| Director: | Tom Shankland |
| Composer: | John Murphy |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Num Series: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 6 |
| List Episodes: |
|
| Producer: | Chris Carey |
| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| Network: | BBC One |
Les Misérables is a British television series based on the 1862 French historical novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. Adapted by Andrew Davies and directed by Tom Shankland, it stars Dominic West, David Oyelowo, and Lily Collins.
The series was produced by the BBC with support from PBS member station WGBH Boston's Masterpiece series. BBC Studios handles the distribution for the series. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom between 30 December 2018 and 3 February 2019. In Canada, the series started broadcasting on 10 January 2021 on CBC and CBC Gem.[1]
The Weinstein Company was initially set to co-produce the series and serve as its distributor in the U.S. and China. The studio was dropped, however, following the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations.[2] PBS member station WGBH Boston, through their television series Masterpiece, replaced The Weinstein Company as a co-producer of the series.[3]
Filming for the series began in February 2018 in Belgium and Northern France.[4]
BBC Studios handles distribution for the series.[5] The drama, which consists of six episodes, premiered on 30 December 2018.[6] In New Zealand, the series was released on TVNZ 1 and its free streaming service TVNZ OnDemand.[7] [8] [9]
In the US, the series was aired on PBS, starting 21 April 2019, to end on 19 May 2019.[10]
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 79 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]
Collins' performance as Fantine received praise from critics. Alexandra Pollard of The Independent praised her performance, writing "she plays the tragic Fantine with steeliness and grace", and described it as "magnificent."[12] West's performance as Valjean in the final episode also received critical praise. Gabriel Tate of The Telegraph praised his performance, writing "Dominic West steals the show in a stirring finale."[13]
The television mini-series on PBS was described as "an engrossing treat, featuring a vibrant cast and taking its time to unspool the melodrama and offer loving looks at 19th century France."[14] It "hews closely to the source material without skipping too much plot or character motivations", the source material being the 19th century novel by Victor Hugo. The casting is commended, with many strong performances. The plot cannot carry all the detail of Hugo's novel of his characters in a tumultuous time in France, but "when all the cannons are fired and last stands are taken, the sacrifices given do not feel insignificant.". The story is told keeping "the narrative clear and allowing character-driven scenes to breathe."
Allison Keene of Collider wrote, "Emotional, engrossing" with 5 stars.[15]
Novel by Victor Hugo, English translation: