When it comes to creating a sweeping historical romance and sustaining it over the course of a season of prestige TV, a pretty good starting point is to adapt a classic novel. So many of the most popular and enduring stories ever told have already been adapted, of course, but that doesn't mean they're not ripe for a new version with modern techniques and sensibilities applied.
MGM+ seems to be taking that approach, anyway, given that it's just unveiled a pretty stellar-looking adaptation of Charles Dickens' seminal A Tale of Two Cities, one of the most popular novels ever and a really compelling story. Anyone who's read Dickens knows that he does do plot really well, after all – it's not all just pretentious literary stuff. The show's first trailer underlines that.
