Harlots (UK TV)

I was browsing on Hulu the other day when Harlots popped and I was immediately interested. The first episode was enough to get me hooked.
Real change of pace for Samantha Morton and esp Jessica Brown Findley. Both actresses and the rest of the cast were very believable, as were the settings. I could almost smell the odors of old London.

Is there a lot of sex scenes.
I'm sure when they do some horrid re-make of it in the UDA, it will be on HBO and about 82.5% of it will be naked people.
In the USA, we are titilated by nudity.🙄

I never watched Downton Abbey (though have thought about checking it out. Is it surprising/taking some adjusting to, seeing her playing someone so different?), so I never saw Jessica Brown Findlay in that, but I did see her in the odd movie or mini-series, where she caught my attention. Although I have seen her in a few other roles, this is the first time I've seen her playing a regular role for multiple episodes, and so it's her character of Charlotte that I 'know' her mostly as now. 

I do agree with your comment 'Both actresses and the rest of the cast were very believable', as I truly do believe her and Samantha Morton (and the rest) in these roles. Apart from those two actresses, I recognise a few of the others in the show. The actress playing Kitty I know from her role as Mr. Grove's daughter in the series Mr Selfridge (which, coincidentally, had a character named Kitty in it too - though played by a different actress), I recognise the actor playing William North as the same guy who was Sembene in Penny Dreadful, and the actor playing the truly despicable Sir George Howard I had seen previously as a somewhat similar (though nowhere near as horrible) character in the series Poldark (where he was trying to get with a character named Caroline - whereas in this show he's married to a Caroline and wanting to be with others).

as were the settings. I could almost smell the odors of old London.

The show definitely does a good job of making the whole setting seem unpleasant. It feels pretty nasty - which is likely accurate. There are a lot of really unlikeable characters in the show, but quite a few who I *do* like (and even some of the unlikeable ones are still interesting to watch - thanks in large part to the actors portraying them). The most recent episodes I saw this week were 5 & 6 (since we get two every Friday night). There were certainly some major developments that happened.

The biggest pleasant surprise for me has been Poppy Colette Corby-Tuech as Marie-Louise, who I found rather amusing when she was talking trash about the dude she was having to screw - and because she was speaking in French, he had no clue what she was saying. 

Despite of the 'unpleasantness', I've found this show strangely compelling. It's a shame it's only 8 episodes, but it's certainly made up for the lack of much decent on TV at the moment where I am (there's been a few shows I've liked - but half of them have apparently been cancelled. Otherwise, I just stick to my DVDs/Blu-rays of the many shows I haven't yet got around to watching the latest seasons of). I'm glad I found this thread to talk about the show.

Do you mean for Season 2? I think that’s happening, as I stumbled upon news of Liv Tyler getting cast in next season.

deadline.com/2017/10/liv-tyler-cast-harlots-hulu-drama-series-regular-season-2-1202188955/

We just got the Season 1 final here the other night.

**somewhat spoilery below if you haven’t watched all of Season 1 yet**

I think the part I liked best was the exchange between Charlotte and Sir George’s wife (now widow), Caroline:

Caroline: “Who killed my husband?”

Charlotte: “Villains, perhaps? Like they say.”

Caroline: “Whoever they are, I am free. I'll speak for your friend.”

George was such a waste of space, I’m glad they were happy that he was gone. I was also very relieved that Charlotte survived, as I thought she was going to pay the price for her sister’s actions (not that Lucy’s actions weren’t understandable, given what George was doing to her at the time). I noticed she was stuck in the same dress she’d been wearing at the dinner she’d been brought along to by George – it must’ve started to smell a bit after a while, I imagine. It might've seemed like things were wrapped up a bit 'neatly', but better that than end on a cliffhanger only to not get a second season (which has happened with quite a few shows I've watched). Besides, there's enough stuff left open for next season that it should be interesting.

There’s still a few characters who I’m not fond of in the show, but on the whole I found the first season quite compelling – which I was not expecting to, as I mainly tuned in just to see Jessica Brown Findlay in something that wasn’t a movie or mini-series. I really should check out Downton Abbey, I guess).

There hasn’t been much worth watching on live TV here (I’ve mainly been watching DVDs/Blu-rays of shows and movies instead), but this one of the few shows on that was worth watching. I’m glad I did.

So Morton sublime?.

Good spoiler and come Juy11, I will watching, right after The Handmaid's Tale. Compared to that, Harlots is almost light.

The color. The clothes. The vocabulary. The attitude. Loving it!

Nice to have Harlots back on TV for Season 2 (which I recorded Friday, but didn’t get around to watching until last night).

**spoilers for the first two episodes of Season 2 below**

Back when I watched Season 1 of Harlots, I hadn’t yet seen Downton Abbey, and so Jessica Brown Findlay’s character in this show – Charlotte – was the first character I’d seen her play in a TV series. However, since then I’ve watched the three seasons of Downton Abbey she was in and it was interesting seeing her play Sybil there, when I’d gotten to know her as Charlotte here first. For others, I imagine it was the other way around (seeing her play Sybil first, then Charlotte).

I still find her character and storyline in this show really interesting. It’s kind of frustrating, though, that she has this plan to bring down Lydia Quigley...but can’t really share it with anyone. It’s quite sad to see her mother practically disowning her and, along with Nancy, treating her oldest daughter like crap. On the one hand, I can understand Charlotte not wishing to share her plan with too many people, as they could say or do something that could land her in trouble. I keep fearing for her safety (as Jessica Brown Findlay doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to playing characters who stay alive).

On the other hand, without knowing what she’s up to, they can work against her and make it harder for her to fulfill her plan. I think her telling her mother to trust her should’ve been enough – it doesn’t tell her much, but at least lets her know there’s something in the works. At least Lucy and William are still talking to Charlotte, and she’s shown she still cares about everyone (after the news of Kitty And Nancy – despite the latter being as horrible to her as her own mother was). It’s just a shame that most everyone else seems to have given up on Charlotte and are now thinking the worst of her.

Annoyingly, Margaret really seems to be losing it. I can understand her anger regarding what’s going on (not just with Lydia Quigley, but all the other stuff going on as well), but she seems to not be able to calm down/take a breath and see straight. I’m glad Charlotte called her out for the questionable things that she’s done. 

I was surprised at Kitty’s death. It made me think they were also going to off Nancy, but instead she received a flogging (while it certainly wasn’t nice to watch, no flogging I’ve seen will ever compare to the one Jamie received in Season 1 of Outlander – now THAT was hard to watch).

I’m intrigued by Liv Tyler’s character, her interaction with Charlotte and Lydia Quigley, and what part she’ll play in things.

It still impresses me just how grimy/dirty the show makes things, especially with scenes outside – it contrasts nicely with how clean/pristine everything is when inside the high class establishments.

It’s good to have the show back...and even better to hear that it has been renewed for a third season.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/harlots-renewed-season-3-at-hulu-1146324

I feel this show deserves more recognition, as it seems to be 'flying under the radar' a bit. I gave up on The Handmaid's Tale in Season 2, but this show has kept my attention.

Just watched episodes 5 & 6 of Season two most recently.

**spoilers below**

Things really got moving in episode 6. There was Charlotte choking Lydia Quigley, Amelia stabbed and Margaret confessing to murder to save Lucy among other things.

I know I've said it before, but I think it bears repeating - this show is utilising Jessica Brown Findlay's acting talents so much better than Downton Abbey did. I loved her character in that show/she was my favourite, as I've mentioned, but by Season 3 it really felt like they were wasting her and I can't really blame her for leaving. While I think it's a shame that she didn't seem to find large success in movies, I think this show has done a wonderful job of letting her prove her acting abilities and I hope that it scores her some actual decent roles in films (as it seems 'big' movies tend to take notice of stand-out actors in shows and then give them chances). I think she's shown so much nuance in her performance, and she's had some great/'meaty' material to work with too. 

Seeing her guilt over the girl that got violated and being blamed/cursed for it was pretty sad to watch, considering she did everything she could to help her. It was also very intense watching her held captive by Lydia Quigley after she was found out (or ratted out, more accurately). Charlotte had done such a good job at her job going undercover, and it was quite suspenseful once she got held prisoner. I think she had SO MUCH going on with her, that it was understandable when she finally let loose and throttled Quigley. However, it was also understandable that her mother stopped her, as she knew what it would cost Charlotte if she had succeeded in ending the life of the woman who has caused everyone so much pain/loss. It was such a relief to see Charlotte get out of there and back with her family. 

Speaking of Margaret, while I wasn't too fond of her at the start of the season, I think she went a long way towards redeeming herself in my eyes when she confessed to murder in an effort to save her other daughter, Lucy. I actually found myself liking Margaret quite a bit in these last two episodes. 

I think Liv Tyler is quite underrated as an actress, as I had guessed what had been the 'history' between her character and the brother - and it was just as unpleasant as you could've imagined. I think she did a good job of conveying this had gone on between them, without being super obvious. She gave little hints and had nuance in her performance. I also think that the relationship that developed between her and Charlotte was done well and didn't feel as though it came out of left field. 

I felt bad for Amelia when she got stabbed, and as unlikeable as her mother can be, I even felt sorry for her a bit too.

There are still a couple of characters I wouldn't mind seeing written out of this show, as they annoy me greatly, but on the whole I feel this is a really underrated/underappreciated TV show that not enough people are watching - and they really should be. This season just flew past in no time - and it shows just how beneficial having a 'short' season can be, as there doesn't feel like there's too much 'filler' and every episode seems to be important. I'm so glad there'll be a Season 3, as this show is too good to end after only two seasons. I'm looking forward to the last two episodes of this season which I'll get to see on Friday.