This year, Hulu brought us not one, but two new original series. "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Harlots" both premiered a few months ago, and both have received quite a bit of buzz. And just last week, "Harlots" wrapped up its first season with an explosive finale. But that's really nothing new for this show. "Harlots" tells the story of two warring madams as the fight to be the more popular brothel in London during the 1760s. At this time, 20% of all the women in London were involved in prostitution. So, as you can imagine, this show is big wigs, hair, mischief, mayhem and more.
But it's not just fun and frivolity in this show. "Harlots"aims to tackle some series issues that were facing women during the time. Political and social rights, customs and healthcare were all highlighted within the eight-episode season. And while I won't spill out every detail here in case you were hoping to be spared any spoilers, there are multiple times in which we see exactly how these traditions impacted the girls.
In fact, this show is all about the girls. As one article from the A.V. Club put, "Its story centers on women, with men really only showing up to make trouble." All of the show's main characters, with one or two exceptions are women from either house, with their own separate motivations and complex subplots. In addition to a female-centered cast, the two creators and co-writers, Alison Newman and Moira Buffini, are also take-charge ladies. An IndieWire article even went as far as to speculate that "Harlots"might just be one of the most feminist shows on television.
And in addition to that, they've been getting some pretty great reviews from viewers. Personally, I'm wildly obsessed with it, and regularly sing Mary Cooper's song loudly. But there are many more reputable sources that have some pretty interesting things to say. Rotten Tomatoes has given it a 97% fresh rating. IMDB has rated the show overall at 7.5, although most of its episodes get over an 8.5.
Hopefully we'll get to see much more of this show with another season. I, for one, have some questions (and some hopes) that – fingers crossed – can be answered next season.
