Starts More4, late-September
John Adams may not be the most familiar name in American history, but the onetime American President’s importance is recognised in the excellent HBO drama John Adams, coming to More4 later this month.
The seven-part series chronicles the life of Adams and the turbulent era that saw the United States break away from Britain – its colonial ruler – to assert its independence. Adams became the second President of the United States and had a huge influence in establishing the nation’s values.
The story begins in 1770 with clashes between British redcoats and the citizens of Boston, and ends on 4 July 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the date of Adams’s death at the age of 90. The series was highly praised when it aired in America earlier this year and has been nominated for 23 Emmy awards.
Its top-notch cast includes two of my favourite actors, Paul Giamatti, as Adams, and Laura Linney, as his wife Abigail, as well as Brits Tom Wilkinson and Rufus Sewell.
The series looks great, with high production values, and is as much a love story as a political drama, with some of the dialogue taken from John and Abigail’s own correspondence. I’ve found it frustrating that so many recent historical dramas have had all the history removed (one national newspaper coined a new word for this, a ‘historyectomy’), so it’s great that John Adams promises to tell an entertaining story without messing around with the facts. Watch it. Take my word for it, you won’t be disappointed. Here, to get you in the mood, is a trailer from makers HBO…• Click here for more great new US shows coming to a screen near you this autumn
