A New 'Around the World in 80 Days' Adaptation with David Tennant is Coming to Masterpiece

It probably feels like about a decade ago since David Tennant was announced to front a new limited series adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days to air on the BBC. The news was initially announced in December 2019, with Slim Film + Television and Federation joining an international set of co-production partners. At the time, the BBC had already boarded the series, with France Télévisions, Germany's ZDF, and Italy's RAI planning to air it across Europe. The new adaptation of the Jules Verne classic of the same name (in French: Le Tour du Monde en Quatre-Vingts Jours) would film in South Africa starting in February 2020.

But then the coronavirus pandemic hit, shutting down filming in South Africa in March 2020 and grinding production to a halt for several months, causing the series to miss its initial planned airdate, which was to be a holiday-timed release at the end of 2020. The series regrouped in November, and filming resumed, with little news about the series until now. In the intervening time, PBS joined the list of distributors, and the first look at the new eight-part series comes courtesy of the Masterpiece brand.

Check out Tennant's turn as the English gentleman-turned-adventurer Phileas Fogg in the classic 1873 adventure.