There’s a lot of chatter about period dramas being too modernized, too gritty. “The Hardacres,” a six-episode series now streaming on BritBox is the antidote. A classic rags-to-riches story, with equal doses of dramatic struggle and joy, and a splash of romance, the Victorian era British period drama delivers comfort viewing, without tipping into simplicity.
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While the whole show is life-affirming, Season 1 even has a happy ending; something that’s not easy to come by these days. Read on for cast details, news about a second season, and more. For a limited time, watch episode 1 for free.
The Hardacres (2025) is AVAILABLE to STREAM
Set in 1890s Yorkshire and based on The Hardacre Saga by C. L. Skelton, “The Hardacres” (2025) follows a working-class family whose lives revolve around the herring trade. When Sam Hardacre (Liam McMahon, Hunger) suffers an injury, the Hardacres face ruin. His wife, Mary (Claire Cooper, Six Wives with Lucy Worsley), steps forward with calm resolve, and through ingenuity and determination, the family begin to rebuild. The Hardacres do not abandon the docks—in fact, their eventual wealth comes from within it, when Sam purchases the very fish processing business that once employed him.
While the British period series takes inspiration from the novels Skelton wrote in the 1970s said to combine “the grit and passion of Catherine Cookson with the riches and glamour of Downton Abbey,” it isn’t beholden to them—and this freedom results in a rich, emotionally expansive adaptation. Created and penned by “Call the Midwife” writers Amy Roberts and Loren McLaughlan, the pair were moved to bring the story to life because “more working-class people watch telly than any other demographic, but they don’t feel like they are represented on the screen.”
Reflections from the lead cast underscore that “The Hardacres” producers—the same company behind “All Creatures Great and Small”—aren’t trying to replicate the novels scene for scene, but instead aim to evoke the spirit of the novels through a more intimate, character-led lens.“The tone was very different in the books,” McMahon notes, suggesting that the creative team wanted something warmer, more ensemble-driven. Referencing the original text, Cooper adds, “There’s an element of that world…and we are just celebrating it and branching off.”
From the first episode, we understand that for the Hardacres, hardship is real, but love is steady, friendship is precious and good humor is never far behind. There’s an emotional generosity at the heart of the show: in the deeply felt marriage between Sam and Mary (a man she lovingly calls “decent, honorable, handsome”), in the loyalty of their children, and in the flashes of humor that illuminate even difficult moments. Discussing her role, Cooper said Mary is “a force of nature.” She added “To be honest, a vast amount of Yorkshire women are…It’s a tougher life there, and she needs that toughness. But despite that, she’s an optimist, which is what’s wonderful about her.”
In a character created for the series, Ma Hardacre (Julie Graham, The Bletchley Circle)—Mary’s mother and the household’s outspoken, unsentimental matriarch—delights with many of these humorous respites, grounding the household with her sharp wit and lived-in wisdom. The older children, Liza (Shannon Lavelle, Riot Women), in a role also created for the television show, and Joe (Adam Little, Coronation Street), add further texture and all the complexity of youth, especially as they begin to navigate the family’s shifting status with wide eyes and open hearts.
Their gentle brother Harry (Zak Ford‑Williams, Bridgerton) is seen less often after moving away for school, and his quieter storyline leaves space for further exploration. In an interview discussing his acting roles, Ford-Williams, who lives with cerebral palsy, shared that in “The Hardacres” he plays someone with the same condition: “..at the time it was known as Little’s Disease, and I did a lot of research into how it presented at the time. Same condition, different name, and what I would have looked like without physiotherapy or surgery, of course because my disability would look and my physicality would be entirely different.”
As the family’s status rises, their challenges shift. They may now walk the gilded halls in their country estate, but wealth does not erase who they were, nor does it secure them a place among the gentry. Victorian society, with its rigid class distinctions, does not bend easily. Their struggle becomes existential—how to belong in a milieu that resents their arrival. See: the neighboring old money Fitzherbert family, comprised of the cold and calculating Emma (Cathy Belton, Miss Scarlet & The Duke), her affable but unhappy in marriage husband George (Owen Roe, Penny Dreadful), and their eligible but mischievous and rebellious daughter Adella (Holly Sturton, The School for Good and Evil). They also have a son Crispin, “currently exploring the banks of West Africa,” who we are yet to meet.
This tension plays out not only socially, but within the family, and with the servants. With opportunity comes internal conflict: ambition vies with loyalty, self-respect with social aspiration. These are not grand scandals or melodramatic betrayals, but small, deeply human shifts. And always, the show returns to its narrative heart—devotion and family remain central, even as the cost of success becomes clearer.
Visually, “The Hardacres” is delightful throughout. The sets and props invite the viewer into a somewhat prettified Yorkshire—from the neat as a pin and wallpapered cottages of the dockworkers, to the polished restraint of Hardacre Hall. Every visual choice serves the charm of the story without feeling inauthentic, evoking the pleasantness of “Cranford,” honking geese and an often sprightly score included. Director Rachel Carey aimed for historical and period accuracy, and also “for a cinematic realism that captured the warmth, entertainment, and energy of our characters.”
About the range of costumes from designer Allison Byrne, Cooper said “The textures, the colours, the detail. Everything had been really thought out. And the same with the hair and makeup. All the team was unreal. But I do like the journey that we went on going from the rags to the opulent era that we stepped into, and they did step into it quite beautifully.”
Pacing is measured but never slow, and the six episodes allow space for character development and emotional rhythm. With humor to balance the drama, the series resists both sentimentality and bleakness, making for soothing escapism television. “The Hardacres” warmth lies not in simplicity, but in its honesty.
Season 2 of “The Hardacres” is confirmed, with six more episodes in production. The next chapter will follow the family’s ongoing efforts to establish themselves at Hardacre Hall and face the social, emotional, and moral consequences of their changed status. Though plot details remain under wraps, series 2 promises to deepen the exploration of how wealth and position continue to shape—and strain—the family’s identity, as they continue to learn “that real class isn’t a birth-right, it’s something they had all along.”
Series 2 synopsis reads “Following the smash-hit first series, which followed the Hardacre family as they navigated their rise from poverty to staggering wealth and the unexpected twists and turns that money brought, the new season charts the Hardacres as they settle into Hardacre Hall and turn their attention to reshaping the world around them… with all the ambition, friction, and fallout that entails.”
With both heart and thoughtfulness, the period drama entertains and considers what happens when a family climbs, only to find the world at the top isn’t ready to welcome them. As it interrogates societal position, belonging, and the cost of ambition, “The Hardacres” makes for engrossing storytelling—satisfying in its first season, and full of promise for the second.
The Hardacres (2025) is AVAILABLE to STREAM
Rated TV-PG
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About BritBox: BritBox is the leading streaming destination for the best of British television, offering an unmatched collection of expertly curated entertainment. From critically acclaimed dramas and mysteries to comedies, documentaries, and lifestyle programming, BritBox invites audiences to step out of their everyday and into a world of exceptional British storytelling. Launched in 2017 and now owned by BBC Studios, BritBox is available in the US, Canada, Australia, and the Nordics. For more, visit britbox.com, or find the BritBox app on most mobile and connected TV devices.
If you enjoyed this post, see the list of all the period dramas on BritBox. 
