The Hardacres Season 1 (2024)

Review

The Hardacres is a 2024 period drama series from Playground Entertainment and it follows the fortunes of the Hardacre family, a working class family from Yorkshire, who swap their lives on the fish docks for a grand manor in the 1890s. The family consists of Sam, his wife, Mary, and their three children, Joe, Liza and Harry who is disabled. They are joined by Mary’s mother, Ma, who is a former smuggler and tough as nails.

The series was filmed in Ireland and was first broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK on 7 October 2024 to mixed reviews, however it is enjoyable if undemanding viewing with a likeable cast. Although the series is inspired by the book series by C L Skelton, the dynamics are very different as the writers wanted to make the family an ensemble affair. That meant bringing Sam and Mary to the forefront and aging up their sons, while also bringing in the characters of Liza and Ma. The Hardacres are soon mixing with the local gentry who are horrified by their lack of etiquette but the Hardacres continue to do things their own way.

The first episode is a quick gallop through the misfortunes of the family when an injury to Sam’s hand threatens their livelihood and some quick thinking from Mary sees them establish their first business. Before long the Hardacres are rolling in cash thanks to some shrewd investments and they are moving up in society. It all happens a bit fast but the writers were obviously more keen on exploring their lives once they became rich. The family move into a brand new house but there are reminders everywhere that they were not born to this life. Sam quickly gets bored with the indolent life of a gentleman and Mary has no clue how to run such a large household. While most of the servants are willing to be flexible, Mrs. Dryden cannot hide her disdain and Ingrid Craigie is delightfully snooty.

The Hardacres host their first dinner when they invite their neighbours, Lord George and Lady Emma Fitzherbert, to dinner but it is a disaster as Mrs. Dryden has refused to help Mary plan the menu and the plain Yorkshire food on offer is not to the taste of the snobby Lady Emma. Mary is also anxious they all make a good impression but Liza and Ma don’t see the point in pretending to be anything they’re not. On the other hand, Joe seems taken with Adella Fitzherbert and wastes no time chatting her up despite the fact he is also seeing Betsy Temple from the docks. The dinner is further spoiled when Sam announces he has bought out his former employer without discussing it with Mary.

As the new Hardacre & Son sign goes up at the docks, Sam reassures the workers that things will improve now that Fred and Joe are in charge. Joe is determined to do a good job but he really is an obnoxious brat and his jealousy of Fred leads him to making an unwise decision that will have serious consequences. Joe takes money out of the safe and plants it in Fred’s desk where it is later discovered by Saunders. When Saunders tells Sam what has happened, they confront Fred who quits his job in disgust that Sam would believe he was capable of such a thing. Joe continues to flounder and gets on the wrong side of more than one of the workers who were his former friends.

After the disastrous dinner, Mary has another go at hosting a society event when Lady Emma talks her into throwing a charity gala tea for the Duchess of Harrogate since the Fitzherberts have no money to host it themselves. When the duchess (Rosaleen Linehan) arrives, Ma’s dog runs amok in the kitchen and all the fancy cakes are destroyed. With no food to serve the guests, Mary has to improvise with fried herring which scandalises Lady Emma, however she soon changes her tune when the duchess professes she loves it. The duchess announces the gala has been a great success and the other ladies fall over themselves to invite Mary to become part of their fundraising circle. It seems Mary is very adept at turning a negative into a positive and she is the real driving force in the family.

After her success with the gala, the society ladies invite Mary on a charitable visit to the workhouse in Leeds but it brings back painful memories for her as she and her mother were once inmates there. This is the best episode of the series as it delves into Mary’s traumatic past as she tries to come to terms with the fact her mother ended up abandoning her. However, it is evident that Ma has her own traumatic memories of that time although she hides the pain behind her tough exterior. When Mary confronts her mother, Ma tells her she had no choice about leaving Mary there as she could not afford to feed her. While the pair reconcile, it is obvious that things are still not resolved between them and there is room for this to be picked up again.

Meanwhile, Liza is irritated by her inability to act like a lady so she asks Adella for help. After spending the day with Liza, Adella learns her mother is planning a soirée with Lord Hugo, Adella’s prospective suitor, as the honoured guest. Realising her mother has not invited the Hardacres, the scheming Adella sends them an invitation anyway and spends most of the evening flirting with Joe to annoy her mother. When Joe challenges Lord Hugo to a fight, Mary is mortified when Lady Emma orders her to keep her son away from Adella. Joe tells Adella she doesn’t have to marry Lord Hugo as he has money but Adella tells him he does not have any class. Although Adella behaves appallingly, it is easy to forgive her as the girl is being railroaded into a loveless marriage with Lord Hugo to save the family finances.

After the fallout from the soirée, Mary is shunned by the society ladies who keep saying they are unwell when she invites them to tea. At breakfast, Joe is upset when he reads the announcement of Adella’s engagement to Lord Hugo in the newspaper but his father warns him not to lead on Betsy if he truly cares about Adella. Sam’s warnings are too late as Joe has already slept with the girl on the rebound from Adella. However, Joe finally finds his backbone and confesses to having set up Fred and Sam is sorely disappointed. Sam is also caught between two worlds when the workers threaten to strike after he has to go back on some promises he made to them and he is desperate to find a solution that is fair to everyone. It seems living in society has brought a new set of problems for Sam and Mary as they try to cling on to their old friendships while trying to move on.

In the final episode, Joe’s dalliance with Betsy proves to have consequences as she reveals she is pregnant and his parents order him to marry the girl. Joe is torn between doing the right thing by Betsy and his feelings for Adella who wants him to run away with her. As the wedding preparations get underway, Mrs. Dryden proves to be a surprising source of comfort for Betsy and it is nice to see a different side to the woman. Joe dithers about his decision right up to the end of the episode when he finally marries Betsy. However, the real applause goes to Lord George as he finally stands up to his wife and supports Adella’s decision not to marry Lord Hugo after Adella has an emotional breakdown during her wedding gown fitting. It seems Lord George would rather face social ruin than have Adella endure a life of misery like he has and tells his wife there will be no wedding.