With around 1,400 pages, Leo Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’ would make for a really good paperweight. That’s not to say that it isn’t good–just that it is really, really long. I read the book last year and it took me months to push through it. Though I really enjoyed it, I would rather spend six hours just watching the show. You guys now have that opportunity.

If as an expat interested in Russian literature and/or culture you’ve always meant to read it yourself but never got around to it, or if you would be entertained by a modern cinematic production of the classic story–then you’re in luck!

The Weinstein Company and BBC America teamed up to create a six-hour miniseries adaptation of the historical story, starring Lily James, Paul Dano, and James Norton. Gillian Anderson, Jim Broadbent, Rebecca Front, Aneurin Barnard, Tuppence Middleton, and Stephen Rea also appear.

Below, you can view the trailer for ‘War and Peace‘ recently unveiled by BBC One.

As you can see from the trailer, the series looks to be a good adaptation of the story–displaying the brutality of war, the passion of romance, the agony of childbirth, and the joy of youth. The set and costumes are also quite astounding–exactly what you would expect from a lavish historical drama.

For me, the story itself seemed to be the source of many themes we’ve seen in books, films, and TV series over the years since its publication. Classism, irrational motives for human behavior, inexplicable love, death as revelation, and more all blend together among the many, many characters involved in the epic story.

If Russian literature and/or historical epics are your thing at all, the ‘War and Peace’ miniseries seems like something you can look forward to.

The ‘War and Peace’ miniseries doesn’t yet have an official premiere date, but it is expected to air on BBC One this winter. In the U.S., project will be broadcast on A&E, Lifetime, and History.