The wait for a big-budget television take on Alexandre Dumas’ classic revenge novel is almost finished. PBS Masterpiece officially confirmed the March 2026 release dates for its eight-episode adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, starring Sam Claflin as the wrongly imprisoned Edmond Dantès.
The new period drama, directed by Oscar and Palme d’Or winner Bille August, will arrive first on streaming platforms before making its broadcast debut. With a cast that includes Jeremy Irons and Ana Girardot, this version promises to stay close to the original 1,200-page novel while using the longer television format to develop characters that movies often rush through. Here is everything you need to know about the release schedule, cast, production locations, and how to watch.
The Count of Monte Cristo Streaming and Broadcast Release Dates
March 1, 2026 marks the early streaming premiere. Viewers can watch all episodes starting this day through the PBS App and the PBS Masterpiece channel on Prime Video. This early access is available nationwide in the United States.
March 22, 2026 is the official broadcast premiere on PBS. The series airs Sundays at 10/9c. Episodes will roll out weekly on linear television, giving traditional broadcast viewers one hour of the story each Sunday night.
For international viewers, this adaptation has already rolled out across Europe. The series debuted at Canneseries in France during October 2024 and continued its international broadcast rollout throughout 2025. UK audiences can expect the series on BBC and Stan, though a specific UK airdate is not yet locked. Canadian viewers will receive the series through CBC and PBS North America simulcast agreements.
Who Plays Who: Main Cast of the PBS Series
Sam Claflin plays Edmond Dantès, the 19-year-old first mate who gets falsely accused of treason. Claflin, known for Daisy Jones and the Six and Me Before You, called this role physically and emotionally demanding in production interviews. He appears throughout the eight-episode run, first as a hopeful young sailor and later as the mysterious, wealthy Count.
Jeremy Irons takes the role of Abbé Faria, the fellow prisoner who educates Edmond and reveals the location of the hidden treasure. Irons told Variety during filming that the production used a fortress in Malta that was constructed the same year Dumas published the novel, which he called “a writer’s dream.”
Ana Girardot stars as Mercedes, Edmond’s fiancée who waits for him and faces her own painful choices. French audiences recognize Girardot from The Returned, and this marks her largest English-language television role to date.
Blake Ritson plays Danglars, the crewmate whose jealousy sets the false accusation in motion. Ritson is no stranger to period television, with previous credits in The Gilded Age, The Crown, and Emma.
Supporting cast members confirmed through production credits include Michele Riondino, Lino Guanciale, and Nicolas Maupas, though their specific character roles remain under wraps by the studio.
Director Bille August Brings European Film Pedigree
The choice of Bille August as director signals that PBS is treating this adaptation as serious prestige television. August is a Danish filmmaker who won the Palme d’Or at Cannes twice—for Pelle the Conqueror (1988) and The Best Intentions (1992)—and also took home the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for Pelle the Conqueror.
His previous English-language work includes Les Misérables (1998) with Liam Neeson and The House of the Spirits (1993) with Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons. This new project reunites August with Irons after more than thirty years.
In press materials provided by Mediawan, August stated that the eight-hour format allowed the production to restore subplots and secondary characters that previous film versions had to cut. He emphasized that Edmond’s journey is not simply about revenge, but about whether a person can survive having their entire youth stolen.
Where the Series Was Filmed
The production shot on location across three countries over five months.
Malta stood in for the Château d’If, the island fortress where Edmond is imprisoned. Jeremy Irons confirmed that the specific fortress used was constructed during the Napoleonic era, matching the time period of the novel’s setting.
Italy provided locations for Rome and Monte Cristo island itself. However, the real Monte Cristo island is a protected natural reserve with strict visitor limits, so the production used nearby locations that visually matched the descriptions.
France served as the backdrop for Marseille and Parisian high society scenes. The production team built period-accurate street sets and utilized preserved historical buildings in the south of France.
How This Adaptation Differs from Previous Versions
The 2002 film starring Jim Caviezel ran two and a half hours. The 1998 French miniseries with Gérard Depardieu ran four hours. This 2026 PBS version runs eight hours, which allows the storytelling to breathe.
Sam Claflin explained during Canneseries that the production intentionally slowed down the first two episodes. Viewers spend real time with Edmond and Mercedes before his arrest. The prison sequence also extends across multiple episodes rather than montage format. Abbé Faria, played by Irons, appears in four episodes instead of a single act.
The series also restores the novel’s secondary revenge plots involving Villefort and Morcerf, characters who sometimes disappear entirely in shorter versions. PBS confirmed that the ending remains faithful to the book, with no “Hollywood rewrite” of Edmond’s final choices.
Real History Behind the Fictional Story
Alexandre Dumas based Edmond Dantès on two real sources.
The first was a man named François Picaud, a 19th-century shoemaker in Paris who was falsely imprisoned by friends who envied his engagement to a wealthy woman. After years in prison, Picaud inherited a fortune from a fellow inmate and spent the next decade systematically destroying every person who had conspired against him. Police archives documented his case in detail.
The second source was Dumas’ own father, General Alexandre Dumas. The general was born to a French aristocrat and an enslaved woman of African descent in Haiti. He rose to become the highest-ranking Black military officer in a European army, commanding 50,000 men under Napoleon. His rivalries led to his imprisonment in Naples for two years, where guards poisoned him. He never recovered his health and died when his son was only three years old.
The author merged these two stories—one of calculated revenge, one of stolen freedom—to create the novel that has never been out of print since 1844.
Technical Specifications and Episode Runtime
The Count of Monte Cristo is presented in widescreen 16:9 format with 5.1 surround sound. PBS Masterpiece productions have increased their visual budget significantly over the past five years, and early preview clips show detailed costume work and location cinematography rather than soundstage shooting.
Each episode runs approximately 55 minutes for broadcast, with streaming versions running the full international cut without commercial interruption. The total runtime across eight episodes exceeds seven hours.
What Sam Claflin Said About Playing Edmond Dantès
Speaking at Canneseries in France, Sam Claflin explained why he took the role despite multiple film versions already existing.
“It’s not hard to fall in love with this story—with the characters, with the time, with the essence of what it is about. Because even though it is a revenge thriller, if you will, there is so much love at the heart of it. What I love about our production is the fact that we have the opportunity to sit with these characters and get to know them. I think we do a pretty good job of staying true to the book.”
Claflin also addressed the physical transformation his character undergoes. He appears clean-shaven and hopeful in early episodes, then bearded and gaunt during the prison years, and finally refined and mysterious as the Count. The production used practical makeup and weight changes rather than digital de-aging technology.
How to Watch Without Cable
Viewers who do not have traditional television service have two clear options.
PBS Passport is the member benefit program that provides early streaming access starting March 1, 2026. A monthly donation of at least $5 to the local PBS station unlocks this catalog. This remains the only way to watch the complete series before the broadcast premiere.
PBS Masterpiece on Prime Video is an add-on subscription channel available to Amazon Prime members. The series will stream here on the same schedule—March 1, 2026 for all eight episodes.
The free PBS App will carry each episode the day after broadcast for a limited window, beginning March 23, 2026. This is the no-cost option, though episodes rotate out of the free library after several weeks.
International viewers should check local PBS affiliate stations or BBC iPlayer for UK-specific rollout timing. Canadian viewers can access the series through CBC Gem and PBS North America feeds.
Episode One Preview: “The Letter”
The series opens with disaster at sea. The captain of Edmond’s ship dies during a storm, forcing the 19-year-old first mate to take command and navigate the vessel safely home to Marseille.
This act of competence, rather than incompetence, becomes the source of his downfall. Danglars, the ship’s supercargo, resents taking orders from a man younger and less wealthy than himself. He begins drafting the letter that will accuse Edmond of treason.
The episode establishes Mercedes and Edmond’s relationship before the arrest, a choice that gives weight to the decades they lose. Viewers see the harbor, the shipyard, and the life Edmond believed he was walking toward.
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Where to Find Official Previews and Trailers
PBS released the first official 30-second preview in late 2025. It is available on the official PBS Masterpiece YouTube channel and the PBS Video app. The footage shows Claflin in prison rags, Irons as Faria drawing maps in chalk, and brief flashes of Parisian ballrooms.
Additional clips were shown during the Winter/Spring 2026 PBS programming preview on November 24, 2025. That preview confirmed the March dates and featured new footage of Ana Girardot as Mercedes.
The full-length official trailer is scheduled for early February 2026, approximately four weeks before the streaming premiere.
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