This show, much like Gurinder Chadha's films, are extremely accurate at portraying a story which is authentic to Indian people as well as entertaining. Somebody who just consumes British TV would not understand the depths of this show - there are famous bollywood actors in this and the dialogue is particularly sarcastic and you can't help but want to watch the next episode to see what happens. It is a DRAMA, with mystery and particularly caters to an asian audience as it shows the clashes in culture.
Add a Review
-
yomo3601 July 2019I'm a fan of the British period dramas and so far I am enjoying this one. I'm interested to see the characters develop and the storyline address the mysteriousness of the Beecham House. I am a fan of Gurinder Chadha's Bend it like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice so perhaps that's one the reasons I'm enjoying this show.
-
Rosie5116 July 2019I've watched this till episode six, not sure how historically accurate it is but I found the characters believable and the acting is certainly as good as any I've seen on television recently so I'm surprised at the bad reviews as the story is more interesting as the series continues, so perseverance pays off
-
I adore the sets and filming, the cast is good, the plot is spot on so why cram this into a conveyor-belt soap opera and shoe-horn it into 6 episodes?? It has all the ingredients but is farcical in the situations it covers in each episode. I guess this is typical grab the audience within a period of short space of time or face having the next series cut! Sad that business comes before art, as this is fine art reduced to a comical parody. So disappointed!
-
beccapost6 March 2020Thoroughly enjoyable, a glimpse into a time/era leading to eng/indi imperialism that does not become enmeshed in the politics but stays true to its character's experiences...want a season 2!
-
snippitygirl26 June 2019I am shocked at all the negative reviews. I loved the show, however I am a big period drama lover and quite enjoy the quirks of English period drama. I did not find the characters dull in the least and will definitely continue watching. I'm very excited there is a period drama series to watch again as they are few and far between these days.
-
aphunt-527573 April 2020I really enjoyed it. Fantastic filming locations & fast paced dramatic action. The final episode of series one left the storyline on a knife edge so hopefully there will be a series 2
-
krivleva-iva29 July 2019I love it!!! It can not end like this. We need more. Pleeeeese!!!!!!
-
Swithin8 September 2020Despite what the reviews and friends have said, I recorded Beecham House and watched all six episodes as part of a pandemic marathon. I liked it -- sort of! Up to a point, that is. It was way too soap-operish. The lead was a bit too brooding -- almost like Tom Hardy in Taboo without the supernatural elements. We could have also done without the brother's romance. The mother, played by Lesley Nicol, is way too annoyingly cliched a character. However, as a whole, the series is engaging, beautiful to look at, and intriguing, at least up until what is the worst ending of any series, ever! It should have ended with the kiss at the Taj Mahal; however, the creators evidently assumed that there would be a second series and tacked a cliff-hanger onto the very end, which is awful, and destroys all that has gone before. There ain't going to be a second series, so we are left with a bad feeling about the whole enterprise. It's a shame because it could have been a contender for one of the great, imaginative series, with a different approach on the Raj theme.
-
Synik27 July 2019I love India and I really wanted to lose myself in this show. The settings and costumes are beyond gorgeous, but that is where the magic stops. I am going to blame the direction and production for messing this up, because every single one of the actors are so stilted and unnatural in their line delivery that it can't be ALL of their faults. There are some quite good actors here, but they totally wasted in this production. And between the characters, the story arcs, and the dialogue, they have managed to hit on every cliche possible. Not to mention the pacing, which creeps along at the pace of a glacier. It's a real pity that such an obviously expensive project is so full and lifeless.
-
karunaraina21 July 2019I have absolutely loved Beecham House from the first episode. The costumes, sets, actors, the storyline. I can't wait for the next episode and tonight is the finally. To the person who criticised, the British in India, I agree there were a lot of bad British people, but there were some good ones. Indians are not all saints either. My late mother was treated very kindly by an English doctor, back in India, when everyone turned their backs on her. This kind man treated her for free and saved her life, and charged her no money, treated her like a daughter. There are good and bad people in every race!!!
-
bud2mac_032 August 2020As others have said ,great cinematography, costumes .First three episodes were interesting but starting with episode 4 takes a turn and starts going downhill. Storyline turns "hokey" and acting is somewhat wooden, except for mother character who is very god. All in all it's worth watching .
-
sharonanneverrall17 June 2020In costume. With staff. And a beautiful mansion. And I don't care who gets him.
-
jussit-289584 February 2020Just like someone here already wrote, it's just a bit of fun. Exotic escapism (obviously for someone who doesn't live in India!). At first I thought that it was horrible, but once I got over it and didn't have any big expectations for it, I realized that it was decent harmless entertainment. It's very predictable and obviously super easy to follow, just like one could expect after five minutes of watching.
I'm not big into TV-series like this though. Maybe I was spoiled growing up with some truely classic TV-series like Hercule Poirot, but for me personally many of the new TV-series are very bad. Compared to something like the new Sanditon, Beecham House doesn't even seem to take itself seriously. -
r_hewitt8 July 2019Within the first minutes a rifle becomes a hand gun. Hope the rest of the series is better.
-
LiveLoveLead26 July 2020This soap opera set in India 1975 had beautiful sets, colorful costumes, and vivid cinematography but the poor script and stilted acting left much to be desired. The pacing was somewhat awkward and the way they tried to build up some mysterious secret was more frustrating than intriguing. Most of the characters are unlikeable in the first episodes but do start to develop and grow on you later. Although predictable and cliche, this soap gets a tiny bit better as it goes, and I stuck with it to see how it would end... which by the way is a cliffhanger to make you want to come back for next season...but, In My Humble Opinion, I just don't know if it will be strong enough to warrant a second season, so watch at your own risk. Edit: no second season for this show so watch up until the Taj Mahal scene in the 6th episode for a tidy ending, anything past there will leave an unresolved cliffhanger.
-
sfgiantsjen14 May 2020Beecham House delivers a uniquely original period drama, in a word full of reboots, predictability, and post-apocalyptic doom. The set decoration and costumes bring the colorful wonders of India to life, while the story itself gave this American a bit of a history lesson. Thoroughly enjoyed the entire season and hope it gets picked up for another run. It would be a shame to see another wonderful show meet an early end.
-
Sanjay3328 September 2019A serial with good direction and good performance by actors...keeps your interest alive throughout. Watch if you like period dramas shooting in palaces w and exotic locales. I enjoyed watching it.
-
Take it on face value, it's a bit of exotic escapism, full of color, gold, silks, opium, elephants, music, beautiful people, what more could you possibly want?
-
KathleenK2222 July 2019It is not bad. Just don't expect an exciting Indian adventure series. The acting is fine; the scenery and costumes are good and appropriate; writing could have a bit more drama added. It will appeal to some viewers and disappoint others. It is definitely watchable especially if you do not expect something riveting. There is romance, beauty and plenty of colour. There will be a second series as foretold by the ending of series one. It is not a 1 or a 2 but neither is it 9 or 10 rateable. The male lead is handsome and there are beautiful women so some eye candy for all. Enjoy or not depending on your expectations!
-
celtigra23 July 2019I watched all six episodes. The scenery was magnificent, the costumes were glorious. Everything was clean and sparkling. The cast had some good actors, but even they could not breathe life into this melodrama. I think the scriptwriters should be hauled over the coals. They evidently came from the Barbara Cartland school of writing. Cliches abounded thick and fast. I did stick it out to the end only to see if it was going to get any better. It got worse. The two young English ladies in the series were purported to be in their early 20s. I don't know what they did to them make up wise, but they looked 40! The highlight for me was the baby August. He managed to keep smiling through the whole debacle.
-
queenvickyv27 June 2019Ignore all the negative reviews! It's fantastic. It's fiction and romance/adventure so it's not meant to be taken literally.
-
lgnelson-129 June 202010 stars for the very important concept and story and for its exceptional production values, less 3 stars for unrealized plot and character development potential, upon which a successor production company, in partnership with the series creators, could actualize.
Sets, costumes, and vistas are gorgeous. The story is most worthy of continuation, and its perspective feels unique.
Both plot and character development unfold too slowly for 2020 audiences. Transitional scenes that explain little about character or plot chew up too much airtime lingering over comings/goings that are more efficiently. creatively, and strategically handled in current period dramas (for example Downton). The result is that both plots and characters feel too simplistic and therefore antiquated, as if a production from, say, 1984.
By its end, each episode was like a luscious glimpse of well-executed visual art, instead of a satisfying serving of story and characters.
It wasn't renewed for Series 2, possibly for reasons including the above weaknesses.
The story is MOST worthy of a resurrection into Series 2 by another production source. If the program's strengths could be matched by a faster pace of enriched character and plot developments, Beecham House might earn the larger fan base loyalty that the story's very important history and location so richly deserves.
Netflix, Hulu, & Amazon have invested richly in far less interesting & far less worthy material. Beecham House Series 2 would be a great project for any one of them.
PLEASE find Beecham House a new home for Series 2+++!!!!!! -
nmic-6-65515621 July 2019One of the worst things I've watched for a long time. Straight out of the 1950's, the acting is appalling, the lines stilted and the storyline corny. I have little knowledge of Indian historical costume in the late C18, but the European costumes are abysmal: shirts open to the navel, silly hats (well a tricorn is also a silly hat, but at least authentic)... No Indian would have respected a European dressed rather like a hippy, or one who chopped down undergrowth in his bare torso when he had myriads of servants to do the task. I'll continue watching however, because I get a sort of masochistic enjoyment from watching awful films, and this one promises to fulfil all my expectations.
-
RedMars201724 June 2019The photography is very pretty. But that's about all I could recommend. This is a drama so lacking in drama, I feel like ITV should be done under the trade description act. Woefully slow. Ponderous to the point where I pondered why I was watching it. Kept hoping it would get better, but it didn't. How on earth this got commissioned is a mystery.