![]() In fact, most of the conflict in the show derives from Margaret Wells longstanding feud with her former bawd, Lydia Quigley, played by British icon, Lesley Manville. It’s made clear that these women didn’t choose a life of sex work from the start. Their evolutions are at times careful, at times messy, and astounding to watch. Margaret Wells, played by powerhouse herself, Samantha Morton, Charlotte Wells, played by the new Sean Bean of death reels, Jessica Brown Findlay, and relative newcomer, Eloise Smyth as the increasingly astute youngest daughter, Lucy Wells, are a force in this show. The powerhouses at the center of the narrative is the Wells family. This is likely the reason for these characters being as dynamic as possible, as flawed and at times nasty as authentic human beings can be, and as truly badass as they possibly could be. Not to mention, the show was written, directed, and produced mainly by a female team, which is a rarity even in contemporary Hollywood. Harlots isn’t simply a period piece about prostitution, it’s more so a show about empowerment and cunning at the hands of women with all the societal and judicial odds against them. Rather than what we’ve grown accustomed to seeing on shows like The Deuce - that is, women being regularly preyed on, assaulted, abused, or killed by their pimps, their tricks, or both - Harlots explores the underworld of necessary sex work for the lower classes, and especially for lower class women, from a perspective that makes them the calculated protagonists of their stories. The show is set in the midst of the outrageous bawd culture of 18th century London, when women were at the helm of their own businesses and, as much as they could be, of their own bodies. And it’s not just because Jessica Brown Findlay and Liv Tyler’s characters have a tender affair borne out of the trauma they experienced at the hands of the men in their lives, in addition to some repressed sexuality, but that does factor in. Its third and final season premiered at the end of August, and I have to say that I’m still reeling. ![]() One show that recently had me screaming “women’s rights!” in a way that I wouldn’t typically on a Tuesday evening, but am internally every goddamn day, is Harlots. Not only do we love to see women, especially queer women, coming full-force to the forefront in this era of Time’s Up, but we also have to applaud and propel forward the female showrunners, creators, and directors who are finally coming out from behind the massive shadow of the white cis men who’ve been running the show for decades. All hail the golden era of television, when there are more roles than ever - and these roles being meaty, full of depth, and varying - for women.
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