''Alias Grace'' is a Canadian television miniseries directed by

Mary Harron Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter, and former entertainment critic. She gained recognition for her role in writing and directing several independent films, including '' I Shot Andy Warhol'' (1996), ''Am ...

and written by

Sarah Polley Sarah Ellen Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian actress,Howell, Peter (September 24, 1999)"Nobody's Starlet: Toronto's Sarah Polley is Only 20 but already a veteran actor so secure in her craft she can thumb her nose at Hollywood" ''Tor ...

, based on

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, ...

's 1996 novel of the same name. It stars

Sarah Gadon Sarah Lynn Gadon (born April 4, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She began her acting career guest-starring in a number of television series, such as '' Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' (1999), '' Mutant X'' (2002), and ''Dark Oracle'' (2004). She also ...

Edward Holcroft Edward Patrick Holcroft (born 23 June 1987) is an English film, television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles in the '' Kingsman'' film franchise and in the television series ''Wolf Hall'' (2015), ''London Spy'' (2015), and ''Alias G ...

, Rebecca Liddiard,

Zachary Levi Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He received critical acclaim for starring as Chuck Bartowski in the series '' Chuck'', and as the title character in '' Shazam!'' and its 2023 sequel, as a part of the DC Ex ...

, Kerr Logan,

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...

, Paul Gross, and

Anna Paquin Anna Hélène Paquin ( ; born 24 July 1982) is a New Zealand actress. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Wellington, Paquin made her acting debut portraying Flora McGrath in the romantic drama film '' The Piano'' (1993), for which she won the ...

. The series consists of six episodes. It premiered on CBC on September 25, 2017, and appeared on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

on November 3, 2017. In advance of the series premiere, the first two episodes received a preview screening at the

2017 Toronto International Film Festival The 42nd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 7 to 17 September 2017. There were fourteen programmes, with the Vanguard and City to City programmes both being retired from previous years, with the total number of films down b ...

in its Primetime lineup of selected television programming. The series was the third adaptation of an Atwood novel broadcast on television in 2017, after ''

The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which ...

'' (adapted for

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

) and ''Wandering Wenda'' (adapted for CBC Television's CBC Kids lineup).

Cast

Main

as Grace Marks *

as Dr. Simon Jordan, a psychiatrist * Rebecca Liddiard as Mary Whitney, Grace's friend *

as Jeremiah the Peddler * Kerr Logan as James McDermott, Kinnear's stableman *

as Reverend Verrenger, a committee member who wants Grace acquitted *

as Nancy Montgomery, Kinnear's housekeeper * Paul Gross as Thomas Kinnear, a wealthy man who hires Grace

Recurring

* Martha Burns as Mrs. Parkinson * Will Bowes as George Parkinson *

Sarah Manninen Sarah Manninen (born November 6, 1976) is a Canadian film, television and stage actress, better known for her appearances on film ''The Prince and Me'' and series '' The Line''. Career A Finnish Canadian, Manninen graduated from Resurrection Ca ...

as Mrs. Humphrey * Stephen Joffe as Jamie Walsh *

Michael Therriault Michael Therriault is a Canadian actor. He attended Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto, Sheridan College in Oakville, and was a member of the inaugural season of the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training in Stratford, Ontario ...

as Mr. McDonald *

as Old Woman at Church (Cameo)

Episodes

Production

Public domain paintings from

Statens Museum for Kunst The National Gallery of Denmark ( da, Statens Museum for Kunst, also known as "SMK", literally State Museum for Art) is the Danish national gallery, located in the centre of Copenhagen. The museum collects, registers, maintains, researches and han ...

(SMK - the national gallery of Denmark) decorate central locations in the series, among them the house of the Parkinson family where Grace Marks works as a maid, and the governor's mansion where she meets with Dr. Jordan. SMK provides free access to its public domain collection, and the scenographers have used a range of the museum's paintings, primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries. File:Parti af Østerbro i morgenbelysning.jpg, Seen in Parkinson's house:

Christen Købke Christen Schiellerup Købke (26 May 1810 – 7 February 1848) was a Danish painter, and one of the best known artists from the Golden Age of Danish Painting. Childhood and early training He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was one of 11 ...

, View of a Street in Østerbro outside Copenhagen. Morning Light, 1836. File:Niels Ryberg med sin søn Johan Christian og svigerdatter Engelke, f. Falbe (Det Rybergske familiebillede).jpg, Seen in Parkinson's house: Jens Juel, Niels Ryberg with his Son Johan Christian and his Daughter-in-Law Engelke, née Falbe, 1797. File:Cathrine Jensen, f. Lorenzen, kunstnerens hustru med turban.jpg, Seen in Parkinson's house: C.A. Jensen, Cathrine Jensen, née Lorenzen, the artist's Wife, Wearing a Turban, c. 1842–44. File:Kolås Skov på Vejrhøj.jpg, Seen in Parkinson's house: Johan Thomas Lundbye, Kolås Wood. Vejrhøj, 1846. File:Titusbuen i Rom.jpg, Seen in Parkinson's house:

Constantin Hansen Carl Christian Constantin Hansen (Constantin Hansen) (3 November 1804 – 29 March 1880) was one of the painters associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting. He was deeply interested in literature and mythology, and inspired by art hist ...

, The Arch of Titus in Rome, 1839. File:Dansebakken ved Sorgenfri.jpg, Seen in Parkinson's house: Jens Juel, The Dancing Glade at Sorgenfri, North of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

, 1800. File:Frederik V i salvingsdragt large.jpg, Seen in Parkinson's house: Carl Gustaf Pilo, Portrait of Frederik V in Anointment Robe, about 1750. File:Ung kvinde med en nellike.jpg, Seen in the governor's mansion: Rembrandt's workshop,

Willem Drost Willem Drost (baptized 19 April 1633 – buried 25 February 1659) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker of history paintings and portraits. Biography He is a mysterious figure, closely associated with Rembrandt, with very few painti ...

?, Young Woman with a Carnation, 1656. The prison scenes were shot on location at

Kingston Penitentiary Kingston Penitentiary (known locally as KP and Kingston Pen) is a former maximum security prison located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, between King Street West and Lake Ontario. History Constructed from 1833 to 1834, and opened on June 1, 18 ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Tor ...

where the real Grace Marks, who formed the basis of Atwood's character, was incarcerated. Scenes were also filmed at the Correctional Service of Canada Museum in the old Warden's residence.

Reception

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the series received a score of 81 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". The miniseries has a 99% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, with an average rating of 8.00 out of 10 based on 82 reviews. The site's critical consensus is: "Biting social commentary and Sarah Gadon's hypnotic performance make ''Alias Grace'' a worthy addition to the Margaret Atwood adaptation catalog".

References

External links

* * * {{Netflix original ended series (2012–2018) 2017 Canadian television series debuts 2017 Canadian television series endings English-language Netflix original programming Films based on works by Margaret Atwood CBC Television original programming Television shows based on Canadian novels Murder in television Television series set in the 1840s Television series set in the 1850s Television shows set in Toronto Television shows filmed in Toronto Television shows filmed in Kingston, Ontario Irish-Canadian culture in Ontario Gemini and Canadian Screen Award for Best Television Film or Miniseries winners 2010s Canadian drama television series 2010s Canadian television miniseries