Watching Apple TV- Plus turn out to be an modest home for great historical content has been a strange and wonderful experience. While its technology- fiction shows flounder, its dramas go unrecognized, its” Peanuts” specials go ignored, and its breakout series” Ted Lasso” having concluded, the Apple- backed streaming service has found a respectable business producing much of the finest factual content in new memory.
Whether it’s the Tom Hanks- backed WWII productions” Greyhound” or” Masters of the Air”, the excellent Civil War play” Manhunt”, the contrary video” Lincoln’s Dilemma”, or filmmaker epics like” Napoleon” and” Killers of the Flower Moon”, Apple TV- Plus has shown its determination to throw huge sums at history series for a niche crowd of enthusiasts.  ,
The newest of these is” Franklin”, a movie from past HBO president Richard Plepler and writer Kirk Ellis, who both helped create the” John Adams” series. Borrowing from their previous experience adapting the famous David McCullough book into a vehicle for one of Paul Giamatti’s greatest performances, this newest series adapts Stacy Schiff’s A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America into an eight- episode social drama— which really had its finale on May 17.  ,
The series has thus far been largely ignored in the wider pop culture, a result of the oversaturation of the streaming economy. However, the nominal reception it has received has been relatively lukewarm to negative. Its Rotten Tomatoes audience rating is 52 percent, with mainstream critics being mixed — some calling it” crackling“, “addictive“, “nuanced“, and “beautifully textured“, and others calling it” clunky“, “apathetic“, “poorly focused“, “exhausting” and “mind- numbing” . ,
There is truth to the criticisms. ” Franklin’s” creators have n’t made the” John Adams” lightning strike twice, nor are they likely to in the post- 1619 Project or post-” Hamilton” world. However, a drama about Benjamin Franklin is naturally going to involve eccentricity. He was the elder statesman of the American Revolution, the oldest and wisest of the Founding Fathers, and he engaged in a lot of covert business and obscene drama. In these regards,” Franklin” works.  ,
As Franklin attempts to win over the elites and entice England’s hated enemy into the war, the series is set against the American Revolution and charts how he spent his time as an unofficial ambassador to the United States.  ,
The complexity of diplomacy is a key theme in the series, and Benjamin Franklin is both uniquely suited to this and not the other way around. He’s an international celebrity, a renowned scientist, and the living embodiment of the New World. He’s a sage, a libertine, and a journalist, with an adept understanding of the French people. He is also adored by those around him, incredibly aware of his fame, and eager to profit from politics for personal gain. In contrast to the elegance of the aristocracy, he is able to be funny on command while still capturing some of the endemic earthiness and grit that are so important to the early American soul.
Due to these factors, his arrival in France serves as a great source of drama and intrigue because he proves remarkably adept at playing the games required to advance in the decadent world of 1770s France.  ,
Michael Douglas appears in the titular role, but Franklin’s portrayal is more of a concoction than a true representation of the character. His version of Franklin is acerbic, witty, smooth, sexually liberated, and kindly, particularly regarding his grandfatherly relationship with his grandson, Temple. But whereas Howard da Silva disappeared into the role in” 1776″, Douglas creates his version of Franklin that is compelling, multidimensional, and inauthentic.  ,
Given that the series spans nearly a decade, the plot’s development occasionally comes to a halt while its main characters struggle to advance it. While Franklin is grappling with nosy police, British spies, selfish aristocrats, and a French king who is weary of betting on the outcome of the war in a way that would harm the monarchy ( and ultimately does ), Tempel has his own coming-of-age story in the background that keeps him busy. This is a tale of long-term maneuvering, with characters with complex motivations and cynical actors who constantly try to get in the way of one another, seemingly with little success. Given that Franklin himself claims that this is his tactic to advance with the French court, this crawling plot is somewhat purposeful, but it results in messy television plotting.  ,
Thankfully, Eddie Marsan’s John Adams makes an appearance in the final episode of the series, adding an extra layer of drama as the various plot lines and conflicts converge. Adams has divergent priorities from Franklin, whose libertine sexual practices detract him, and is similar to what the” John Adams” miniseries covers in one-eight hours. In this manner, others attempt to exploit those differences to sown division.
There’s certainly much to recommend with” Franklin”, despite that it appeals to a fairly narrow audience. Speaking for myself, there are n’t many shows or movies about the Revolutionary War. What comes to mind are” The Patriot”,” Drums Along the Mohawk”,” 1776″,” John Adams”,” Hamilton”, and a handful of low- budget television shows and silent movies. ” Franklin”, though certainly quiet and flawed, stands out to me, as there simply are n’t many contemporary retellings about this valuable time of history. Something is simple to forgive, even if it is uncommon.  ,
Tyler Hummel is a Nashville- based freelance journalist, a College Fix Fellow, and a member of the Music City Film Critics Association. He has contributed to The Dispatch, The New York Sun, Hollywood in Toto, The Pamphleteer, Law and Liberty, Main Street Nashville, North American Anglican, Living Church, and Geeks Under Grace.
