Over the decades, we’ve seen dozens of different iterations of Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol.” There’s been animated versions, adult comedy versions, and musicals. But BBC and FX have a new take on the source material for their upcoming limited series “A Christmas Carol.” The networks are going full-on dark and scary.
As seen in the first trailer for “A Christmas Carol,” the series follows the same story you’re likely familiar with. Ebenezer Scrooge is a cold-hearted curmudgeon that despises everything to do with Christmas. But when he’s visited by a series of ghosts, aiming to show him the error of his ways, Scrooge has a change of heart and embraces everything that the season has to offer. This is an uplifting story, for sure, but in the new series, it’s clear that writer-creator Steven Knight is leaning heavily into the dark, depressing angle and giving audiences a bleak, gritty ‘Christmas Carol’ that they’ve likely never seen before.
The cast includes Guy Pearce, Stephen Graham, Andy Serkis, Joe Alwyn, Charlotte Riley, and Vinette Robinson. “A Christmas Carol” is written by Knight, who is probably best known for his work on the TV series “Peaky Blinders” and “Taboo,” but is also the man who wrote the film “Eastern Promises.” Nick Murphy serves as director of the series.
Interestingly, Tom Hardy, who worked with Steven Knight on the series “Taboo,” was originally going to star in the series, but is now just an executive producer, along with Ridley Scott.
“A Christmas Carol” is a co-production of BBC and FX and is expected to debut in December.
You can watch the new teaser below: