REVIEW: Hulu’s Hits The Mark with ‘The Artful Dodger’
Hulu’s new series, The Artful Dodger sees what happened after Jack Dawkins, aka The Artful Dodger has left Fagin and his life of crime behind and become a surgeon in the colony of Port Victory, Australia. Based on the character from Charles Dickins’ Oliver Twist, the new Hulu series finds Jack (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) has traded in his life as a quick fingered pickpocket and is now using his skills to perform surgery on those in need. Trying to create a new life for himself, Jack is thrown back into time when his old boss, Fagin (David Thewlis) shows up and tries to upend everything Jack has worked for. However, that might not be the biggest problem Jack faces when the Governor’s daughter, Lady Belle (Maia Mitchell) thrusts herself into his life. Determined to become the colony’s first female surgeon, Lady Belle and Jack may just find it hard to keep their relationship purely professional.
Creators James McNamara, David Maher and David Taylor have a winner with this Oliver Twist spin-off series. Extremely engaging, and told at a breakneck speed, the trio has created a fun period piece with a modern twist. Having only watched the first four episodes of the series, there is no filler episode to be found. Each episode continues the overall story, while also introducing interesting secondary storylines that don’t distract from the main one. Each secondary storyline is introduced to help the audience better understand who Jack is, and the obstacles he is facing throughout the series.
Writers on the series, McNamara, Andrew Knight, Vivienne Walshe and Dan Knight don’t shy away from the 1850s stereotypes when it comes to gender, social class, and race, but instead embrace it. The writers then turn these stereotypes on their head by creating witty dialogue that calls out the absurdity. This is especially noticeable in scenes between Mitchell’s headstrong Belle and her prim and proper sister, Lady Fanny (Lucy-Rose Leonard).
When it comes to the casting, the creative hit their mark with this one. Brodie-Sangster and Mitchell are the clear standouts in the series. Their chemistry is off the charts, and their scenes were some of my favorites. Brodie-Sangster is extremely charismatic as the quick and ever charming Dawkins while Mitchell is a force to be reckoned with as Belle. Thewlis does well as the crafty Fagin. He and Brodie-Sangster play well off each other. Easily creating the father/son bond that is needed to pull off the relationship between these two characters.
If you are looking for a fun new series to check out this Holiday season, I highly recommend this one. You don’t have to know a lick about Charles Dickins nor Oliver Twist to watch the eight-part series, so make sure to check it out. It’s probably one of the best shows to be released by the streaming platform this year. Here’s hoping a second season is in order now that the full season has been released.
Grade: A
Photo credit: John Platt/Hulu