Poldark

If you want a drama that takes its characters as seriously as its plot, Poldark is available in Australia on BritBox and ABC iview, and in the US on Netflix and PBS right now. 5 seasons in, and the quality has not slipped. Its 8/10 TMDB score, built from 323 ratings, reflects a title that consistently delivers. Aidan Turner sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. Start it on BritBox whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Poldark arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Character-driven storytelling at its most effective — Poldark earns every emotional beat it goes for. Britain is in the grip of a chilling recession... Falling wages, rising prices, civil unrest - only the bankers are smiling. It's 1783 and Ross Poldark returns from the American War of Independence to his beloved Cornwall to find his world in ruins: his father dead, the family mine long since closed, his house wrecked and his sweetheart pledged to marry his cousin. The performances from Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson give it more weight than the premise alone would suggest. It ran for 5 seasons (2015–2019), and the writing holds up across every one of them. Poldark resists tidy resolutions in a way that respects how messy real consequences actually are. The hit rate here is high enough that skipping ahead never feels like an option.

Drama fans who appreciate slow-burn storytelling will feel right at home with Poldark. North & South is the obvious comparison, but Poldark earns its own place alongside it. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single week. Aidan Turner carries the material with a performance that rewards close attention. Worth starting sooner rather than later.

Poldark wrapped up in 2019, created by Debbie Horsfield and Winston Graham — and 5 seasons are available to watch from start to finish. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.