The Mill

I caught the first series of this last year on 4 OD and thought it fantastic. As a history graduate with an ongoing passion for social history I get tired of seeing series with a polite nod to the realities of the day and then taking their characters down some nice 21st century lifestyle & morality trip.

Plus, rarely have I come across anything contemporary that takes the point of view of the industrial revolution worker. And they did it so well in this!

They managed to really capture the detail of their daily lives. The minutiae of how life actually was for a mill worker at that time. But in a witty, sad or otherwise poignant way.

And in to all of this well researched history of conditions & of the Mill in question were wonderfully woven human stories of fellowship, sorrow, courage & cowardice. And the humour attached to the 'small stories'.. wonderful! And some I know have come straight from the archives of the Mill in question (I googled it).

The character Esther, or the actress who played her (Kerrie Hayes), or probably a mixture of the two made for compelling viewing especially.

I'm very sad there won't be a third series, it's probably because of the reviews about it 'being too grim'. Obviously 'the enlightened' won't accept such subject matter being depicted at any level lower than Oliver The Musical or Eastenders.

As a descendant of Cotton mill workers from south carolina, i can tell you that the potrayal of the hard life these people endured are very spot on. I had an aunt who went to school and the teacher paddled her hand, she told her mom she was not going back to that school, so she got a job in the mill at the ripe old age of 9. I heard stories of the bell that would be rung each morning to wake the workers to go to there daily jobs at the Vaucluse Mill in South carolina, this is a great show.

This is so unfair, please make a 3rd season (or publish a book even!) so we know what happens to the characters. I loved this show. Gritty and hard to watch at parts but I absolutely loved the characters and their interwoven stories.

Watched on Amazon prime the First 2 seasons. Got hooked on the storyline and some of the acting. But amazon prime run of the series ended after season 2 with tons of unanswered questions. I had been enjoying the show..

I've just discovered The Mill series available through Amazon Prime. I thought it might be a documentary and was even more pleased to be drawn into the series. The lives of the amazing characters were portrayed powerfully and beautifully. I want to see more!