Rags-to-Riches Period Drama 'The Hardacres' Arrives on Channel 5 This Fall

Can money buy you happiness? That’s the question at the heart of the new Channel 5 period drama The Hardacres, a rags-to-riches story from the producers of All Creatures Great and Small that is based on the bestselling series of novels by CL Skelton. Set in 1890s Yorkshire, the series follows the story of the titular Hardacres, an ordinary working-class family thrust into extraordinary circumstances. After an accident at the local fish docks leaves the Hardacres unemployed and on the brink of financial ruin, they embrace a radical new business idea that subsequently makes them rich beyond their wildest dreams.

Suddenly catapulted into the world of Yorkshire’s elite, the family must navigate not only the snobbery and unspoken rules of the British class system but also the existential personal questions that accompany such a rapid change in status. If the overall vibe of this series feels familiar, it may be because Skelton was a contemporary of All Creatures author James Herriott, whose stories share a similar thematic interest in class issues and the lives of everyday people.

Creators Amy Roberts (Call the Midwife) and Loren McLaughlin (Our Girl) describe The Hardacres as a “working-class Downton Abbey. “The pair told The Guardian that they chose to make the series because “more working-class people watch TV than any other demographic, but they don’t feel like they are represented on the screen.”