From the production team behind All Creatures Great and Small, comes a new six-part period drama for Channel 5 based on CL Skelton’s best-selling series of novels ‘The Hardacre Saga’.
The Hardacres chronicles the sweeping rags to riches story of a working class family in 1890s Yorkshire. A sprawling family saga, the series follows the lives, loves and fortunes of the Hardacre family as they move from a grimy fish dock to a vast country estate.
Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Chief Content Officer, Paramount UK:
“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.”
When an accident at work on the docks lands Sam and Mary Hardacre – along with their three kids Joe, Liza and Harry, and Mary’s inimitable mother Ma – unemployed and destitute, they have to think fast. In a bid to avoid the workhouse, the driven and determined Hardacres put their last penny into a radical business venture they hope will free them from their harsh existence on the quays of the North Yorkshire coast.
A bold, gutsy ensemble family drama full of heart, The Hardacres places an ordinary family in an extraordinary position and explores the age-old question – can money ever buy true happiness? Created for television by Amy Roberts and Loren McLaughlan.
The series is produced by Playground in association with Screen Ireland, Red Berry Productions, and Newgrange Pictures. The Hardacres will be filmed on location in Ireland later this year and casting will be announced in the coming weeks Channel 5 note.
David Stern, Executive Producer and Joint Managing Director of Playground:
“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.”
