Harlots: Season 1

"What the series does best is make smaller characters from both brothels emerge as fully fledged people in short order. ... Where Harlots struggles more is in trying to balance this portrait of a grittier world with the show's penchant for wanting things a bit snappier and more modern."

"In spite of its flaws, Harlots is far more addictive and even thoughtful than I initially gave it credit for. It doesn’t shy away from its characters’ more morally horrifying choices, nor the devastating circumstances that led them there."

"Harlots is unsparing and sympathetic, able to find humor in its characters’ romps and compassion for the profession’s tragedies."

"There’s a hesitancy to confront the thicket of conflicting emotions that are being hinted at underneath the not-so-charmed life of the Wells girls and the women they work with (or against) but the origins and the precariousness of these feelings never quite explored with any daring or seriousness."

"Any potential discomfort one may have with the subject is soon overwhelmed by the spirited intelligence and sharp style with which this series is executed."

"The show’s largely played for dramedy and candy-colored history, all pastel set design and elaborate costumes that make everyone look like the Bride of Bowie Frankenstein. But the cheerful casualness defies a tough, battle-hardened heart."

"The first two episodes effectively set up the larger conflict that’s brewing, but they also revel in the colorful cast."