ne of the hottest and most popular historical romances in recent years is about to arrive on Netflix. Outlander is often seen as the top historical romance show, with its spin-off, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, currently a big hit on STARZ.
While Outlander takes viewers to the Scottish Highlands, another great but underrated period romance focuses on the stunning English coast. People who have already watched it are hooked, and new viewers should get ready to binge-watch, because Poldark will finally be available to stream in the US on Netflix.
Poldark will be added to Netflix’s library on October 8. The hit British drama is based on Winston Graham’s novels. The story was first made into a two-season show in 1975. But it was the 2015 version that became a huge success. Made by showrunner Debbie Horsfield, the series starred Rivals’ Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark, along with Eleanor Tomlinson as Demelza. The cast also features Jack Farthing, Beatie Edney, Tristan Sturrock, Luke Norris, and Heida Reed.
Set after the American Revolutionary War, Ross Poldark comes back from America to start over in England. With a new business plan, he makes plenty of enemies along the way but also finds unexpected love. Poldark has all the things fans want in a period romance, without the unusual time-travel parts of Outlander.
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The show ran for five seasons from 2015 to 2019 and won the BAFTA Audience Award in 2016. While we know Poldark was a big hit in the UK, its level of fame was massive. It even brought back the idea of “water cooler talk,” with people chatting about episodes at work instead of doing their jobs. The show overall has a strong 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with an 80% audience rating.
Viewers loved it from the beginning, with one calling it “a fund and steamy romance,” and another saying it was “dramatic, but never over-the-top.” Critics praised the first season the most, giving it an impressive 91% rating. Viewers agreed, rating it 89%. Four of the five seasons got audience scores in the 80% range, but Season 5 divided fans, with only a 50% rating. Still, critics enjoyed it, giving it 86% on the Tomatometer.
After Poldark, Aidan Turner took on another bold series, Disney+’s Rivals. Also set in the English countryside but centuries later, Rivals features Turner, David Tennant, and Alex Hassell as TV industry moguls in the 1980s all trying to win. Turner plays Irish TV star Declan O’Hara, a role less steamy than his part in Poldark. However, the show is well-known for its R-rated content, and Season 2 (currently in the works) looks to be even more daring.
Source: Movieweb