Harlots (TV series)
| Harlots | |
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| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Based on | The Covent Garden Ladies by Hallie Rubenhold |
| Starring | |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Lawrence Till |
| Location(s) | London, England, Hertfordshire, England |
| Cinematography |
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| Running time | 44-46 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
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| Distributor | Hulu |
| Release | |
| Original network | Hulu, ITV Encore |
| Picture format | |
| Original release | 27 March 2017 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | www |
Harlots is a British period drama television series created by Alison Newman and Moira Buffini. The series premiered on 27 March 2017 on ITV Encore in the U.K. and on 29 March 2017 on Hulu in the U.S. The series focuses on Margaret Wells, who runs a brothel in 18th century England and struggles to raise her daughters in a chaotic household. The series is inspired by "The Covent Garden Ladies" by Hallie Rubenhold.
London in 1763 is booming, and one in five women makes a living selling sex. Women's opportunity for economic advancement is to marry well or be a prostitute. The city’s brothels are run by canny, cruel businesswomen such as Margaret Wells and Lydia Quigley. The prostitutes are reviewed in Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies, which some of the women are seen reading in the premiere episode.
But there is a new morality in the air as religious crusaders demand the closure of brothels, and the constables are only too happy to launch brutal raids.
Episodes revolve round Mrs Wells' determination to improve her life and fortune by moving her brothel to Greek Street in Soho and serve a better class of Georgian society. To finance the move, after receiving a £100 fine, she auctions off the virginity of her younger daughter, Lucy, as she had done before with her older daughter, Charlotte, when she was twelve years old. Charlotte is the lover of the besotted Sir George Howard, who wants her to sign a contract with him that makes him her "keeper."
Margaret's move to Greek Street puts her into conflict with Lydia Quigley, for whom she had previously worked as a prostitute. Lydia Quigley operates a high class brothel in Golden Square, serving rich highly influential people in the judiciary and police, and blackmails a religious reformer into opposing Margaret.
Harlots was commissioned for ITV by Controller of Drama Victoria Fea. Women served as writers, directors, and executive producers on the series. The production company Monumental Pictures was founded by two women, Alison Owen and Debra Hayward.
Dirty doorways, cramped whorehouses, sumptuous four-poster beds, and tastefully-decorated Soho parlours were created in one building: Langleybury Mansion, an empty country manor near Watford containing a balance of run-down parts and decorated parts to create the whole spectrum of Georgian sex work. It had previously been used as a location for the BBC series Great Expectations.
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