The start of a new year inspires a desire to travel. What if you could take a tour around the world in 80 days? Starting on Sunday, January 2, armchair travelers may embark on one of literature’s most renowned voyages as ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ premieres on PBS’ Masterpiece.

David Tennant, best known for his role as time traveler Dr. Who in the BBC series of the same name, stars in this contemporary rendition of the Jules Verne classic. Tennant’s travel companions are Ibrahim Koma and Leonie Benesch, and the series takes place over the course of eight episodes.

Tennant plays Pileas Fogg, an Englishman who stakes his money on his ability to traverse the globe in 80 days. This ambitious project, set around 1872, is quite the challenge. The journey begins on October 5, 1872, in London, with the intention of arriving at the Reform Club no later than one o’clock on Christmas Eve. They go by ship, rail, balloon, camel, and stagecoach, encountering progressively perilous difficulties along the way.

The new eight-episode adaptation, produced through an alliance of European TV entities and airing in the U.S. on PBS under the Masterpiece banner, captures some of the bittersweet undercurrents of Phileas Fogg’s life and quest. Check for showtime on the PBS website.