The Buccaneers review: Loyal ‘Bridgerton' fans need not worry, Apple TV's rival period drama is a total drag
Is it unfair to compare The Buccaneers to Bridgerton? Probably.
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Is it unfair to compare The Buccaneers to Bridgerton? Probably. Apple TV's extravagantly budgeted costume drama isn't quite as saucy – or as popular – as its flashy, globe-conquering counterpart.
The stories are different – so, too, is the tone (Bridgerton has, at least, some sense of humour). They are, of course, set at opposite ends of the 19th century, and fans of The Buccaneers might provide a long list of reasons as to why their tale triumphs over Netflix's.
Technically, it got there first: The Buccaneers (Apple TV+, season two streaming from Wednesday, June 18) takes its cue from an unfinished novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edith Wharton, published posthumously in 1938. So, you know, this thing has been around a hell of a lot longer than Lady Penelope and her pals.
This isn't even the first televised adaptation: a BBC version, starring Carla Gugino, Alison Elliott and Mira Sorvino, arrived in 1995 and wasn't all that well-received by Wharton enthusiasts.
Expansive and expensive, this shiny redo, developed by British comedian and writer Katherine Jakeways, fared better, and debuted to mild applause and lukewarm reviews in the winter of 2023.
Season one covered the important bits. Five American women, daughters of the nouveau riche, arrive in London looking for husbands, titles and trouble at the marriage market.
Stuffy onlookers cannot believe their eyes: what is the world coming to, with these fancy, feminist tourists and their pesky, progressive ideals? Haven't they heard of the British way of life? Did their parents not teach them to stay in their box and do as they were told?
A fun start, indeed, and there are some lovely ideas in the mix. It's the watery execution that's the problem.
It's become something of a bad habit for television makers to interrupt their lush, historical sagas with syrupy pop tunes from another era
Poorly written and badly acted, The Buccaneers combines shallow, contemporary melodrama with the sort of flimsy narrative nonsense one might find in a Chanel perfume ad.
All style and very little substance, it never really settles. It's too modern, too glossy, and the relentless anachronistic needle drops are a bit of a pain.
It's become something of a bad habit for television makers to interrupt their lush, historical sagas with syrupy pop tunes from another era, and The Buccaneers goes all-in on the frothy futuristic soundtrack.
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Season two begins where season one left off. Annabel 'Nan' St George (Kristine Froseth) has only gone and married a man she doesn't love. Beautiful Theo, Duke of Tintagel (Guy Remmers) is fine and all, and Nan will probably enjoy being a duchess. But her heart belongs to Guy Thwarte (Matthew Broome), a man who has since fled the country with Nan's sister, Jinny (Imogen Waterhouse) and her unborn child.
Why did Nan marry Theo and not Guy, and why did Guy run off with Nan's pregnant sister Jinny? Deep breath, everyone: Jinny's husband, Lord James Seadown (Barney Fishwick), is an abusive twit, and Jinny had originally planned to escape with Nan and Guy to South America.
The plan failed, and Nan had no choice but to improvise. The way she sees it, if Guy flees with Jinny and Nan stays with Theo, she can then use her duchess powers to protect her sister from James.
If that wasn't complicated enough, it appears Nan's biological mother (we'll keep her identity a secret) has decided to show up for the wedding. A surprise visit, indeed, and it does not go down well with Patti (Christina Hendricks), the woman who raised Nan as her own daughter.
Elsewhere, Conchita (Alisha Boe) and her husband Lord Richard (Josh Dylan), agree to help tutor a debutante-in-the-making (they need the money); Richard's mother, Lady Brightlingsea (Fenella Woolgar), moves in with her son; Guy tries not to sulk while raising someone else's kid, and various empty-headed acquaintances struggle with matters of the heart. The usual, then.
A tasty Apple TV+ budget won't fix a dreary teleplay or a lifeless performance
With a stronger cast and a wittier script, The Buccaneers could be something special. Historical romances never go out of fashion, and there will always be a place for fizzy, frivolous television shows about handsome lords and rebellious heroines causing controversy in Victorian-era London. But they need to make more of an effort.
A tasty Apple TV+ budget won't fix a dreary teleplay or a lifeless performance, and I'm afraid there are far too many of those on display here.
The Bridgerton team need not worry about this lot.
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The Irish Sun
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