We have some lofty hopes for Great Expectations and thanks to a new teaser released today, it looks like Hulu’s mini-series adaptation of the classic tale will be even better than expected. Stepping back to a time period that she’s very comfortable with, Olivia Colman will play the noble Miss Havisham. A woman who enjoys relishing in the pain and suffering of others, Miss Havisham plucks an orphaned boy named Pip (Fionn Whitehead) out of his low-brow surroundings and drops him in the dangerous streets of London. While Pip knows that a mysterious benefactor has helped him on his climb to the top, he doesn’t know that Miss Havisham is pulling the strings. As Pip’s world is flipped upside down, spiraling towards chaos, Miss Havisham gleefully watches from the sidelines.

Today’s teaser gives us a better look at Colman’s ghastly transformation into the sinister Miss Havisham. With pale skin and rotten teeth, the Heartstopper actress is drumming up memories of her Academy Award-winning role in Yargos Lanthimos’ The Favourite. Reminding us that a period drama is just one of the places that she shines the brightest, Colman’s performance is already sending chills down our spine as we see the manipulative noblewoman play games with both Pip and her other young project, Estella (Shalom Brune-Franklin). Taking full advantage of Pip’s hopefulness for both riches and love, Miss Havisham hatches a plan with Estella for the young woman to “break his heart” while Miss Havisham sits back to “watch the breakage.” As feelings grow between the lovers, all hell breaks loose, and Pip is reminded by Jaggers (Ashley Thomas) that “darkness always triumphs over good intentions.”

The latest reimagining of Charles Dickens’s timeless classic, Great Expectations comes to audiences from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. The series also boasts a knock-out team of executive producers with Peaky Blinders alum and Venom star Tom Hardy and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ridley Scott teaming up alongside Dean Baker, David W. Zucker, and Kate Crow.

It’s been a wild ride for fans of period dramas this year with Starz’s series reimagining of Dangerous Liaisons quickly coming and going. What the network pegged as an obvious hit, even giving the green light to a second season before the first season’s premiere, was crushed by abysmal reviews which led Starz to backtrack and cancel the production. Meanwhile, Canal+ announced that their historical period drama Marie Antoinette would be making a comeback for a second season. While the series has already debuted across the pond, audiences in the United States will have to wait until March 19 to catch the title when it lands on PBS.

Great Expectations premieres on Hulu on March 26. Check out the latest teaser below.

via Collider