'The Hardacres' Season 1 Finally Crosses the Pond to Debut on BritBox

CL Skelton's two novel opus, The Hardacres Saga, is one of those novels that you could have sworn someone made a period drama adaptation of already, but you would be wrong. That's partly due to an accident of timing; the original novel debuted in 1976, and the sequel, Hardacre's Luck, in 1984, making them far too recent for Masterpiece Theater to consider co-producing with the BBC, but too expensive to be made solo. By the time budgets began expanding enough for the novels to be done properly, the once-popular duology had fallen out of recent memory. 

(Until the "Theater" part of the title was dropped, there was a strict rule that novel adaptations had to be of works at least 25 years old for Masterpiece to consider them, which is also why the original All Creatures Great & Small was not aired under the Masterpiece banner in the 1980s.)

It was the success of All Creatures as a co-production between Channel 5 and Masterpiece that brought The Hardacres around again as a sensible follow-up series for cozy viewing. We here at Telly Visions have been frankly puzzled as to why Masterpiece has not been all over the series, considering CEO Suzanne Simpson has noted the lack of old-school style period dramas coming from the U.K. as a reason for there being fewer of them on PBS. However, rescission occurred, and now The Hardacres have a home... on BritBox.

Here's BritBox's synopsis:

The Hardacres chronicles the sweeping rags-to-riches story of a working-class family in 1890s Yorkshire. A sprawling family saga, the series follows the lives, loves, and fortunes of the Hardacre family as they move from a grimy fish dock to a vast country estate. When an accident at work on the docks lands Sam and Mary Hardacre  – along with their three kids, Joe, Liza, and Harry, and Mary’s inimitable mother Ma – unemployed and destitute, they have to think fast. 

In a bid to avoid the workhouse, the driven and determined Hardacres put their last penny into a radical business venture they hope will free them from their harsh existence on the quays of the North Yorkshire coast. A bold, gutsy ensemble family drama full of heart, The Hardacres places an ordinary family in an extraordinary position and explores the age-old question: Can money ever buy true happiness?

The core cast of characters stars Liam McMahon (Joan) as Sam Hardacre; Claire Cooper (Scott & Bailey) as his wife Mary; Adam Little (Years & Years), Shannon Lavelle (Riot Women), and Zak Ford-Williams (Better), as kids Joe, Liza, and Harry, respectively; and Julie Graham (Shetland) as Ma Hardacre.

The rest of the ensemble also includes Holly Sturton (Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale), Cathy Belton (Miss Scarlet), Owen Roe (Vikings), Ingrid Craigie (The Madame Blanc Mysteries), Siobhan O'Kelly (Bad Sisters), Sarah Agha (Layla), Taheen Modak (The Bay), and Mark Doherty (Small Town, Big Story). Supporting cast includes Conor Deane (Sherwood), Connor Byrne (Outlander), Jack Weise (Murder Most Puzzling), David O'Reilly (The Tower), Paula Wolfenden (Coronation Street), and newcomer Ella Maria Carmen.

Creators Amy Roberts (Call the Midwife) and Loren McLaughlin (Our Girl) are lead writers, joined by Emma Reeves and Liz Lake, who will pen episodes three and four, respectively. Rachel Carey (Deadly Cuts) is the lead director, splitting helming duties on the six episodes with Kieron J. Walsh. The series is produced by Playground (Wolf Hall) in association with Screen Ireland, Red Berry Productions, and Newgrange Pictures. 

The Hardacres Season 1 will premiere with two episodes on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, with one episode a week to follow on Wednesdays through mid-October. Season 2 is already in production.