If season one of Hulu’s Harlots hooked us on the scandalous nature of 18th century London, season 2 turned us into ravenous addicts. The Mutineer and I watched season 2 in about two days, and they were the wildest two days of my life. I contemplated putting ten gifs of someone screaming to capture the essence of how I felt about the show, but I decided in the end to put my literature degree to use and give a thoughtful critique of the show’s social commentary, because, like I wrote last year, 18th century London is my jam.
harlots on hulu
The Collectress
The Mutineer & I binge-watched the entirety of Hulu’s Harlots last weekend. I mean, I knew I was going to enjoy it because 18th century London is my thing, but I didn’t know how friggin much I was going to become obsessed with it.
If this is the first time you’ve heard of Harlots, here’s a short synopsis: Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton) is the bawd of a brothel in Covent Garden, with her eye on a house in Greek Street so that she can get a higher class of clientele. Margaret’s former bawd, Mrs. Quigley, isn’t fond of her competition moving closer to her, and, well, have you ever seen Drop Dead Gorgeous? It’s viciously catty like that, but with a lot more sex and blood.
Here are three quick reasons why you should give the show a chance if you haven’t already.