Brand new period drama The Hardacres coming to Channel 5

Channel 5 has announced brand new period drama The Hardacres.

Based on CL Skelton’s best-selling series of novels The Hardacre Saga, The Hardacres is a captivating rags-to-riches story that follows the fortunes of a working-class family in 1890s Yorkshire.

It is being produced by Playground, the creative minds behind the hit series All Creatures Great and Small.

What is The Hardacres about

The Hardacres is an epic family saga that chronicles the journey of the Hardacre family, from their humble beginnings on a grimy fish dock to their rise to a vast country estate. After an accident at the docks leaves them unemployed and destitute, Sam and Mary Hardacre, along with their three children Joe, Liza, and Harry, and Mary’s formidable mother, Ma, are determined to avoid the workhouse. In a bold move to escape their harsh existence on the North Yorkshire coast, the resilient Hardacres invest their last penny into a radical business venture that they hope will transform their lives.

Led by Lead Writers and Executive Producers Amy Roberts and Loren McLaughlan, along with a talented writing team including Emma Reeves and Liz Lake, The Hardacres promises to be a gutsy ensemble family drama filled with heart

The Hardacres will be filmed on location in Ireland.

Who’s on the cast?

The Hardacre family consists of Claire Cooper (The Continental, The Peripheral) and Liam McMahon (Hunger, The Secret, Warrior Nun) as loving married couple Mary and Sam Hardacre, who land on hard times following an accident at work on the docks, which leaves them unemployed and broke. Alongside, Julie Graham (Time, Ridley, Penance), starring as Mary’s wily mother, Ma, and their three kids, Joe, Liza, and Harry, played by Adam Little (Ackley Bridge, Coronation Street), newcomer Shannon Lavelle and Zak Ford-Williams (Better), the family band together to think fast with a business venture that will free them from their humble existence on the North Yorkshire Coast and catapult them into high society.

Also joining the series are Holly Sturton (The School for Good and Evil) as Adella, Cathy Belton (Miss Scarlet & The Duke,The Catch, Philomena) as Emma and Owen Roe (Michael Collins, Vikings, Penny Dreadful) as George, making up the well to do Fitzherbert Family and new neighbours of The Hardacres. Ingrid Craigie (Blood, Blackshore, You Are Not My Mother) is housekeeper Mrs Dryden, with Siobhan O’Kelly (The Tourist S2) as Lena and Taheen Modak (The Bay) as Saunders.

When does The Hardacres start on TV?

There’s no confirmed start date yet for The Hardacres but Channel 5 say it is slated for release in 2024.

Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Chief Content Officer, Paramount UK said: Playground have a stellar reputation for bringing wonderful stories to life on Channel 5 and we are sure that The Hardacres will continue that success. Our viewers will love being transported back to 1890s Yorkshire, for this gutsy, heartwarming tale following the family through stories of love, ambition and the quest for happiness.

David Stern, Executive Producer and Joint Managing Director of Playground added: “We’re thrilled to be further extending our fantastic partnership with Channel 5 to bring CL Skelton’s glorious novels to the screen. The Hardacres is a life affirming rags to riches story about a family overcoming all odds, but in their quest for financial success they rediscover that community, friendship and family are the most precious things in life. Amy and Loren have done a brilliant job adapting the novels into a television series filled with humour, poignancy and a timely spirit that will resonate greatly with today’s Channel 5 audience.”