Renegade Nell starts promisingly with lots of action and a wonderful performance by Louisa Harland. Between 2006 and 2016, several series described as 'Teatime Family Drama' ran on British channels. These were adventure series for the whole family that were broadcast on usually Saturday evenings around dinner time. Sometimes these were fantasy series, but sometimes they also resembled costume dramas. Well-known examples are Merlin, The Musketeers and Robin Hood. The new Disney+ series Renegade Nell would fit perfectly into this list with its historical setting and supernatural edge.
This series is set in an alternate version of Great Britain at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Young widow Nell Jackson (Louisa Harland, Derry Girls) returns to her hometown after the death of her husband and discovers she has supernatural powers. The ruthless governor Blancheford (Pip Torrens, Preacher) and his children rule the village with an iron fist. They don't like Nell's rebellious personality. When she is falsely accused of murder a short time later, she flees and starts a life as a highwayman.
Renegade Nell is a lot of fun thanks to smooth action and a good leading actress
Renegade Nell starts off very nicely and that is mainly due to two things: the action and the leading actress. This is a fast-paced series in which we see in the first scene what Nell is capable of with her supernatural abilities when she is about to be robbed by a group of highwaymen. Although we have seen this kind of action before in similar series and it may not have been filmed in the most original way, it is still very fun to watch. The pace is also high and the 55 minutes of the first episode are over in no time.
In addition, Louisa Harland is really very good as Nell. It is clear that she is having a lot of fun playing this role. She is charming, does not mince her words and knows how to convince during both the light-hearted and more emotional moments. Other actors such as Pip Torrens and Craig Parkinson (Line of Duty) also do a good job. In addition, Jake Dunn (Get Even) and Adrian Lester (Hustle) play fun villain roles. It does not matter that it is not the most in-depth series in terms of story and dialogue.
The first episode of Renegade Nell is promising. There are plenty of cool action scenes and the actors do a great job. It may not be a top series, but it doesn't always have to be. The first eight-part season is now available in its entirety on Disney+ and I will continue watching soon!
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
Totally agree. I am now halfway through the series and it remains great fun to watch because in addition to the smoothness, the episodes fly by, the enthusiasm of Louisa Harland, Nell, bursts from the screen.
