If you have ever read the story of Oliver Twist (I haven’t, but want to!), you may be familiar with some of the characters here. This show takes place, I think in 1755, some 15 years after the events of the Oliver Twist story. Jack Dawkins (known as Dodger in the Oliver Twist story) has given up his thieving ways, went on to be a corpsman or something in the navy, and lastly ending up as a successful surgeon (one of three surgeons) in a small town on an island. He is quite content with life, hiding away from the English authorities until his old leader of his thieving ring, Norbert Fagin (also from Oliver Twist) tracks him down and tries to lure Dodger back into the life of crime.

But Fagin isn’t his only problem. He has two other problems to contend with- Lady Bella Fox, the governor’s daughter who is obsessed with everything medical and dreams of being one of the first female surgeons, who keeps coming around and bugging Dodger about his methods and his patients. He also falls in love with her. His third problem comes in the form of Captain Lucien Gaines- a sadist lawman who is obsessed with hanging criminals and cleaning up crime on the island. He also despises Dodger and looks for opportunities to hang Dodger.

This is a great comedy/drama series, with an amazing cast (Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Dodger, David Thewlis as Fagin, and Maia Mitchell as Lady Bella). The first season runs 8 episodes, and can be seen on Hulu. There are comedic moments that make you laugh, there are interesting moments where Dodger and Bella get creative with medical procedures (remember this is way before modern medicine/science), and yes, there are even some grisly moments (operations) that may make you wince. I heard recently that they have greenlit the show for a 2nd season, which makes me excited. I look forward to it when it comes out!