The Buccaneers, based on the unfinished and posthumously published novel by Edith Wharton, invites us into the sumptuous world of young American, Nan St. George, and her fun-loving friends as they explode onto the traditional London society scene of the 1870s.
The Apple TV Plus series is perfect for Bridgerton fans who are patiently waiting for Bridgerton season 3 to arrive on our screens, but despite being set in a not-too-dissimilar time, The Buccaneers has a much cheekier feel to it.
Episode one sees five young American women, Nan St. George (Kristine Frøseth), Jinny St. George (Imogen Waterhouse), Conchita Closson (Alisha Boe), Lizzy Elmsworth (Aubri Ibrag) and Mabel Elmsworth (Josie Totah) all explode onto the traditional London scene of the 1870s. The series opens in New York on the day of American wild child Conchita's wedding to English Lord Richard Marable, (played by Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again star, Josh Dylan).
As the house is a flurry of activity as everyone gets ready for the wedding of the year, the ceremony is just minutes away, with all the guests starting to arrive. However, bride Conchita is panicking that her groom hasn't arrived and it is revealed that she is in the early stages of pregnancy, but that her husband-to-be doesn't know yet.
Thankfully, Richard arrives, and after having some doubts about what his stuffy English parents (played by Anthony Calf and Call the Midwife's Fenella Woolgar) make of him getting married to a wild American, Conchita's best friend, Nan, talks him into going through with the wedding, reminding him that he and Conchita are madly in love.
The lavish wedding goes without a hitch, and soon everyone is dancing and enjoying the party. However, when Nan's mother Mrs St. George (Christina Hendricks) tries to get her daughters invited to a society party, she is left red-faced when she fails to get an invite because of her 'new' money.
But soon Mrs St. George's day perks up when Richard invites Nan and all of Conchita's bridesmaids to England for the debutant's ball, and soon the gang are on their way across the Atlantic.
Soon Mrs St. George arrives in London with her vivacious girls to introduce them to aristocratic English society, but while Conchita is thrilled to see her friends, having clearly missed them, the English aren't quite sure what to make of the 'Buccaneers' and soon a huge Anglo-American culture clash kicks off.
Conchita, who is now heavily pregnant, reveals that England is no fun and that even Richard isn't the same here, and it is clear the pair aren't getting the best start to married life, despite the fact they both agree they still love one another.
As everyone gets ready for the debutants' ball, Jinny is excited to meet all the rich English men, and can't wait to find her future husband, but Nan disagrees and thinks all the debutants are being treated like cattle and should be judged on their personalities rather than their looks.
As Nan stands up to a stuffy old English man who is describing women as objects, she catches the eye of Theo, the Duke of Tintagel (Guy Remmers) who smiles at her feistiness. But it is the mysterious Guy Thwarte (Matthew Broome) who Nan gets talking to, only for him to dash off when he says his mother is dying and he needs to be with her.
Handsome Duke Theo gets angry with his mother, who is trying to matchmake him, claiming he is fed up with women only being after him for his title. but while he broods about his (not so) unfortunate life, Nan is falling out with her older sister, Jinny, who is fed up with her sister stealing her thunder after she bumps into mysterious Guy again at another party and the pair flirt.
But just as it seems Nan and Guy could become the next love story, jealous Jinny drops the family bombshell that Mrs. St. George isn't actually Nan's mother and that they are in fact only half-sister because Nan is a result of their father's infidelity.
Nan is speechless over her sister's revelations, unsure whether to believe her or not. But before she can confront their mother, she is sent to Cornwall with their governess to keep her out of mischief while Jinny finds herself a suitable husband.
However, it doesn't look like Nan is going to be kept out of trouble at all, because she has inadvertently found herself staying just yards down the road from Lord Theo, and soon the pair bump into one another on the beach, having no idea they have met before, not recognizing each other without all their finery on.
As Nan admires Theo's paintings which he has set up on an easel on the beach, she has no idea he is a Lord and it is clear he is taken with her, not only because she is intelligent and interesting, but also because she has absolutely no idea who he is.
But while it seems there is a romance blossoming, Nan is also in trouble, because it is revealed at the end of the episode that mysterious Guy isn't as nice as he first made out and that he and his father have been left penniless since his mother's death. But they have a plan... Guy can marry Nan so they can get their hands on her family's new money... but will Nan fall for his nice-guy act?
The Buccaneers is an eight-part series that launched worldwide on Apple TV Plus on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, with the first three episodes. New episodes will then air weekly, running every Wednesday through to December 13 2023.
