TVDRAMA
Set against the opulence of Georgian London, The Confessions of Frannie Langton narrates a young woman’s journey from a Jamaican plantation to the grand Mayfair mansion of a celebrated scientist and his beautiful wife. The series premiered on ITVX in the U.K. late last year to critical acclaim and debuted earlier this month on BritBox in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. All3Media International is taking the title out to the international market.
The four-part drama was adapted by author and writer Sara Collins from her debut novel of the same name. “It wasn’t my idea!,” Collins says of the book-to-screen adaptation, noting that her agent had been approached by a number of producers. “I really had to be persuaded. I had never been convinced before that adaptations were a good idea. I did not want to hate the adaptation of my own book; I didn’t want it to be another occasion where people would say, ‘Well the book was clearly better.’ So, it was a risk.”
The producers allowed Collins herself to adapt the novel. “I fell in love with screenwriting,” she says. “I also fell in love with Karla-Simone [Spence] in this role [as Frannie]. Those two things came together to make it a pretty enjoyable experience in spite of my initial reluctance.”
Spence plays the 20-year-old former slave girl Frannie Langton, who is gifted to the wealthy George Benham and soon finds herself the prime suspect of a double murder. With no recollection, she must piece together the possible events and fight to tell her story.
“When I read the script…I was in shock; I couldn’t believe there was a Jamaican woman in a period drama,” says Spence, whose family is also Jamaican. “I immediately could see who she was. I really admired Frannie as a woman; she’s very outspoken, intelligent and witty.”
For Collins and Spence, the character of Frannie is one that has been hard to step away from. “Frannie will make an imprint on your heart,” Spence says. “Her journey is an emotional rollercoaster.”
