EP of new Hulu show says 'Harlots' were like 'the Kardashians of their day'
Rarely do depictions of prostitution in television overlap with feminism. In fact, according to most pop culture portrayals, prostitutes are anything but feminist. They are robotic sex machines in Westworld, desirable objects at whorehouses in Game of Thrones ... and the list goes on.
But Harlots, a new show launching on Hulu on Wednesday, challenges those preconceived notions of prostitution. The series, a British co-production with ITV, centers around two feuding brothels and the bustling sex trade in Georgian London. The show -- which has a team of almost entirely female producers, directors and writers -- focuses on the women of this era, looking outwards at their own world.
"They [the Harlots] wouldn't have known what the word feminism was," show co-creator and writer Moira Buffini said in an interview with Mashable. "But prostitution is the profession that's always been the frontline of gender politics. This is a show about economics as much as it is about sex work. It's the most socially mobile of all professions, which is something we found interesting, how easy it is for a girl with nothing to rise and how easy it is for her to fall back down again."
The opening words of the show hone in on that economy: “It’s 1763. London is booming, and one in five women makes a living selling sex.”
"Prostitutes and brothels are not a new subject," executive producer Alison Owen told reporters at the Television Critics Association presentation in January. "They've been a familiar trope of these media since time began. And we were very determined to make something very different. So rather than it being prurient and titillating, we had our rule from the beginning was ‘everything from the whore's eye view,' "So everything is looking out rather than looking in at these women."
Based on the stories of real women, Harlots follows fearless brothel leader Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton) and her daughters Charlotte (Jessica Brown-Findlay) and Lucy (Eloise Smyth). After her business comes under attack by Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville), a rival madam with a ruthless streak, Margaret has to fight back, no matter what the cost.
Buffini said the creators were primarily inspired by two books: Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies and Nocturnal Revels.
The first, which Buffini described as "London's guide to whoring," was written by patrons and pimps from 1757-1795. It describes the physical attributes and sexual proclivities of working prostitutes in London’s Covent Garden area.
Nocturnal Revels, Buffini said, basically described the "sleaze and erotica from the whore houses of the day."
In putting together a team to write the show, Buffini said it was important for her to have as many women behind the scenes as possible.
"I think certainly [the show] tries to be never judgmental or moralistic," Owen said at TCA. " It's not saying these women need to be rescued. It's not saying these women need to be condemned. It's just saying these women ‑‑"
"Are doing a job," added executive producer Debra Hayword.
"It's not even saying they need to be celebrated, but they need to be celebrated as human beings and as women, not as prostitutes," Owen said. "And the harlots actually had a lot of fun ... They were the Kardashians of their day."
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Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
