X
- 2017
- TV-MA
- HULU
- 2017
- TV-MA
- HULU
Summary Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton) juggles life as an owner of a brothel and a mother of two daughters as a rival (Lesley Manville) seeks to shut her down in this drama set in the 1700s London.
Created By: Moira Buffini, Alison Newman
- 2017
- TV-MA
- HULU
- 2017
- TV-MA
- HULU
Harlots
Season 1 Premiere: Mar 27, 2017
73
5.7
Where to Watch
Summary Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton) juggles life as an owner of a brothel and a mother of two daughters as a rival (Lesley Manville) seeks to shut her down in this drama set in the 1700s London.
Created By: Moira Buffini, Alison Newman
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
73
92% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
8% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
73
92% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
8% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Consistently been one of TV's top dramas of the last few years. ... The plot [is] more intricate (and enthralling) than filigree. Yet, the storylines — involving heist, blackmail and arson in just the first three episodes — merely pay homage to the heart-wrenching themes of weaponized sexuality and the shackles of status.
There is a jarring clash between the grim subject matter and the relentlessly ribald sew-pearls-in-your-muff-hair tone. But at its best the discomfort is the point. Sex work is a brutal and messy business. What saves Harlots from falling down the ancient traps of objectification, fetishisation, and sexist tropes of “tarts with hearts” and hookers who secretly love it is its solidly female gaze. Plus its commitment to diversity and top-notch writing.
Harlots is unsparing and sympathetic, able to find humor in its characters’ romps and compassion for the profession’s tragedies.
Harlots, on Hulu, is certainly audacious. And ambitious. But whether it will be able to pull off it’s fine-line feminist balancing act remains to be seen; this show may end up groundbreaking or it may end up a train wreck. In the meantime it’s hard to look away.
Forgive the salacious hook for a show that is not so much titillating as it is gripping, surprising, at times humorous and even a bit thought-provoking when it comes to exploring how sex is just as valuable as money or power.
The show’s creators--the accomplished and ambitious playwright and screenwriter Moira Buffini and the actress Alison Newman--set an unflagging pace in the two episodes available for review, with dialogue that’s sufficiently crisp and performances that are entertaining enough to keep you interested, even if the story feels a little hollow at the core.
There’s a hesitancy to confront the thicket of conflicting emotions that are being hinted at underneath the not-so-charmed life of the Wells girls and the women they work with (or against) but the origins and the precariousness of these feelings never quite explored with any daring or seriousness. ...There is the constant use of the titular term, which rips you out of the action without care whenever it’s hurled about, but that’s not half as annoying as the music.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 45 User Ratings
5.7
53% Positive
24 Ratings
24 Ratings
16% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
31% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 45 User Ratings
5.7
53% Positive
24 Ratings
24 Ratings
16% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
31% Negative
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company:
- Monumental Television
- ITV - Independent Television
Initial Release Date: Mar 27, 2017
Number of seasons: 3 Seasons
Rating: TV-MA
Genres:
