eve.
Around the World in 80 Days airs on Fridays at 10 p.m., beginning January 28 on WSBE Rhode Island PBS.
WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits high-definition (HD) programming over the air on digital 36.1; Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, and Full Channel 08; Comcast 819HD and Verizon FiOS 18 / 518HD; DirecTV 36, Dish Network 36. Live stream the full schedule within the broadcast viewing area at watch.ripbs.org/livestream.
