Watch The Buccaneers

The Buccaneers is a period drama television series that premiered on Apple TV+ in 2023. Set in London in the 1870s, the show follows a group of young American heiresses as they travel across the Atlantic in search of titled husbands. Based on the unfinished final novel by Edith Wharton, The Buccaneers provides a glimpse into the lives and loves of the nouveau riche during the Gilded Age.

At the center of the story are Nan and Conchita St. George, two beautiful sisters from New York who have come to England in pursuit of aristocratic husbands. Accompanying them are their friends and fellow buccaneers Mabel Elmsworth, Lizzy Elmsworth, and Jinny St. George. Though initially wide-eyed and naive about British society, the young women are determined to trade their fortunes for noble names. As the buccaneers attempt to break into the upper echelons of London society, they find themselves both courted for their wealth and scorned for their lack of pedigree.

Surrounding the buccaneers are an ensemble of characters who offer glimpses into the rigid social hierarchies and manners of 1870s England. There are the established aristocratic families like the Welds and the Hucklebridges who eye the buccaneers with disdain even as their spendthrift sons become captivated by their dowries. There are the rising industrialists like Julius Anson whose new money does not compensate for his lack of connections. And there are the aging beauties like Lady Brightlingsea who resent the buccaneers' youth and freshness.

As romances bloom and rivalries emerge, the show captures all the drama, extravagance, and social maneuvering of the marriage market during this Gilded Age. Lavish balls, soirees, and country house parties provide backdrops for flirtations and heartbreaks. The buccaneers find themselves both empowered by their wealth and bound by social conventions as they navigate their way through London society in search of security and status.

With its gorgeous costumes and visual splendor, The Buccaneers does a masterful job of bringing the world of late 19th century Anglo-American relations to life. The writing sensitively renders the challenges faced by the newly rich in a rigid social hierarchy. Relationships are portrayed with nuance and depth, with no clear heroes and villains. While the buccaneers start out as ambitious and naive, they grow in maturity and wisdom as romantic hopes clash with reality.

Bold, articulate, and undaunted, the buccaneers serve as thoroughly modern heroines centuries ahead of their time. Their quest for love and position in London society makes for a compelling period drama. The Buccaneers captures all the romance, social ambition, and clashing cultures of the Gilded Age while underscoring the universal themes of love, marriage, and finding one's place in the world.

The Buccaneers is a series that ran for 1 seasons (8 episodes) between November 8, 2023 and on Apple TV+