Who doesn’t love a swoon worthy and laughter-inducing romcom? We certainly do! And we all know there’s no better backdrop for a romantic tale than a period drama with beautiful costumes, actors and locations. Heart will melt and giggles will abound with the wonderful new 4-part miniseries Tom Jones, an adaptation of Henry Fielding’s classic novel. Watch Mondays at 8pm ET from August 26 through September 16. 

Produced by ITV, the series follows the handsome and free-spirited Tom Jones, played by Solly McLeod, who is abandoned as a baby and adopted by a country gentleman. A handsome charmer with the ladies, Tom’s low status in society poses a challenge in his quest for love, especially when he falls for wealthy heiress Sophia Western (Sophie Wilde). Both families are against the union, and Tom and Sophia soon  find themselves setting off on a grand adventure of self-discovery while Sophia determines if she really can trust Tom to stay faithful as her one true love. Faced with the obstacles of their vastly different upbringing and their families’ disapproval, the ultimate question becomes… Can love truly conquer all?

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Tom Jones’ brilliant supporting cast includes James Fleet (Bridgerton) as Squire Allworthy, Tom’s warm-hearted adoptive father and Alun Armstrong (New Tricks, Breeders) as Squire Western, Sophia’s hard-drinking but loving grandfather. Emmy Award winner Hannah Waddingham, star of Ted Lasso, is also a featured scene-stealer as the seductive and vengeful Lady Bellaston who takes in her young niece Sophia while trying to find her an appropriate suitor. When she meets Tom Jones, things begin to go off track as she finds herself completely enamored with him.

Waddingham, who has always wanted to play a role in a period drama, says the opportunity hadn’t come her way due to standing nearly six feet tall in heels. When she was offered Tom Jones, Waddingham was immediately drawn to playing the juicy role of Lady Bellaston. “Even if I’m playing somebody that’s not particularly nice, or somebody that has a very dark agenda, is there something that’s going to make the audience go, ‘God, I kind of like her. Yeah, she’s fun,” says Waddingham. “If there’s something in a character that I find compelling then in general, it’s that that interests me.”

The series is written by Gwyneth Hughes, who is no stranger to period dramas, having worked previously on Miss Austen Regrets and Vanity Fair, which currently airs on VisionTV’s sister station ONETV. Although Tom is the main character and the series centers on his search for love and identity, Hughes also focused on making Sophia a much more fleshed out, fully realized character than she is in Fielding’s book. 

“The actual driving force behind the unfolding of the story is Sophia,” says Hughes. “Trying to leave home, trying to find Tom, giving up on him, trying to make a way for herself. In that sense it’s just an absolutely straightforward romcom.”

“I really hope people are going to like it because these are tough times and it’s a funny, wordy, mad old book that I hope will cheer people up.”

Dive into the delightful world of Tom Jones every Monday at 8pm ET from August 26 through Sept. 16.