Last Updated on July 9, 2025
“Outrageous” (2025) is a sweeping new British period drama that brings the extraordinary lives of the Mitford sisters to the screen with sharp wit and striking detail. Set in the lead-up to the Second World War, the series follows six aristocratic women whose choices — literary, romantic, and political — placed them squarely in the public eye, and often at odds with one another.

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With performances from Bessie Carter, Joanna Vanderham, Shannon Watson, Zoe Brough, Anna Chancellor, and James Purefoy, “Outrageous” captures the glamour and complexity of a family that defied easy definition. For viewers drawn to historical drama with bold characters and a richly textured backdrop, this promises to be one of the year’s most compelling new series.
“Outrageous” (Season 1) has 6 episodes, with new episodes Wednesdays and the finale on July 16, 2025; watch the trailer below.
At first glance, BritBox’s new series “Outrageous,” which dramatizes the lives of the six aristocratic Mitford sisters, might seem like escapist fare — frothy, fashionable, and full of scandal. As Europe inched toward war in the 1930s, the Mitfords both delighted and shocked Britain’s upper crust.
Famed beauty Diana left her wealthy husband for a British fascist; passionate Unity followed her heart to Nazi Germany; empathetic Jessica rejected her privilege and sought purpose beyond it; and sharp-tongued Nancy chronicled it all in novels that cut a little too close to home.

But beneath the glamour and gossip lies something far more compelling. In a world where personal beliefs increasingly shape — and sometimes strain — our closest relationships, “Outrageous” reminds us that such divisions are nothing new. It’s a stylish, addictive series — and one that understands the very real cost of conviction.
Fans of BBC One’s “The Pursuit of Love” (2021), based on Nancy Mitford’s 1945 novel, may recognize echoes of the Radlett family in “Outrageous” — Nancy drew inspiration from her own eccentric upbringing. There’s Farve (James Purefoy), who refuses to allow his brilliant daughters to attend school because they’re only expected to marry well and “quietly breed…the next generation of aristocrats.” Long-suffering matriarch Muv (Anna Chancellor) manages the family estate, nicknamed The Fortress, and ushers each daughter into society at the appointed time.
Diana (Joanna Vanderham) seems content as a young mother to two sons with wealthy husband Bryan Guinness (Calam Lynch), while eldest daughter Nancy (Bessie Carter) has already published a novel and is waiting for her unofficial fiancé Hamish to make a formal proposal. But when Diana meets Sir Oswald Mosley (Joshua Sasse), leader of the British Union of Fascists, she falls deeply in love — not only with the man, but also with his politics — setting in motion a series of events that will shake the family to its core.

Each episode kaleidoscopes between the six sisters, as Diana’s decision to divorce Bryan and pursue an affair with Mosley sends shockwaves through the family. Unity (Shannon Watson) is so taken with his politics that she joins the British Union of Fascists and eventually idolizes Hitler, the embodiment of European fascism. Jessica (Zoe Brough), disillusioned by her family’s privilege and her sisters’ ideologies, takes the opposite path and begins reading about communism. Nancy, too, grows disillusioned with fascism and suffers her own domestic disappointments. In later episodes, the two youngest sisters — Pamela (Isobel Jesper Jones) and Deborah (Orla Hill) — come more clearly into view, seemingly content with their place in aristocratic society and the expectation that they marry well.
In the hands of a lesser writer, the number of storylines might become overwhelming, but creator Sarah Williams ably weaves them into a compelling, cohesive narrative. Nancy’s commentary frames each episode, with Bessie Carter proving a witty and perceptive narrator of the Mitford saga. Brightly colored intertitles mark the passage of time and humorously note changes in setting — like when Nancy breaks Farve’s ironclad rule never to contact Diana, doing so at “Diana’s Forbidden Residence.” These stylistic choices reflect Nancy’s satirical sensibility and keep “Outrageous” in conversation with the punchy storytelling of 2021’s “The Pursuit of Love.”
Thoughtful details deepen the sense that we’re watching a family navigate genuinely complicated dynamics. Executive producer Matthew Mosley explains that they were determined not to show the sisters as flawless, but to depict “real family life” as it was — a mix of affection, frustration, and messiness. Jessica, for example, lounges around The Fortress in trousers and moth-eaten sweaters — a quiet but powerful cue that the family’s finances are more limited than they let on. The actors portraying the six sisters also share an easy rapport, using the nicknames the real Mitfords gave one another (including “Boud” or “Bobo” for Unity, “Decca” for Jessica, and “Woman” for Pam). “We had a lovely week of rehearsal,” says Zoe Brough. “Because of that, when we got to set, it just felt very easy and we’d already got to know each other quite well.”
Zoe and Shannon even spent time during the week of rehearsal “trying to work out Boudledidge,” the secret language the Mitfords developed in childhood. “We were trying to work out the phonetics of how they created this language,” Zoe says, and while they were unsuccessful, their commitment to understanding their characters is clear. The result is a set of siblings that seem deeply connected, despite their diverging beliefs.
As “Outrageous” is based on a true story, viewers familiar with the Mitfords’ story will have a general sense of where the plot is heading, but it’s still a sheer joy to watch characters who feel so vividly drawn make consequential choices that feel utterly understandable within the world they inhabit. “Outrageous” covers just the beginning of the Mitfords’ saga, leaving room for future seasons — and we can only hope that BritBox commits to more installments.
When asked what she hopes viewers will take away from the series, Sarah Williams references the uncertainty of modern times, saying, “A good story is a great place to be at the moment; it feels like a haven.” “Outrageous” manages to be both a haven and a thought-provoking watch. It’s a richly layered, beautifully performed period drama that lingers long after the credits roll — quietly reminding us that history has a way of repeating itself.
“Outrageous” (2025) is AVAILABLE to STREAM
Abby Murphy writes young adult books about girls discovering their strengths. A member of SCBWI and The Historical Novel Society, she is represented by Laura Crockett of Triada US Literary Agency. You can visit her blog here, where she writes about reading, writing, history, and her incurable Anglophilia.
If you enjoyed this post, you’ll want to wander over to The Period Films List. You’ll also want to see our list of period dramas currently on BritBox, read our review of “The Pursuit of Love” and learn about its filming locations.