Critic Reviews

It is a masterpiece. A gleeful, radical shake-up of period drama that repositions history, sexuality and class with the wink of an eye and poke of a cane.

The scenes between Gentleman Jack's two leading women are where the show continues to be its most compelling, as well as what gives the season its biggest emotional weight.

[A] smashing tale alive with heart and wit.

It’s one of the most engaging dramas to come along so far this year.

Not everything about the series works ... But certainly watch Gentleman Jack. Watch it for an interesting depiction of 19th-century Yorkshire society ... Watch it for Jones’ forceful, vivacious, smart-as-hell portrayal.

It’s like we the viewers are Anne Walker to Gentleman Jack’s Anne Lister—it knows we are prone to anxiety and melancholy, and therefore handles us lovingly and carefully, only providing what we can take on. And like Walker, it’s hard—even when faced with faults—not to fall in love.

There is an unexpected playfulness to the series, due not only to Lister's sardonic wit but Wainwright's own cheekiness and willing to experiment.

[A] jaunty, funny, smart and touching story.

The actors ... are really left to infuse the interactions with their own energy and inflections, leading to really outstanding and engrossing results.

A rollicking eight-episode series ... Jones’s performance is a marvel, exuding vitality, charisma and sexual confidence. But she also brings Anne an empathy, humanity and glimpses of vulnerability.