- Network: PBS
- Series Premiere Date: Apr 30, 2023
Critic Reviews
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Tom Jones presents Fielding’s sprawling narrative in a modern way that’s funny and well-paced. The cast is stellar, but its the chemistry between its leads that will carry the limited series.
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Breezy and likable.
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Gwyneth Hughes' brisk four-part adaptation nestles snugly in the Masterpiece costume-drama comfort zone. [8 - 21 May 2023, p.6]
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It takes things at a relatively leisurely pace. Generally faithful to the material and made without stylistic overreach, it’s enjoyable in an earnest, laid-back sort of way and offers a less familiar period of period drama.
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This is a low-commitment and easy watch that should satiate period piece lovers with its subtle comedy, outlandish recurring characters and gorgeous handmade costumes. But make no mistake: While “Tom Jones” contains themes of identity, class and what it means to be a woman of the time, at its core this is just another situational romcom in britches.
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A far more gentle-bordering-on-bloodless treatment of the 1749 Henry Fielding novel. ... Ms. Wilde and Mr. McLeod are an attractive pair, ever sympathetic and beset by the characters around them, who are all very busy thwarting their romance—and providing what juice there is in this "Tom Jones." ... Hannah Waddingham, who as the physically epic and epically randy Lady Bellaston steals the entire series.
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While McLeod’s Tom proves less than worthy of both Sophia and his ability to lead, the rest of the series is a hoot, bouncing from one British great to the next in a comedy of errors different from those usually seen in period dramas.