Around the World in 80 Days (2021 TV series)

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Around the World in 80 Days
Around the World in 80 Days 2021.png
GenreAdventure
Based onAround the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne
Developed by
Starring
ComposerChristian Lundberg
Country of origin
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • United Kingdom
  • South Africa
Original languages
  • English
  • French
  • Italian
No. of series1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
  • Simon Crawford-Collins
  • Lionel Uzan
  • Pascal Breton
  • Winnie Serite
  • Ashley Pharoah
  • Steve Barron
  • David Tennant
  • Caleb Ranson
ProducerPeter McAleese
Running time48 minutes
Production companies
  • Slim Film + Television
  • Federation Entertainment
  • Peu Communications
Release
Original network
Picture format2:1 1080p
Audio formatStereo
First shown inBelgium[1]
Original release5 December 2021 (2021-12-05)[1] –
present (present)

Around the World in 80 Days is a period drama adventure television series based on the 1873 Jules Verne novel of the same name, in which, as a bet, Phileas Fogg travels the world in 80 days by train and ship. It was commissioned by the European Alliance, a co-production alliance of France Télévisions, ZDF of Germany, and RAI of Italy, with additional co-production partners of Masterpiece (US) and Be-Films/RTBF (Belgium). It was produced in the UK, France and South Africa, with filming also taking place in Romania. The series first premiered on La Une in Belgium, on 5 December 2021, and later on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 26 December 2021. In November 2021, ahead of the premiere, it was announced the programme had been renewed for a second series.

Premise[]

The story is about Phileas Fogg making a £20,000 (£2,409,600 in 2022) wager with a snobbish member of the prestigious Reform Club that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days, joined by his new valet Passepartout and journalist Abigail Fix.[2] Although the story is fictional, real-life people such as Adolphe Thiers, Jane Digby and Bass Reeves are portrayed interacting with the fictional characters.

Cast[]

Main[]

Recurring and guest[]

Episodes[]

No.EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal UK air dateUK viewers
(millions) [3]
1Episode 1Steve BarronAshley Pharoah and Caleb Ranson26 December 2021 (2021-12-26)5.85
Phileas Fogg is a man of routine, spending his every day at the Reform Club reading his newspaper and eating the same meal. When he reads an article by Abigail Fix Fortescue about how a new railroad in India now allows the world to be traveled around in 80 days, he is reminded of a postcard he received only reading "coward". His rival Nyle Bellamy goads him into declaring that he will undertake this journey, betting 20,000 pounds that he will return by Christmas Eve.Together with French servant Jean Passepartout, he embarks on the journey to France with Abigail following them to report on his travels for her father's newspaper. In France, Fogg inadvertently foils an assassination attempt by rebels led by Passepartout's brother on the President of France, Adolphe Thiers and is forced to flee with his companions on a hot air balloon.
2Episode 2Steve BarronAshley Pharoah
Story by : Caleb Ranson		26 December 2021 (2021-12-26)5.38
Fogg and his party land their balloon near Florence, Italy and hail a train going to Brindisi in order to catch a boat to Egypt. During the journey, Fogg befriends Alberto, he son of industrialist Niccolo Moretti, with whom he shares an interest for mechanical and technological inventions. When the train has to stop abruptly two hours from Brindisi because a part of a bridge was missing, Alberto is injured and in critical condition. Too far away from the next hospital in Rome, Fogg convinces Moretti that he can safely guide the engine and one carriage over the rails still in place despite the gap in the bridge. The train successfully crosses the gap and, using the carriage's wood as fuel, they arrive in Brindisi in time to save Alberto. Fogg and his companions continue to Aden via the Suez Canal.
3Episode 3Steve BarronAshley Pharoah2 January 2022 (2022-01-02)5.18
Fogg is tricked by a local who claims he can safely guide them across the desert to Aden. Fearing it too unsafe for Abigal, he and Passepartout decide to leave her behind. When the local leaves them stranded in the desert, they are rescued by Jane Digby and her husband, who Abigail had persuaded to give help. Initially reluctant to take them to Aden, they agree to help after the group helps them fend off some raiders, with Passepartout shooting one of them trying to abduct Abigail. In Aden, Mr. Kneedling, a man paid by Bellamy, tries to bribe Passepartout to slow Fogg down by giving him something he claims will make him sleep for a few days.
4Episode 4Steve BarronAshley Pharoah, Claire Downes, Ian Jarvis and Stuart Lane2 January 2022 (2022-01-02)4.85
Stranded in an Indian village after the railroad Abigail wrote about turned out to be incomplete still, the group agree to stay for the night because of a wedding. When the groom is taken into custody as a deserter of the British Indian Army, the bride's mother, Aouda, tells Fogg she will only provide a guide if he convinces the army's young lieutenant to release the groom. He invites the lieutenant to tea but unbeknownst to him, Passepartout had spiked his tea with the drugs he received in Aden, making Fogg delirious. Mistaking Abigail for his former love Estella, he bares his heart to her, which Abigail writes in her next article. The next day, Fogg reluctantly speaks for the groom at his court martial and manages to convince the lieutenant to dishonorably discharge him by making an uncharacteristically rousing speech about the power of love.
5Episode 5Brian KellyAshley Pharoah and Jessica Ruston
Story by : Debbie O'Malley		9 January 2022 (2022-01-09)N/A (<4.17)[a]
In the British colony of Hong Kong, Fogg and his companions are invited by the governor's wife to a party in his honor, having read about his exploits in Abigail's reports. After Kneedling had convinced the bank to withhold Fogg's money, claiming he was a wanted criminal, Fogg tries to use the party to convince the governor to lend him the money needed to travel to Japan. Meanwhile, Passepartout visits an old acquaintance who promises him the needed funds if he steals a priceless white jade artifact from the governor's wife. Fogg leaves the party after finding out Abigail wrote about his past without her knowing and Passepartout steals the artifact. Informed by the bank manager about the claims that Fogg is a criminal, the governor orders his arrest when the money Passepartout was paid is found under his bead. Protesting his innocence, Fogg is to be flogged to make him talk. Abigail and Passepartout manage to secure his release from the governor but not before he has been flogged once, leaving a visible mark.
6Episode 6Steve BarronPeter McKenna16 January 2022 (2022-01-16)N/A (<4.14)[a]
Having failed so far to stop Fogg by other means, Kneedling forces him and his group on their journey to Japan into a lifeboat and leaves them in the water at night. They strand on an uninhabited island. Fogg tells Abigail about Estelle, confessing that he left her to sail to the United States alone after running away from their planned trip around the world at the last minute and regretting it ever since. After Passepartout confesses what he did, Fogg orders him away. To repay him, he builds a raft by night in the rain, ending up sick. Fogg and Abigail tend to him, burning the raft for firewood to keep him warm. They are rescued by a passing British steamer on its way to the United States.
7Episode 7Charles BeesonStephen Greenhorn23 January 2022 (2022-01-23)N/A (<3.82)[a]
Traveling by stage coach from San Francisco to the next train station going east, the group is forced to allow US Deputy Marshall Bass Reeves, escorting a Southern war criminal and Klan member to stand trial in Louisiana, to ride with them. Arriving in the town with the train station, the captive's cronies try to rescue him but are thwarted by Abigail riding her horse into the saloon and shooting two of the criminals. Meanwhile in England, Bellamy, using the news of Fogg's death at sea and facing bankruptcy, tries to pressure Fortescue into releasing Fogg's money as the executor of his will but fails when Fortescue receives Abigail's telegram that they are still alive and heading to New York City.
8Episode 8Steve BarronAshley Pharoah30 January 2022 (2022-01-30)N/A (<4.09)[a]
In New York, Fogg realizes that the postcard he received depicts the Grand Central Depot and realizes, that Estelle sent it. After already boarding a ship back home, he decides to return to the station. Estelle appears as he is ready to leave and they share their life stories. Confirming that Bellamy tried to put him down even back when they were about to leave, she animates him to complete his journey. On his way back to the ship, he is stopped by Kneedling, but manages to return when they are attacked by a street gang and fend them off. The dying Kneedling gives Fogg proof that he was trying to sabotage his trip. Back in England, Fogg is detained because the arrest warrant from Hong Kong had not been rescinded and he is left in his cell until the next day, thinking he lost the bet. Returning home dejected, his butler informs him that today is Christmas Eve, since his travel only took 79 days by going east. He hurries back to the Reform Club to arrive at the last second to win his bet. Fogg stands up to Bellamy who leaves in disgrace while the team celebrates their victory. Initially happy to be back home in London, the team is almost immediately inspired to set out on another adventure, and set out to investigate a newspaper's story about a mysterious sea monster attacking ships at sea, a possible allusion to events depicted in Jules Verne's novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
  1. ^ a b c d Not reported in the weekly top 15 programmes for four-screen viewer ratings.

Production[]

Filming locations included South Africa and Romania. Filming was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed on 1 October that year.[4] In November 2021, ahead of the premiere, it was announced the series had been renewed for a second series.[5] The main title score is by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg.[6]

Release[]

Around the World in 80 Days first premiered in Belgium on 5 December 2021.[1] ZDF released the complete series online in Germany on 11 December 2021,[7] with an on-air release from 21 December to 23 December.[8] The series premiered on France 2 in France on 20 December 2021,[9] and in Norway on NRKs streaming website on 25 December 2021, with linear broadcasting the following days during Boxing Week.[10] In the United Kingdom the series premiered on BBC One on 26 December 2021, and on Masterpiece for PBS in the United States on 2 January 2022.[11][12]

Reception[]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 79% approval rating with an average rating of 6.4/10, based on 14 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Around the World in 80 Days sometimes stumbles when it tries to add modern resonance to Jules Verne's globetrotting epic, but the core cast make for terrific travel companions."[13] Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "David Tennant dans "Le tour du monde en 80 jours", une série co-produite par la RTBF". RTBF TV (in French). 29 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  2. ^ Carr, Flora (23 November 2021). "Around the World in 80 Days release date: Cast, trailer and latest news". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Most viewed programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
  4. ^ Vourlias, Christopher (25 September 2020). "'Around the World in 80 Days' to Restart Production in Romania, South Africa (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  5. ^ Grater, Tom (29 November 2021). "'Around The World In 80 Days' Gets Second Season; Producers Also Developing 'Journey To The Centre Of The Earth' Series". Deadline. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  6. ^ Nicholson, Rebecca. "Around the World in 80 Days review – David Tennant channels a Victorian Jeff Bezos", The Guardian, December 26, 2021
  7. ^ "Mit David Tennant "In 80 Tagen um die Welt": ZDF zeigt Event-Mehrteiler vor Weihnachten".
  8. ^ "In 80 Tagen um die Welt".
  9. ^ Slim Film + Television (27 March 2019). "Slim Film + Television, Federation Entertainment and the European Alliance / Frace Télévisions, ZDF and Rai to coproduce Around the World in Eighty Days". Slim Film and Television.
  10. ^ "Jorda rundt på 80 dagar".
  11. ^ Fletcher, Alex (2 December 2021). "Around the World in 80 Days: David Tennant cast as Phileas Fogg in BBC adaptation of Jules Verne classic". BT. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  12. ^ BBC Media Centre (5 December 2019). "BBC acquires David Tennant fronted series Around The World In 80 Days". BBC Media Centre.
  13. ^ "Around the World in 80 Days: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Around the World in 80 Days: Season 1". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 30 January 2022.

External links[]

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