Karla-Simone Spence has been tapped to lead “The Confessions of Frannie Langton,” an ITV period drama based Sara Collins’ award-winning 2019 novel. The “Gold Digger” actress will play Frannie, a young woman “born into a life of slavery who is fighting to tell her own story,” per Deadline.
The four-part drama is set “against the opulence of Georgian London” and follows Frannie’s journey “from a Jamaican plantation to the grand Mayfair mansion of celebrated scientist George Benham and his exquisitely beautiful wife, Madame Marguerite Benham,” the source details. “In a misguided and monstrous gesture Frannie is gifted to Benham by the man who owns her, John Langton, and she is employed as a maid in the household much to her chagrin. Events take a fateful turn as the Benhams are found murdered in their beds, with Frannie lying next to Marguerite. Frannie is accused of murder; a murder she has no recollection of, other than she couldn’t possibly have killed her mistress because she was devoted to her. Dragged away to prison, Frannie attempts to piece together the events of that night.”
Andrea Harkin (“The Trial of Christine Keeler”) is directing the series.
“So many authors write with their dream cast in mind so I was delighted at our table read to discover that ITV and the producers and director had assembled mine. This is an electric cast and I can’t wait to see their work. Every moment of watching them prepare their performances has been wonderful,” said Collins.
Karla-Simone Spence added, “It’s an absolute honor and dream to bring to life the intelligent, forward thinking, resilient woman that is Frannie Langton. Her journey truly is extraordinary and that’s all thanks to Sara Collins’ incredible writing of three-dimensional women. I hold Frannie dear to my heart and I’m really looking forward to unleashing her with Andrea Harkin and our talented cast.”
Other upcoming ITV projects on our radar include “Riches,” a six-part story about a wealthy Black family thrown into disarray when its patriarch suffers a stroke, and “The Distant Echo,” a crime drama about a Scottish detective investigating a murder that’s been the subject of a true crime podcast.
