David Tennant’s ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ embarks on PBS January 2022

By Michael Balderston
published

‘Around the World in 80 Days’ is a BBC1 series that will air on PBS Masterpiece in the U.S.

Around the World in 80 Days
(Image credit: BBC)

Take off with the David Tennant-starring adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic story Around the World in 80 Days this January on PBS Masterpiece. Produced by the BBC and airing on BBC1 in the U.K., Around the World in 80 Days will get its U.S. premiere on Jan. 2, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET.

One of Jules Verne’s classic adventure stories, Around the World in 80 Days sees Victorian-era eccentric Phileas Fogg enter into a wager that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days, with the help of his quick-thinking valet, Passepartout. Along the way they team up with aspiring journalist Abigail “Fix” Fortescue, who hopes to chronicle the journey and all of its perils.

Tennant, best known for playing the 10th Doctor on Doctor Who, will take on the role of Phileas Fogg in this latest adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days. Joining him on the journey will be Ibrahim Koma as Passepartout, Leonie Benesch as Abigail “Fix” Fortescue, Peter Sullivan as Nyle Bellamy, Anthony Flanagan as Thomas Kneedling, Shivaani Ghai as Aouda and Jason Watkins as Bernard Fortescue.

Watch the trailer for Around the World in 80 Days directly below.

Around the World in 80 Days will consist of eight hour-long episodes, airing weekly from Jan. 2 to Feb. 20. While the BBC1 has not announced the official release date for Around the World in 80 Days, the series will premiere in 2021, pre-empting its U.S. release.

There have been multiple filmed adaptations of Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days. The most famous is the 1956 Oscar Best Picture-winning version starring David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine and a host of cameos including Cesar Romero, Noël Coward, Peter Lorre, Charles Coburn, Buster Keaton and Frank Sinatra, to name a few. More recently, from 2004, Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan starred in an adaptation from Disney (available on Disney Plus). Pierce Brosnan and Eric Idle also starred in a TV adaptation in 1989. 

Viewers will be able to watch this new adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days on their local PBS station, the Masterpiece website and the PBS Video app. 

Michael Balderston
Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.