Masterpiece's 'Tom Jones' First Look Features a Gorgeous Hannah Waddingham

Masterpiece released a pair of new images from its forthcoming adaptation of Tom Jones this week, which features our first look at Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham as Lady Bellaston. 

The series is based on Henry Fielding's The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling, one of the first works of literature that can be rightly classified as a novel as we recognize it today. Fielding's coming-of-age story about a young bastard son's struggle to find his place in the world features many of the stylistic tropes of comedic storytelling that we still embrace today, including a central romantic pairing and a story that ends with a happily ever after. 

Despite the groundbreaking status of Fielding's novel, there have been surprisingly few onscreen versions of it, and this is the first Masterpiece adaptation of the story. A 1963 feature film starred Albert Finney as Tom and won four Academy Awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture. A BBC television adaptation with Max Beesley in the title role aired back in 1997, and the book has been the basis for several operas and stage plays. There's even a jukebox musical take on the story in the works featuring the music of crooner Tom Jones. (I don't know either, y'all.)

But Masterpiece's Tom Jones is aiming to be a more updated take on the tale, with deliberately diverse casting and a more modern feel. The series stars a pair of relatively unknown performers, with Solly McLeod (The Rising) and Sophie Wilde (You Don't Know Me) taking on the roles of the titular Tom and the love of his life, Sophia Western. The pair feature prominently in the series' new key art, a brightly colored confection that embraces the sweet and playful vibe this version of the series appears to be leaning into. 

As for Waddingham, the Ted Lasso star looks lovely in full costume as Lady Bellaston, one of several women who exist in the story to serve as various cautionary tales for Sophia. Initially introduced in Fielding's novel as a friend but a woman who turns out to be more of a frenemy, Bellaston's selfish attempts to undermine Sophia and Tom's relationship prove that she cannot be trusted. 

She'll be joined by an all-star cast that includes Tamzin Merchant (Carnival Row), Pearl Mackie (The Long Call), Felicity Montagu (The Durrells in Corfu), Alun Armstrong (Downton Abbey), James Wilbraham (In My Skin), James Fleet (Bridgerton) and Daniel Rigby (Black Mirror). 

"Tom Jones is the mother of all romcoms, and isn't that just what we all need after the last couple of years of misery? It's a story where the sun barely stops shining, where love conquers all, and at its warm heart stand a pair of young sweethearts everyone can root for," writer and executive producer Gwyneth Hughes said in a statement. "Henry Fielding's 18th-century novel is sexy and fun; it's also a dramatic rollercoaster, addressing so many modern concerns around consent, sexual equality, and the pursuit of happiness. Tom and Sophia overcome enormous obstacles before finding their way home and to each other. This is a classic adaptation with a wise soul and a great big smile on its face." 

There's no official airdate for Tom Jones yet, but the four-part miniseries is expected to arrive in 2023.