historical drama
A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...
television series set in 1795, co-created, directed and produced by
Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha, (born 10 January 1960) is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme among her work showcases the trials of Indian women living in the UK and ho ...
. The six-part series was announced in August 2018 and was broadcast between Sunday 23 June 2019 and Sunday 21 July 2019. The series, set in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
during the
Mughal period
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
, depicts the lives of the Beecham family in their newly bought house. The family is headed by John Beecham, a former soldier with the East India Company who is "determined to make the house his safe haven".
The series was promoted as a "Delhi '' Downton Abbey''", which was repeated by many critics. It received mixed reviews, with critics feeling that it did not live up to expectations as a radical historical drama, but that it remained entertaining for viewers of melodramatic period soap operas.
Despite the cliffhanger ending, ITV did not renew for a second series.
Cast
All listed cast appeared in at least 2 episodes.
Episodes
Production
Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha, (born 10 January 1960) is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme among her work showcases the trials of Indian women living in the UK and ho ...
and
Paul Mayeda Berges
Paul Mayeda Berges (born September 11, 1968) is an American screenwriter and director, notably as co-writer of 2002's ''Bend It Like Beckham''.
Of Japanese and Basque ancestry,Viceroy's House''. They took inspiration from '' Downton Abbey'', while mixing English and Indian cultures.
It was produced by Chandra's Bend It TV,
which is partly owned by distributor
Freemantle Media
Fremantle (; formerly FremantleMedia) is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. Fremantle takes its name from Fremantle International, acquired by predecessor company All American Television in ...
.
Filming began in Ealing Studios in August 2018. Additional filming took place in Rajasthan and
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
throughout 2018.
International broadcast
The series began airing in the United States on 14 June 2020 as part of the ''Masterpiece'' anthology series on PBS. Three months prior to its North American broadcast, the series was available for streaming on PBS Passport, leading a digital-first release strategy which coincided with the network's March pledge drive.
In Australia, the series began airing on Network 10 from 11 July 2020. It was also made available on its catchup service 10 Play prior to its broadcast. In French
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, the series began airing on
RTS Un
RTS 1 (french: RTS Un) is a Swiss public television channel owned by RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, the public broadcaster for the Romand people.
History
Launched on 1 May 1954 to succeed Télé Genève, RTS Un is the first channel of t ...
from 27 June 2021.
Reception
Ratings
The series opened to disappointing domestic overnight ratings, its premiere receiving 2.6 million viewers, ITV's lowest audience for a drama premiere in that timeslot since 2015.
Critical response
The series received mixed reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that the series received 46% favourable reviews based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3 out of 10. Metacritic gave it a score of 44/100, based on 4 reviews.
Several critics found the series to be cliched and predictable. Rachel Cooke of the '' New Statesman'' called it a "parade of cliché and desperation" which evoked laughter at the wrong moments while Jasper Rees of '' The Daily Telegraph'' felt as though the production may have been "conjured up by algorithm".
Another criticism was its lack of insight on the complex historical period, with Lucy Mangan of '' The Guardian'' and Rob Owen of the '' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' particularly disappointed in the use of protagonist John Beecham as a "
white saviour
The term white savior is a critical description of a white person who is depicted as liberating, rescuing or uplifting non-white people; it is critical in the sense that it describes a pattern in which people of color in economically under-develo ...
" figure. Beecham's assurances to those he meets in the first episode were found repetitive, with Rees and Sarah Osman of Artfuse finding Bateman's performance lacking and Matt Roush of '' TV Insider'' quoting another character's perception of Beecham as "the dullest man in Delhi".
The art direction, costumes, and location shoots were well received, with Carol Midgley of '' The Sunday Times'' calling it "a feast for the eyes" and Roush stating "You won't find a more gorgeous series all summer".
Alison Rowat of '' The Herald'' gave the series 4 out of 5 stars, praising the art direction and several performances, but felt that it lacked the humour of ''Downton Abbey''. Midgley gave the series 3 out of 5 stars, writing that "Beecham has everything a Sunday-night hero needs". Roush described the series as a "historical soap" and Adam Sweeting of
The Arts Desk
''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...