Dope Girls

Strong performances and an interesting story drive Dope Girls. The first episode was well-paced and explained the main characters’ situations well enough to make us want to watch the rest of the story.

At least it’s trying something different. This era is usually represented on screen with young men going to war and their women waiting to welcome them home, all clipped accents and quiet anguish. Dope Girls has the nerve to say there are more interesting female stories to tell.

The atmosphere is less Steven Knight, more Sarah Waters meets Angela Carter: left-field, dreamlike, female-centric, wild. Dope Girls can be overblown and messy, but it’s also passionate and promising.

Visually, there’s mild trippiness instead of the flat-out derangement demanded by the subject matter. Eventually, the show feels like a lavish curiosity; fun, but with an undertone of missed opportunity. Ultimately, it lacks drama.

Its ambition is entertaining, and it is hard to get bored, especially when the crime really gets going. If it is skewed towards a younger audience, then it certainly doesn’t skimp on the brutality or the gore.