Discuss Beecham House

This is a series I'm curious about, and looking forward to checking out. Yes: I fully realize that, in the UK, it was not renewed for a 2nd season, although the series concludes on a cliffhanger; regrettably we'll never see resolution to whatever last goes down.

Following is what TV Guide magazine recently stated about this series:

In this lush Masterpiece drama set in 1795 India, ex-soldier John Beecham (Tom Bateman) buys the titular manse to start a new life after quitting the greedy British East India Company. His extended family and household staff are soon caught up in shared secrets, lies, love and political intrigue. "I wanted a home where Indians and Brits lived together and interacted in a meaningful, surprising way," says creator Gurinder Chadha. "It transcends usual upstairs/downstairs hierarchies."

I read in a different TV Guide issue that if not wanting to wind up frustrated by the series ending on a cliffhanger, stop watching several minutes before the end, and you'll be left feeling more satisfied.


Please check out the following list of titles and celebrities I've created TMDb threads for: https://www.themoviedb.org/list/118052

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I haven't yet watched this past Sunday night's episode, but think there's very good likelihood that I'll watch it during the next couple of hours. I caught the very end of it (as in approx. final 90 seconds), while it was airing on Sunday night, so saw John have his "Ah-hah!" moment, realizing who the culprit was. Plus I caught the promo for the finale episode. Indeed, there are plenty of loose ends to tie up in the remaining 50 or so minutes of the series. (I'm not counting the series' final however-many minutes that we already know will frustratingly toss in an unfortunate cliff-hanger!)

I've thoroughly enjoyed this series and its exotic setting, etc., appreciate its high production values, and perfectly-suited vibe for summertime weekend viewing, and agree that it'll be missed. I really don't understand why it didn't catch on in the UK, as seems like the type of thing that would appeal to a general audience.

Having said that, I keep noticing that even in the US it seems like only a tiny fraction of t.v. viewers are serious about the British fare that typically PBS features on its Masterpiece showcase; I gather young Americans think PBS isn't "hip" (so pretend nothing about that viewing option even exists). Put the same exact series (not to mention any number of lesser type things) on Netflix or wherever though and many people who decline to ever tune in to PBS's foreign dramas, cultural, the arts, educational, and science programming would no doubt watch it! It's tiresome to me that even on TMDb seemingly close to no one watches stuff on PBS. I really don't understand it. Well, at least we here do! grin

genplant, you've made an interesting point about the possibility the younger demographic may be shunning or overlooking PBS programming. And now that I'm thinking about it, when I was a young girl and fan of "Masterpiece Theater" with Alistair Cooke as the host, my fellow hipster friends made fun of me for wanting to be home on Sunday nights for what I considered "must-see TV"! I think this points to a marketing challenge for PBS to conquer, however, it could also be the case there's been a dumbing-down in education, and classical literature isn't studied to the extent it was in the past. There was hardly a classic featured on the show that I hadn't already read by high school. I wonder if students today are even tasked to read very many of the great works (unless they're college English majors)? Over the last few decades, critics have bemoaned the diminished state of liberal arts education. I wouldn't want PBS to dumb-down its programming accordingly, that's for sure. But perhaps it could market itself better than it does since, as you pointed out, there's increasing competition from the likes of Netflix plus a myriad of alternative streaming services. Just the other day I complained to my husband that there are too many subscription TV offerings and the cumulative costs are getting out of hand, and he told me he'd just read an article reporting a similar and growing sentiment. SO, what a perfect time for PBS to boast of its excellent and FREE programming!

If you want to avoid seeing the cliffhanger of the last episode (S1E6), then you should stop watching after the 'Taj Mahal' scene.

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