From writer/director Sally Wainwright, the eight-episode HBO/BBC drama series Gentleman Jack is set in 1832 Halifax, West Yorkshire in England and focuses on landowner Anne Lister (exquisitely played by Suranne Jones), a woman who bucked society’s expectations at every turn. Determined to transform the fate of her ancestral home, Shibden Hall, by marrying well, Lister charms her way into high society and uses her natural charisma to pursue the one she wants, only she has no intention of marrying a man. Never one to pretend to be anything other than exactly who she is, Lister sets …

The premise of Gentleman Jack will at first seem familiar to fans of historical drama: In 1832 Halifax, a wealthy and well-traveled landowner returns home and sets about to starting up a coal mine and taking care of local injustices while falling in love with a lovely heiress who has (until now) sworn off marriage. Can’t you just feel the pull of romance upon the moors? Except in this particular case, the wealthy landowner happens to be a woman, which gives Gentleman Jack a unique perspective on both the time period and gender politics. The protagonist, Anne Lister — …

For those of us who have adored the excellent series Happy Valley (as well as the series Last Tango in Halifax), the good news is that Sally Wainwright has a new show for us to fawn over. Created, written, and co-directed by Wainwright, Gentleman Jack tells the story of a true-to-life figure, Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) who was a landowner uninterested in living according to society's male-dominated rules. Fiercely intelligent and without compromise, Anne lives on her own terms -- including her seduction of a woman she wishes to be her wife. In the vein of …