Sam Clafin to star in Greg Latter's adaptation of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, directed by Billie August

As reported by Variety, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, a new series adapted from the classic Alexandre Dumas novel by Greg Latter, is now in production. Directed by legendary Danish Director Billie August, whose 1987 film PELLE THE CONQUEROR won the Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the series will star Sam Clafin (DAISY JONES & THE SIX) in the lead role.

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is the first television series produced entirely by the Mediawan group. Palomar in Italy, best known for its INSPECTOR MONTALBANO series, is lead producer, in collaboration with DEMD Productions in France. The show will be distributed through Mediawan Rights and has been commissioned by broadcasters RAI Fiction in Italy and France Televisions in France.

The series follows Edmond Dantes, played by Clafin, a nineteen-year-old sailor who is wrongfully accused of treason. After years of imprisonment in the Château d’If, a frightening fortress on an island near Marseille, Dantes escapes and assumes the persona of the Count of Monte Cristo. He soon plots his revenge on those who had him imprisoned.

Carlo Degli Esposti, Palomar’s co-founder and veteran producer, told Variety he was confident that “quality of the script” written by Greg Latter, along with “the creative vision of August and performance of Sam Claflin in the title role” would give THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO “a modern edge while remaining faithful to the legacy of Alexandre Dumas’ work.” 

The series is currently filming across France, Italy, and Malta. The five-month shoot will wrap in December.

About Greg Latter

Greg is an award-winning South African writer and director who has worked all over the world. He is the recipient of the Thomas Pringle Award for Creative Writing (1982), the Sithengi Best Screenplay Award (2005), the SAFTA Best Screenplay Award (2007) and the Naledi Best Play Award (2011). In a career spanning 35 years, he has had 22 feature films, 11 television series and 5 plays produced.

Greg has worked with director Billie August several times before, including on his highly praised feature NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON, which starred Jeremy Irons as the lead. Their most recent collaboration, the feature film ME, YOU, went into production in September 2022 and stars Tom Hollander and James Franco.