'Nolly' Premiere: “What A Drag It Is, Getting Old”

Nolly, a three-part miniseries about the latter career of Noele Gordon, is one of those shows that has a lot going for it but doesn’t quite stick the landing. At least, not for a contemporary American audience. We know extremely British shows can become much-loved classics for American viewers, often by leaning as far into their idiosyncrasies as possible. There’s universality in specificity. Think Derry Girls: set in 1990s Derry, with the Troubles in full swing – the hyper-sonic accent, the very particular humor, and concerns so integral to that place and time – but  Lisa McGee’s voice and perspective are so idiosyncratic, everything in Derry Girls feels like it’s rooted in reality, so it’s easy to delight in their oddities because we relate to the universality of their lives as teens.

This is not a mark that Nolly hits consistently, and more’s the pity, because the world is ready (maybe even hungry) to revisit and re-assess the lives and contributions of women who committed unforgivable sins such as being opinionated and growing old. What puts Nolly on some wobbly footing early on and never lets it fully right itself is what got lost in translation from its production in Great Britain to its arrival here, namely, context.

It’s absolutely possible to create a lightly fictionalized biographical series for an audience that includes both viewers who have prior knowledge of the subject and those who’ve never heard of whoever the series is about. Nolly assumes its audience already knows about the fascinating, complex woman whose influence on daytime TV we continue to feel today. If you’re one of the many whose first introduction to Nolly Gordon is Nolly, drop everything and hop on over to my colleague Ani’s first-rate explainer about Gordon’s life and times. It’s a quick read and will furnish the context you need to enjoy the miniseries as a whole.