Netflix has added two seasons of a period drama starring Line of Duty’s Gina McKee, with heaps of praise from viewers who have already watched all 10 episodes.
The Forsyte Saga will be catnip for fans of Downton Abbey, with a similar time period and even premise, as the show chronicles the lives of three generations of the wealthy Forsyte family.
Based on Nobel Prize winner John Galsworthy’s novel, the show is a sweeping portrait of the well-off British family in 1880s London, running up to 1920.
This Bafta-winning adaptation – which is now available in its entirety to stream on Netflix – was originally released in 2002 on ITV, with a cast including Wolf Hall’s Damian Lewis as well as Gina McKee.
The novel had previously been adapted for TV by the BBC in 1967 and was watched by audiences of up to 18 million – in the heyday of terrestrial TV. It is widely considered to be the first modern costume drama.
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Lewis stars in the drama as Soames Forsyte – an uptight man in an evolving London – who is married to Gina McKee’s chilly character Irene, who quite openly marries for money and loathes her husband. She strives to redefine herself as a woman in a changing England.
The rest of The Forsyte Saga is one of rivalries, resentments and sumptuous manor houses, set against the dying embers of the British Empire.
‘It’s a family of power that saw its world crumbling around it,’ Lewis told The New York Times in an interview on the show.
‘It’s a moment in time encapsulated by Downton Abbey and The Forsyte Saga that people really respond to, I think.’
What other period dramas are on Netflix?
- The Lady’s Companion. Follows 19th-century chaperone Elena ‘hired to find husbands for three wealthy sisters’ but ends up falling for one of the suitors herself.
- Vikings. The inter-generational Nordic plot follows Viking chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and his crew as they navigate choppy waters and bloody political intrigue.
- 1883. The Yellowstone prequel dives into the Duttons’ great-grandparents, James and Margaret, as they travel cross-country to the land that became the Yellowstone Ranch.
- The Empress. Based on the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (or Sisi) who ruled for 44 years until her assassination in 1898.
Viewers have shared their glowing reviews of the show on Google, with Reba Hatfield describing it as a plot that evolves over ‘suspense-filled episodes’.
‘Tour de force performances from the entire cast,’ wrote Bill Ranieri in his review. ‘Very moving story with many emotional moments. Worth the trouble. Old Jolyon was a favorite of mine.’
Kitty Black added: ‘I love to watch this every 5 or 10 years. Long enough so I don’t remember everything. It’s such a top notch production. The costumes, the properties, the drama of it all just sweeps you into another time.’
It comes amid another adaptation of Galsworthy’s novel for Channel 5, starring Doctor Who’s Millie Gibson and Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson.
This third TV version was confirmed by Deadline, with Poldark writer Debbie Horsfield on board as the writer of the adaption, which is set to become a returning series. The show does not yet have a release date.
The Forsyte Saga is available to stream on Netflix.
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