The Durrells
B OX S E T
Adapted from conservationist Gerald Durrell’s memoir My Family and Other Animals about the period of his childhood he spent living in Corfu in the 1930s, this engaging series transports you to a time and a place far, far away from our current challenging situation.
Filmed entirely on location, it makes for comforting and aesthetically pleasing viewing. Keeley Hawes plays the widowed head of the family, Louisa Durrell, who on a sudden bold whim moves her family of four children – aspiring writer Larry (Josh O’Connor), firearms enthusiast Leslie (Callum Woodhouse) budding feminist Margo (Daisy Waterstone) and junior naturalist Gerry (Milo Parker) – away from the drab confines of Home Counties suburbia to the blue skies and azure seas of Greek island life. Having sold their house in Bournemouth and spent most of the proceeds on travelling to their new home, they are on quite a tight budget and things get off to a shaky start when they arrive to find the villa they have rented is pretty dilapidated and there is no electricity anywhere on Corfu.
Things look up when they are befriended by charming local “fixer” Spiros (Alexis Georgoulis) and Gerry, the youngest of the siblings, is delighted that his new surroundings offer up an endless supply of interesting creatures to observe and adopt as pets.
Originally broadcast on ITV, all four series are now available on Netflix. It’s the perfect lockdown getaway.