David Farnor | On 22, Aug 2014

Netflix is reportedly planning to adapt Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities in collaboration with Channel 4.

The Internet TV company is no stranger to co-producing content with broadcasters, divvying up the rights for Norwegian thriller series Lilyhammer and resurrecting the US remake of The Killing with AMC – before eventually producing its own final season (released at the start of August). It has also paired up with Channel 4 to provide Ricky Gervais’ Derek to international audiences.

Now, though, Netflix is looking at doing the same thing, says Broadcast, but on a bigger scale. The adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities will be penned by Alan Bleasdale, who has previous on ITV’s Oliver Twist, and is made by Mammoth Screen, the indie production company who recently brought us the BBC and HBO’s Parade’s End. While Channel 4 will presumably be responsible for the distribution here, though, the broadcaster needs a US partner – and Netflix is top of the list.

There has been no official confirmation about the series yet, although around this time last year there were rumours about a Netflix original production – a landmark £100m show about Queen Elizabeth II by Peter Morgan – with no official confirmation, and Felicity Jones and others have already been taking part in script readings.

Either way, we have (ahem) great expectations for this one.

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