(Featured image credit: BBC via EW)

Back in January we reported that Gillian Anderson would star as Anna Pavlovna in BBC’s newest adaptation of War and Peace. It has been more than 40 years since the series starring Anthony Hopkins hit the airwaves and the network is now ready to bring us a four-part miniseries set to air on Lifetime, A&E Network, and History in the states come January.

So, what is so special about this miniseries that will make anyone want to watch it? Tolstoy certainly was long-winded, how is six hours of television going to tackle such a lengthy novel with heavy subject matter?

Answer:

War and Peace condenses the novel by focusing on three characters: Pierre (Paul Dano), Natasha (Lily James), and Andrei (James Norton). “What [writer Andrew Davies] has done brilliantly is concentrate on their journey,” executive producer Bethan Jones says. “It’s such a huge, heavy book, but the themes about the loves and losses of these young people are timeless.”

Cool, cool. If Bleak House is anything to go by, I certainly am looking forward to what Andrew Davies does with this one. And the costume are to die for (#nerd).

(Via EW)