Watch Great Expectations online
Great Expectations airs on BBC One in the UK. Both the channel and its catchup and streaming service, BBC iPlayer, are completely free to watch. In the US, Great Expectations is available to watch on Hulu ($7.99 a month after a 30-day ree trial). Use a VPN to watch BBC iPlayer from abroad if you're away from home.
Olivia Colman brings the resentful and enigmatic Miss Havisham to the screen and Fionn Whitehead portrays the impressionable class fugitive Pip in this six-part, 2023 adaptation of Charles Dickens' timeless critique of the social order.
Developed by Steven Knight, who, like the novel's protagonist, is the son of a blacksmith who had to shake off his roots in pursuit of a loftier existence, the limited series captures the Dickensian vision of 19th century London in all of its inherent ugliness, from the squalid, manure-strewn streets, to the cruel and opportunistic gentleman financiers projecting the illusion of respectability while pillaging all in their sights.
When a chance encounter thrusts open the door to Pip's unlikely dream of entering high society, little does the young man know of the price he'll end up paying for the privilege. London is a place that delights in beating the innocent to their knees – but Pip is able to strike a Faustian bargain with one of its power brokers.
He's intelligent, but more than that he’s malleable and fiercely ambitious. So it is that under the tutelage of Jaggers, he's able to clamber up the class ranks. All the while, however, he's inwardly degenerating, and tortured by fragments of his life that he's left buried in the past.
Reviews are generally positive. Variety praises Olivia Colman's "electric" performance while The Telegraph calls it a "grimy, macho, Peaky [Blinders] makeover". That said, other critics have called it "lazy" and "pointless", so tune in with an open mind.
It's one of the great British novels, a tale that was originally released as a weekly serial and thus lends itself perfectly to TV, and you can follow our guide to find out and watch Great Expectations free online from anywhere.
How to watch Great Expectations for FREE in the UK
How to watch Great Expectations online from outside your country
If you find yourself stuck in a country where your favorite on-demand services aren’t available, then that's probably down to annoying geo-blocking restrictions.
Luckily, there’s a simple solution. Downloading a VPN will let you to watch Great Expectations online no matter where you are, simply by changing your IP address to one that's back in your country of residence. Now, here's how to get started with this essential bit of streaming software.
Use a VPN to watch Great Expectations from anywhere
Three simple steps to using a VPN to watch Great Expectations:
1. Download and install a VPN - we recommend ExpressVPN
2. Connect to the relevant server location - launch the VPN app, click on 'choose location' and select the right location i.e. UK for iPlayer
3. Head to the chosen broadcaster's stream - in this case, head to BBC iPlayer
How to watch Great Expectations online in the US without cable
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Great Expectations (2023) official trailer
Great Expectations (2023) full cast
Alongside Olivia Colman, Fionn Whitehead and Shalom Brune-Franklin, Great Expectations will also star Ashley Thomas (Top Boy, The Ipcress File), Johnny Harris (A Christmas Carol, The Salisbury Poisonings), Hayley Squires (Adult Material, The Essex Serpent), Owen McDonnell (Killing Eve, Death in Paradise), Laurie Ogden (The Colour Room, The Show Must Go Online), Matt Berry (The IT Crowd, Snuff Box), Trystan Gravelle (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Baptiste) and Rudi Dharmalingam (The Split, Our Girl).
Great Expectations (2023) production credits
Steven Knight has written and executive produced Great Expectations alongside Tom Hardy (A Christmas Carol, Inception), Ridley Scott (The Martian, Blade Runner), Dean Baker (Taboo, Trophy), David W. Zucker (The Good Fight, The Man in the High Castle), Kate Crowe (Misfits, You Don’t Know Me) and Tommy Bulfin (Peaky Blinders, The Tourist) for the BBC – the team behind FX’s A Christmas Carol – with Brady Hood (Top Boy, The One) and Samira Radsi (Holiday Secrets, Knightfall) as directors.
