1776 was a pivotal year in American history. Benjamin Franklin harnessed France’s mutual loathing of the English to create an alliance that would secure America’s freedom and independence in a high risk, tactical maneuver. Screenwriters Kirk Ellis (John Adams) and Howard Korder (Boardwalk Empire) adapted Stacy Schiff’s 2005 novel A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America into a sumptuous television series starring Michael Douglas as Franklin. Despite the deceptive title, Franklin wasn’t “winging it.” He was a master strategist who also had to think on his feet and pivot accordingly.
A long life has taught me that diplomacy must never be a siege but a seduction – Benjamin Franklin
It took almost eight long years to fulfil Franklin’s mission when the Treaty Of Paris was eventually signed in 1783. “The war was won primarily in the back channel rather than on the battlefield. It was the negotiations that enabled arms and men to come to America, supplement Washington’s army, and ultimately block the harbor at Yorktown that results in the English surrender,” says Ellis.
He describes Franklin’s efforts as “the greatest tour of duty by any diplomat in the history of the United States.” Moreover, he’s surprised at how few Americans know about this. “The French money, French arms and French troops were critical,” adds Korder. Without them, America’s independence was far from assured.
Ellis and Korder didn’t simply want to give viewers a history lesson. “We want them to see how fragile all of this was. One misstep, and things could have gone in a disastrously different direction,” continues Ellis.
Despite the dramatization of historical events, the writers undertook extensive research to create Franklin. Stacy Schiff’s novel was the obvious place to start since she did much of the leg work to research her book. This was supplemented with many books on the matter, and letters on Franklin’s relationship with Madame Anne-Louise Brillon (Ludivine Sagnier), Madame Helvetius (Jeanne Balibar), and Marquis de Lafayette (Théodore Pellerin). This allowed the writers to immerse themselves and expand the world and formulate the voices of each character.
(Benjamin Franklin) Michael Douglas and Madam Brillon (Ludivine Sagnie) Photo courtesy of Apple TV+
“You’re always going further and further out, but you always are mindful of the fact that you’re telling a story from a singular point of view,” mentions Kirk. “It’s a coming of age story on the one hand and it’s the story of seduction on the other, and seeing diplomacy through that lens.”
Unlike to John Adams (Eddie Marsan), Franklin left no formal record of his views of Paris, so there was a degree of guesswork in guessing his opinions on various issues and people.
“We don’t have to be absolutely faithful to chronology, but we are looking at recognizable, verifiable, historical touchstones all the way through,” states Ellis. “Built into that are our dramatic imaginations of what would have happened privately, because that’s simply unknown to historians. It’s that level of vulnerability that motivates and excites the dramatist,” states Korder.
“Franklin was much cleverer and more comprehensible to a French audience. He was much more willing to put on a role that he saw fit for them and I think that proved essential. None of these alliances would have gone forward a great deal had it not been for his personal charm.”
King Louis XVI (Tom Pezier) and Marie Antoinette (Maria Dragus) grew quite fond of Franklin as he gently embraced their ways, and they embraced his.
United By A Common Enemy
There was more than a mutual dislike of the British that allowed the Franco-American alliance to flourish. The French did have an admiration for this daring American and his curious ways.
“There was a recognized disconnect at the time that America had to go to an absolute monarchy to defeat another absolute monarchy to secure its independence. That irony was lost on no one at the time, especially Franklin,” continues Ellis. Not only did Franklin play one king against the other, he played the French Foreign Minister of State against its own ruler.
Franklin also had a personal score to settle with the British who disgraced him during his time in London when he presented a case for the independence of four American colonies to a British court. According to Korder, he never served in any further Congressional capacity despite him being familiar in the French Parliamentary system.
Howard Korder
King Louis XVI of France was an untested entity who was smarter and more strategic than originally portrayed. Ironically, it was his military help to America that lead to his demise after bankrupting France more than a decade later.
Franklin was seventy years old at the time of his mission and not in the best of health. He was always concerned about dying in France without his mission being accomplished. His belief compelled him to continue despite being surrounded by much younger colleagues.
“He established America both as a country and as an image. And he also discovered himself. He found himself as a diplomat,” adds Ellis.
Adapting The Novel
The television series began with the book. “Stacy is very detailed and intense, puts you into a world, in a different century, in a different mindset,” says Ellis. “But you have to be careful because the book can be so rich that if you tried to adapt all of it you would simply end up in rabbit holes every hour.”
That’s why Ellis and Korder carefully considered their approach to the series before the adaptation process. “In many ways it’s a political thriller. And it’s an eighteenth century noir because we’re also dealing with Temple’s (Franklin’s grandson played by Noah Jupe) coming of age. There’s a whole seductive quality to it.”
Franklin believed that “diplomacy should always be an art. It’s a chess game. And you’re going to distill those into the moments and characters who fulfill that vision of the story,” says Ellis. “The challenge with these projects is never what you’re including. It’s always about what you choose to ask for.”
Writing The Series
It all begins with a solid series outline because they’ll be a lot of revision when other elements are attached. However, the core architecture of the story remained intact throughout the development and production process. Ellis claims that were only around have a dozen scenes that were written didn’t make it to the final cut.
Kirk Ellis wrote the initial drafts and Howard Korder came on board later. “He could look at it with fresh eyes and see where we needed to fill in, where we needed to take out, and add more texture to those final production scripts.”
Even as the development process moved forward, there weren’t competing agendas, but rather, “the story got more focused and granular,” says Ellis.
Getting the pilot right was imperative to get the audience on board. There’s a wealth of historical context and character backstory to get across in an hour.
“I’ve always said that there’s no more difficult scene to write than the very first scene because you’re going to want to throw the audience into a world that they understand and want to be on this journey with you as a creator,” mentions Ellis.
He marvels at the opening scene of Stacy Schiff’s book, “On December 3, 1776, a small boat delivered an old man to the coast of France. It was in the middle of the night, it was raining.”
“There’s a perfect chance to establish a slightly noirish political thriller, not your typical costume drama. There’s an older man, there’s his grandson, they’re in the middle of nowhere. What the hell is this going to be about? Create that sense of mystery. So that was the way we wanted to open the show,” adds Ellis. “You always come back to the original work the authors did. Listen to what they have to tell you. That gave us that entry point for the show.”
Kirk Ellis
Episode 4, titled Small Revenge is one of Ellis’ favorites. It’s also in the middle of the season. “It’s centered on what you think is Franklin’s greatest triumph, but it ends in a very different place and you realize this is only the first part of the story. They’re even locked to your challenges ahead and things are going to get darker very quickly.”
“Michael Douglas was drawn to be the many facets of Franklin – his charm his wildness, his flirtatious relationships with a rather large courier of French noble women,” says Korder.
Although the series was girded by historical events, “I thought that this story called for a slightly looser approach and that we needed the freedom to tickle the audience’s ear,” says Korder. It also allowed the writers to add a personal dimension to the story.
“Franklin was very much immersed in French culture for those eight years. The engine of this was it was a very sophisticated game between people who were extremely clever and always lying to each other,” continues Korder. And they both knew it.
“I think the audience is drawn to people trying to get what they want through duplicitous means and using language, not as a means of communication, but a means of of deception, evasion, and coercion.”
Korder also mentions that the French initially gave the Americans enough ammunition to not be subdued, but not enough to win. That was part of the power play between the two powers.
