PBS is introducing the sweeping saga of the formidable Forsyte family to a new generation with its new limited series, The Forsytes, this time with a modern twist designed to feel more accessible. Based on John Galsworthy’s novels, the story follows three generations of an upper-middle-class British family, exploring wealth, obsession, and forbidden romance, with each adaptation reflecting its era. Warning: Spoilers for The Forsytes Episode 1 ahead.
In Episode 1, Anne Forsyte (Francesca Annis), the matriarch of the illustrious clan, narrates the story as viewers are introduced to the family at a wedding. Her grandson, the younger Jolyon (Danny Griffin), is set to marry Frances (Tuppence Middleton), a queen of high society. From the outset, it is clear that while the men run the business, the women run the family and often hold the real power behind the scenes.
Right off the bat, audiences are given a few key pieces of information from Anne: Jo had an “indiscretion in his past” that this marriage is meant to put behind him; his cousin Soames (Joshua Orpin) is not thrilled with his status as heir; and Soames and his father James (Jack Davenport) share the same views when it comes to marriage and children that they may not like it, but they understand its place in society.
Flash forward nearly a decade, and the family is flourishing. Frances’ daughter June (Justine Emma Moore) is about to make her debut in society, and in preparation, the pair seek out the best dressmaker in London: a widower named Louise who has a past with the Forsyte family. As June returns for fittings, she becomes fond of the dressmaker and her children, not knowing that she harbors a secret.
While the Forsytes busy themselves with boardrooms and dresses, a dancer named Irene (Millie Gibson) prepares to leave for Paris, much to the dismay of her stepmother, who finds her profession unbecoming. But during a walk in the park, her father suddenly falls ill, and of all people, it is Soames who comes to her rescue. He offers his services in helping with her estate after his father passes, only to realize that his shady business dealings cost Irene her financial independence, as well as her dreams of dancing in Paris.
But it is Frances who really shines, emerging as the power behind the throne. While Jo is a sensitive soul who loves his daughter and his family, he has the heart of an artist. Frances, meanwhile, is the strategist, the one pushing his father (Stephen Moyer) to trust him more with the firm and secure his place in society. She is brilliant and calculating, but never cold, fully aware of the rules of the world she moves in and determined to bend them to her advantage.
In this flashy new PBS version, the women step further into the spotlight and finally have something they were never fully afforded before: agency.
In previous adaptations, audiences meet Irene already in the depths of despair, with little sense of who she is beyond her suffering. Anne is more of a passive observer, lacking any real bite, while Frances is given little to no voice at all. As for Louisa, she was once just a footnote in Jo’s sordid past, but here she is reimagined (with a fresh, new backstory) as a fully realized, flesh-and-blood character.
In The Forsytes, the women are more fully drawn than in previous versions, with their desires, ambitions, and inner lives shaping the story just as much as the men around them.
“In the books, the male characters are drawn in quite a lot of detail,” showrunner Debbie Horsfield told TV Insider. “But the women are drawn with less detail, and one of the key things that attracted me was looking at some of the female characters in an era where, historically, women were beginning to see the possibility of having more agency over their lives.”
At the end of the episode, Louisa is called to the Forsyte house for a dress emergency, where she runs into Jo, and it is immediately clear they share a past. But what the past will mean for Jo, Frances, and the rest of the Forsytes is destined to unravel. Whatever it is, we are sure that the ladies have it handled.
The Forsytes, Sundays, 9/8c, PBS
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