Kit Harington Leads MGM+'s 'A Tale of Two Cities' — Trailer Lands, Premiere Set for September
MGM+ has released the official trailer for A Tale of Two Cities, a four-part limited series adapting Charles Dickens' novel of the French Revolution, with Kit Harington leading the cast as the lawyer Sydney Carton. The series premieres on 6 September, with weekly episodes rolling out on MGM+ in the US, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Latin America, according to The Hollywood Reporter. UK audiences will get the series on the BBC.
The trailer debuted first via an exclusive premiere on PEOPLE before MGM+ pushed it out through its own press channels on 12 August 2026 (Amazon MGM Studios Press). Harington used the PEOPLE rollout to frame the series in plain terms: he called it a "modern love triangle" (Yahoo Entertainment/PEOPLE).
The story is set in 1782 London, with Britain and France at war. It follows Lucie Manette, played by Mirren Mack, who discovers that her father — long presumed dead — may still be alive in Paris. Alongside Harington's Carton, François Civil plays Charles Darnay, a French émigré caught between two countries and the woman both men want (The Hollywood Reporter).
Daniel West created and wrote the series. It is produced by Federation Stories as a co-production between Federation Studio France and Thriker Films, for MGM+ and the BBC. Executive producers are Polly Williams, Léo Becker, Sarah Best, Harington himself, West and Hong Khaou (The Hollywood Reporter).
This is the latest beat in a rollout that began earlier in the year. MGM and the BBC shared first-look images in March 2026, with Deadline publishing a first glimpse of Harington in character (Deadline). MGM+ then confirmed a 2026 arrival window via its Facebook account in May (MGM+ on Facebook). The trailer and the 6 September date now lock the schedule in place.
For Harington, this is a return to the kind of period drama that built his name — though Sydney Carton is a long way from the Night's Watch. For Dickens fans, the question is what a four-part format does with a novel that has rarely been adapted for television at this length. Either way, the clock starts ticking on 6 September.
