‘Ten Pound Poms’ reviews round-up: ’50s drama is ‘sun-soaked schmaltz’ with ‘bite’
Ten Pound Poms premiered in the UK last night and the first reviews are in!
Starring Michelle Keegan (Our Girl), Faye Marsay (Game of Thrones) and Warren Brown (Luther), BBC One’s new six-part drama follows a group of Brits as they depart post-war Britain in 1956 for a life-altering adventure on the other side of the world.
Watch the trailer here:
“For only a tenner, they have been promised a better house, better job prospects and a better quality of life by the sea in sun-soaked Australia,” the official synopsis reads.
“But life down under isn’t exactly the idyllic dream the new arrivals have been promised. Struggling with their new identity as immigrants, we follow their triumphs and pitfalls as they adapt to a new life in a new country, far from Britain and familiarity.”
Ten Pound Poms is airing on Sunday nights on BBC One in the UK, and all six episodes are already streaming on BBC iPlayer.
The series premieres in Australia today on Stan as an Original Series.
We’ve rounded up a spoiler-free selection of reviews to help you decide if you’d like to watch the series:
“Brocklehurst has worked on a number of compulsively watchable British shows, from Shameless to The Stranger, and Ten Pound Poms is no exception…
“Lightweight, superficial, and a missed opportunity to interrogate our modern immigration concerns, Ten Pound Poms is, all the same, a burst of sun-soaked schmaltz.” ★★★ – The Independent
“A series based on a significant yet little chronicled chapter in Anglo-Australian history sounds like an illuminating watch, but the show is let down by hokey production, overwrought storytelling and under-developed characters.” ★★ – Financial Times
“This is not quite the Sunday night period drama that you might expect… It has a bit more bite than that.
“It doesn’t sugarcoat the nastier side of the experience, but it does allow the idealism to peek through. It has been a bit BBC One-ed, in the sense that it takes wide aim at the “issues” then tackles them with broad brushstrokes, but this is enjoyable enough, nicely compelling, and a real education for those not familiar with the Ten Pound Poms story.” ★★★ – The Guardian
“Eye-opening but ultimately unconvincing…” ★★ – Evening Standard
“It’s a solidly enjoyable Sunday night drama, albeit one that feels slightly lacking. It doesn’t have the emotional pull of something like Call the Midwife, and it can feel underwritten in places… Still, it’s an interesting period of history.” ★★★★ – The Telegraph
“A character-led period drama that’s intriguing, yet crowded … Is it a joy to watch something that doesn’t revolve around police stations and crime fighting? Most definitely.
“But when a series like this is blending rich characterisation, fiction, real life history and topical themes, sometimes a focus on a select few rather than a host of multiple over-lapping stories is for the best.” ★★★ – Radio Times
There are no confirmed details of a US broadcaster just yet, but we’ll let you know when it’s announced.
Ten Pound Poms: A Life History of British Post-war Emigration to Australia is available on Amazon.