HBO has an exciting series debuting in April that does feature a number of British accents but doesn’t actually involve any dragons or Iron Throne. “Gentleman Jack” is a new series coming to the premium network that has its sights firmly set on telling a story of female empowerment in an era where that sort of thing seemed absolutely ridiculous.
“Gentleman Jack” follows landowner Anne Lister that isn’t your typical 19th-century British woman. She’s traded in her typical flowy dresses and elaborate hairstyle for something a bit more practical, as she attempts to transform her ancestral home, by reopening coal mines and marrying well. Albeit, the person she is most interested in pursuing for marriage is not a man. The series is said to be based on the real story of Anne Lister, decoded from her over 4 million words written in her diaries.
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The series is created, written and co-directed by Sally Wainwright and stars Suranne Jones, seen in the series “Doctor Foster” and “Vanity Fair,” alongside Sophie Rundle (“Bodyguard,” “Peaky Blinders”), Gemma Whelan (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”; “The Moorside”), Timothy West (“Last Tango in Halifax,” “Bleak House”), and Gemma Jones (“God’s Own Country,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary”).
“Gentleman Jack” premieres on HBO on April 22.
Here’s the synopsis:
Set in the complex, changing world of 1832 Halifax, West Yorkshire – the cradle of the evolving Industrial Revolution – GENTLEMAN JACK focuses on landowner Anne Lister, who is determined to transform the fate of her faded ancestral home, Shibden Hall, by reopening the coal mines and marrying well. The charismatic, single-minded, swashbuckling Lister – who dresses head-to-toe in black and charms her way into high society – has no intention of marrying a man.
The story examines Lister’s relationships with her family, servants, tenants and industrial rivals and, most importantly, would-be wife. Based in historical fact, the real-life Anne Lister’s story was recorded in the four million words of her diaries, and the most intimate details of her life, once hidden in a secret code, have been decoded and revealed for the series.