This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. (SOUNDBITE OF LITTLE COMETS SONG, "WESTERN BOY")Ĭopyright © 2017 NPR. Most importantly, this show created with a female gaze keeps its sights set on the humanity of its female characters despite their struggles working in an inhumane business. The show cheekily explores lots of topics, from the tension between religion and sex to the patriarchal power of a culture where men could plan their trips to the brothels right in front of their wives. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) In your own words, you have admitted that your mother is a common bawd.ĭEGGANS: Whoops - maybe she would have been better off keeping quiet just then. UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #6: (As character) Charlotte, sit down.įINDLAY: (As Charlotte) She is the exemplar of all the bawds in London. UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #5: (As character) That's right, yeah.įINDLAY: (As Charlotte) My mother protects her girls because the law does not. JESSICA BROWN FINDLAY: (As Charlotte) We are pursued and harried like prey.
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Here, Catherine speaks up for her mother, who's on trial for running a disreputable bawd or brothel. That point's driven home when you see "Downton" alum Jessica Brown Findlay - she played doomed daughter Sybil Crawley on that show - as Margaret Wells' older daughter, Catherine (ph). According to a graphic at the beginning of the first episode, 1 in 5 women worked in the profession in England at that time. I was 10.ĭEGGANS: "Harlots" is mostly about women making supremely difficult choices at a time when they had few options. She sold me to a bawd for a pair of shoes. She'd spent every last farthing on her gin, the slut. MORTON: (As Margaret Wells) My mother took me down (unintelligible) Lane. She's waited to induct her into the business even though she herself was sold to a madam at a much younger age. She's one of the brightest stars in London's firmament, and I intend no less for Lucy.ĭEGGANS: These aren't exactly hookers with a heart of gold, but from Margaret's point of view, she's done her daughter Lucy a great service. MORTON: (As Margaret Wells) Sealed bids, as I did for Charlotte, my older daughter. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Twenty-five pounds to have her now. When we're settled there, I'll be taking sealed bids for Lucy's virginity. SAMANTHA MORTON: (As Margaret Wells) I'm soon taking a fine new house. And she's not above teasing a rich customer by previewing when she will auction off her teenage daughter's virginity. She's a madam who sees prostitution as a route to financial independence at a time when women had to surrender their wealth to their husbands when they got married. Instead, we see Oscar nominee Samantha Morton as Margaret Wells.
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The result is a series that avoids the temptation of focusing on nude bodies and sex, which is arguably the way male producers have treated prostitutes in shows like "Game Of Thrones" and "Deadwood." Unlike most shows, "Harlots" features a mostly female creative team of producers, directors and writers.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #4: (As character) Yeah, it does.ĭEGGANS: "Harlots" is a show created by two women, Moira Buffini and Alison Newman. UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #3: (As character) Perspire doesn't mean stink.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #2: (As character, laughter).īRONWYN JAMES: (As Fanny Lambert) Does it say I stink? A fine, bouncing, crummy wench - and not a miss in summer barring perspiration. Fanny Lambert - the very thing in winter for those who love a fat, jolly girl. UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #1: (As character) Let's see what's in here about you girls. Consider this scene where the ladies working in the brothel are reading reviews at their services in a book published in 1763 written as a sort of Yelp for prostitution.
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What would a TV show about prostitution look like if the creators and producers were mostly female?ĭEGGANS: What it isn't, especially in the opening moments, is subtle. This story does have some frank language about sex.ĮRIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: From the first episode, the action in "Harlots" poses a bold question. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says the show's producers have excelled at crafting a modern story about the world's oldest profession. This is not "Masterpiece Theater." The series, called "Harlots," follows a female brothel owner and her daughters in 18th century London. A new British costume drama debuts on Hulu tonight, but if this genre is not your cup of tea, don't tune out just yet.
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