July 26, 2025 • 17 mins
They're Back! Meet the Rebellious Midford Sisters in Outrageous
The creators of the new period drama Outrageous join me in New York to discuss bringing the chaotic lives of the real-life Mitford sisters to the screen. Get the inside scoop on these aristocratic rule-breakers who lived life on their own terms.
2:30 - How Little Women and Pride and Prejudice inspired the story
5:15 - Why the Midford sisters feel so modern and relatable
9:00 - The importance of showing the diversity of women's lives
12:30 - Why the show is titled Outrageous
15:45 - The possibility of future seasons
18:30 - Behind the scenes secret from filming
From their political passions to their tumultuous love lives, the Midford sisters refused to be boxed in by society's expectations. Their rebellious spirit leaps off the screen. Whether you love historical dramas or just a great story about sisterhood and self-discovery, don't miss this exclusive chat with the creative minds behind Outrageous.
Watch now on BritBox to meet the Midford sisters and experience all the laughter, tears and antics that made them the talk of 1930s high society.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Reload the podcast last week that line.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey guys, I'm Benjamin Norris and welcome back to TV Reload,
the podcast that pulls back the curtain on making all
of your favorite TV shows. Each episode, I sit down
with a creative minds and talent who bring our screens
to life, giving you an exclusive insight into the behind
the scenes magic of Australian and international entertainment. Today on
the podcast, I'm thrilled to be bringing you an episode
(00:25):
direct from New York City where I have the absolute
pleasure of sitting down with the creators behind out Rageous,
the brilliant new limited series making waves after its world
premiere at the Tribeker Film Festival, with billboards in Times
Square and glowing international buzz. Outrageous brings the Midford Sisters,
six aristocrat siblings who defied the conventions of their time
(00:47):
to vivid, rebellious life. This isn't your prem and proper
period drama. These women are radical, hilarious, flawed, and I'm
going to say completely unforgettable. We will get a chance
to talk about how little women and pry to prejudice
help inspire the tone for this series, why the show's
title changed from The Midford Sisters to Outrageous, and how
(01:09):
these bold, brilliant women refuse to stay in the box
society had created for them. Whether you're a fan of
period drama or you just love a great story about sisterhood,
rebellion and finding your voice, this is the episode you
don't want to miss. I'm actually mildly obsessed with BritBox
at the moment, so log into BritBox and you can
(01:30):
check out Outrageous. Anyway, let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Here is my chat with the creators of Outrages, which
was recorded.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
With them in New York City and me here in Australia,
and you can catch all the goths right here on
TV reload. How exciting to have flown to New York
and to finally be talking about this project. You guys
must be so elated.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Oh my god, Yes, I mean it's a real pinch
me moment. You know, it's been a long journey to
get from idea to here, but to find us self
suddenly Tribeca Film Festival, there are billboards in Times Square.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Well, you know what's so funny is that it is
so not of this time, and so I'm just wondering,
when you get ready to go to an event to
promote a film like this, do you kind of feel
like you want to wear some of their clothes.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
Well, you know, it'd be very dangerous to wear some
of their clothes actually, but no, the clothes are fabulous.
They are. We're hoping there's going to be a big
nineteen thirties revival because they're just absolutely gorgeous, aren't they.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
They are, Yeah, they are, but I mean we're quite
at pains also to stress that, you know, they will
also wore ordinary clothes, which I think if you've seen
any of the show, we've tried to show backstage as
well as on stage in their lives, you know, the
private moments when they're actually in pajamas and a sweater
with holes in it.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
So it's not all bias.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Cut satin dresses, some of its tweets and sturdy shoes.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
There's a few easter eggs in this first few episodes
which made me think about little Women, and I'm obsessed
with little Women. I've watched all the incarnations. In actual fact,
I made a cut of Little Women for my sister
for her thirtieth birthday, which was all.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Of the little Women that had ever been made extraordinary?
Speaker 5 (03:15):
Can we have a copy I'll send with you.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I've still got it. It's like two hundred and sixty gigabytes,
but it just keeps blending through. So anyway, I needed
to explain my obsession with that. But I kept noticing
things about these Midfield sisters in this There was very
little women, am I am? I right?
Speaker 4 (03:33):
You are right?
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I mean I think there's And also for me when
I was preparing the script, I kept thinking of pride
and prejudice as well. So that's a coming of age
story with disparate sisters with different dreams and what will become.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Of them all? Where will they end up? In Woman.
Speaker 5 (03:54):
Another parallel with Little Women is, of course, Joe's a writer,
Nancy's a writer, and having Nancy our narrator leading us
through the story was so important to us because it's
a huge story. It's got six main characters, it plays
out across different countries and all different echelons of society.
So he felt like we need a center, and Nancy
(04:15):
is that center. She's sort of holding the audience's hand
and guiding us through and looking around at her family
and bafflement and thinking, why are my siblings doing these
crazy bigness.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
When I'd kept doing my dive on this, I kept
reading about people saying that they were crazy, you know.
I kept coming across this notion that this was a
wild family. They're extraordinarily wild, and I was like, No,
these women are delicious and they exist, These sorts of
women exist in our time.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, and I think we've been really it pains to
paint them as, you know, fully rounded, complex characters, no
matter to what extremes they're drawn. Try not to make
quick and simple judgments of them, but try and look at,
you know, why they did what they did. I think
that's been a kind of guiding light to take them
(05:05):
all seriously as characters.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Yeah, but I think they.
Speaker 5 (05:07):
Are very modern in many ways, are they. That's one
of the things that makes the series feel very of now,
even though it's the nineteen thirties period piece. And I
think what makes them feel modern is that none of
them wanted to do what they were expected to do
in their time, which was to marry and have children
and breed the next generation of British aristocrats. And they
(05:28):
all to sort of different extents, and for better or worse,
gripped their own destinies with their own two hands, and
you know, made of their lives what they wanted them
to be, rather than what they were told they should be.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
I thought it was interesting about some of those stereotypes
about what women should do back in those days, and
in some ways they kind of tried to escape some
of the things that I think they were expected to do,
or in some ways they felt like they were compelled
to do certain things like get married to certain people
or to take on certain roles. But their lives sort
(05:59):
of un folded in a way that that wasn't their destiny.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Absolutely, I think that's absolutely accurate. I mean, they were
not sent to school, they were not raised for anything
other than marriage, running a household, being a mother, being
a wife, and that was the sum total of what
their dreams were supposed to be.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
And that wasn't enough for them, you know, none of them.
They didn't have any money.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
The girls had no money, and eventually the whole family
had no money. But the girls had no dowry to
bring to any match, so marriage for them was a
way of survival. They had not been educated, so they
could not get jobs. There was no profession they could enter,
so really, for women of that time and that class,
(06:49):
it was a catch twenty two. You had to marry
in order to survive. If your father wasn't paying for
your rent, food and clothes, it would have to be
a husband because you had no option of earning your
own But very very quickly Nancy, despite having had no education,
decided that she could earn.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
Some money writing.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Yeah, you know, she started writing the odd article for
Vogue or Tackler, and then a novel and then another novel.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
And I think that said something to the rest of
the family maybe, And.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
I think in terms of what you were saying better
about the different roles they occupied, the sort of choices
they made is so much in this show. The focus
is on sibling dynamics and the roles that play in
how you end up living your life. And Sarah and
I are both obsessed with big families because we're both
from big families. I've got five siblings, so has Sarah.
(07:42):
And the way that coming from a big family and
you know, reactally against what your older brother or older
sister has done, and how that shapes you. I think
that's so much what the series is about.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
That's why it's so accessible. This show is so great.
I'm from a big family as well, like my Yeah, wow.
I think it's so good to have content on television
where we can see ourselves and we can see the
diversity of women. We're not just painting one picture. And
I think that's the sweet spot about this series.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yeah, wonderful. I mean, that's fabulous. If you're taking that,
I hope that's true, you think.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
Yeah, no, absolutely, And I think historically television dramas often
forced female characters into boxes and for you, so that
was something in this real story which really grabbed you,
wasn't it. How it showed a multiplicity of ways of being.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yeah, and that women could step out pick a man,
you know, which they all sort of picked very different men,
but they didn't wait for a man to pick them.
They actually and careers too, or even political passions.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
So they stepped out of their.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Cage in a way, and they created their own destinies,
you know. They said, I mean, it's astonishing to me
that really three of those women wanted to change the world,
which seems an astonishing ambition to have for women back
in those days. But I think they were incredibly passionate
(09:13):
about their politics, no.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
Matter how wrong headed.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
They were idealists, and they had the courage of their convictions.
You know, they followed things right through to the bitter end.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
But there's something in that, isn't there, which is, you.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Know, today we're all very concerned about what other people
think of us, whether we're liked enough. They didn't have
an ounce of that. That's a lovely quote of Diana's saying,
of course, being hated means nothing to me.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
Not many of us can say that.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
But I loved that.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
And I also then Nancy had written for the original
Vanity Fair magazine, and so you can find some of
the writing that's out there, so like, it was also
really quite amazing to see what her opinion were of
that time and again how relevant it was to today.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And her writing is actually quite still very readable, isn't
it that some of them.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
I don't know if you've found any of those earlier.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Yeah, they're funny, aren't they. I Mean they're funny and
really accessible.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
Yeah, And she really pokes far that at the sort
of attitudes and you know, kind of ways of being
of her age. And she remember that article that we
read about going to a hunt. Yes, she talks about
how ridiculous that, you know, all the pageantry of hunting is,
and how the experience is utterly miserable.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Yeah, yeah, Nicole exactly Tweed. She's a great and very
modern character, isn't she. Don't you don't you feel she's
she could exist now, couldn't she. She had her language,
her use of language, her use of humor, her sort
of iconoclastic wit. I think, yeah, she felt to me,
and the fact that emotionally she's a bit of a
(10:55):
hot mess.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
There are a lot of them are hot messes.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
Yeah, it's very relatable. I think she's very Yeah, we are.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Yeah, why did you decide to call it outrageous? Are
you trying to sort of pitch it to be a
little bit more accessible so people will watch it?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I guess to get the bump.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
But you know what, for a long time it was
called the Mitford Sisters. Of course, that's catchy, isn't it.
I mean me, so I just thought this is not
I sort of we were searching.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
For a one word that would.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
That kind of summed up the feeling or the attitude
of the family, and suddenly that word came through, and
I think actually that's quite a key to the success
of the momentum the show has generated, because I think
it is a very good word for them. They were
in their time, transgressive, rebellious, you know, and they were
(11:53):
you know, some people hated them, some some people thought
they should get straight back in their box, but they
didn't care. So I think it's a good Yeah, I
think it's a good title. I think I think it
beats them it for sisters.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Is this something that you did as a standalone series
or were you sort of thinking about doing it in
a longer for me? Are you thinking season two, he's
thinking season three or yeah, we.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Are thinking that, although nothing is firm yet, but yes,
you could certainly extend this their stories.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
I mean, I think at the end of series one, you've.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Got a hunger, So haven't you what happens next in
their lives? Because we're just leading up to the Second
World War? How does that pan out for all our characters.
I mean, I think it's I think it's extraordinary what
does happen? So yeah, let's we get the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
You know, I'm not a psychic. I'm not going to
put on the psychic hat and pretend that I am.
But I think that there's going to be I think
there's going to be more of this, and I think
that's quite exciting. Bridgeton and there's these other sort of
period pieces in television series have become so popular these days.
What do you think is the reason for that genre
being so popular and so universal right around the world.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Well, I suppose there's an escapism, isn't it always to
period dramas. You're entering a different world. You're entering this
place where there's different social codes, ways of being fabulous outfits,
you know. So I think that is that accounts for
the interesting period. But I think we wanted to not
(13:28):
work against that exactly, but we wanted to bring a
slightly different energy to that genre, and we wanted to
reflect I suppose that this is a real story, you know,
unlike Bridgeton, unlike Downton. All of this really happened, and
these characters had real lives, and so we were we
were at payings to kind of I think, like what
(13:50):
I'm saying before, to kind of or like Sarah was
saying before, to sort of step behind the curtain of
these lives. And it's not kind of prim and proper.
They're not terribly well behaved. They're not static, they're dynamic characters.
They're unruly, they're chaotic, and that energy fed into all
aspects of the show, from the way it was shot,
to the design, the performances, and you know, and the
(14:13):
way that Sarah written the scripts.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Did you take liberties with it? I was like so
curious about this because you know, were you wanting it
to be so factually correct or were you were you
allowing some of these characters to build a bit valuable.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
I wanted all the facts to be true. So there are,
of course, there are lots of dates and events that
are real, actual facts, and I didn't.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Want to manipulate any of those.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
But what was not always clear was how the characters
felt about the things that happened to them, and the
choices they made, and how conflicted they were about that.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Even the letters they wrote.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
To each other don't always delve into their deep feelings
or their introspection their self awareness, and so I did
have quite a bit of artistic license, I felt in
their inner workings.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
So that was where I was able to have.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
My fun and you know, use my I suppose imagination
is how would they have felt about what happened to
them and about the family dynamics?
Speaker 4 (15:13):
You know, how jealous were they of each other?
Speaker 3 (15:16):
How close were they? The central question that the show
asks is can will this family survive? It's being torn
apart back politics, but can the family bond survive? I
think there might be a lot of families going through
that at the moment.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Yeah, I think this is the space where this show
works the most. You know, basically what you're describing there,
where you've been able to expand this universe is where
this show sings. And I really hope people listening to
this chat that might not have thought about watching it
do watch it because it is really fascinating, very enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
It's pure entertainment. I have to go.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
But I finished this podcast every time with the question,
so we're gonna have to be very quick with it.
But I always ask people what's a behind the scenes secret,
something that people.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Who will watch the show won't know?
Speaker 1 (16:01):
And I feel like I always should supply this to
people before wait, before we meet yeah, yeah, because then
people are like, oh, god, of course it's something you know.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Yeah, people just lined up in the daily mail, No
I'm only joking.
Speaker 5 (16:17):
Well, I have it behind the show secret for you.
It's not really a secret. But there was an amazing
moment when our sick because the thing is about that
our cast they really gelled together like a real family.
It was incredible. They they loved each other, they loved
hanging out with each other. They're still in each other's
lives and it was always amazing when the six sisters
(16:39):
were together on set. And one day they were all
in costume things that had to be switched around a
little bit in the schedule, so they had a little
weight before they were all on set together, and they
decided to They decided to head out to the local
Tescos in full regalia as as the Medes sisters. The
Tescos for anyone if you lost any bit, it's the
(17:01):
supermarket chain in the UK, and they walked the aisles
in their full bit for god. But I think cause
of absolute sensation. I only wish I had been there
to witness.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
I'm just picturing them going through McDonald's, you know, with
their congratulations.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Guys. I know that this is like an interesting time
to make content and it's you know, there's so many
streaming services there's so many places for entertainment.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
But yet you've crafted a story that is.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Truly engaging and so fun, and that must feel really
rewarding at this point. So I want to say congratulations,
you know, on the story.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
Thank you, Thank you so much. It's music to ours
that you enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
I'm going to because I've got to go and keep
watching the show. Yeah, back to you on how it
goes beyond episode two, but enjoy chatting to the media,
and thank you for both for being so generous with
your time.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
Oh, thank you, thank you, fantastic, thank you.
It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Reload the podcast last week that line.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey guys, I'm Benjamin Norris and welcome back to TV Reload,
the podcast that pulls back the curtain on making all
of your favorite TV shows. Each episode, I sit down
with a creative minds and talent who bring our screens
to life, giving you an exclusive insight into the behind
the scenes magic of Australian and international entertainment. Today on
the podcast, I'm thrilled to be bringing you an episode
(00:25):
direct from New York City where I have the absolute
pleasure of sitting down with the creators behind out Rageous,
the brilliant new limited series making waves after its world
premiere at the Tribeker Film Festival, with billboards in Times
Square and glowing international buzz. Outrageous brings the Midford Sisters,
six aristocrat siblings who defied the conventions of their time
(00:47):
to vivid, rebellious life. This isn't your prem and proper
period drama. These women are radical, hilarious, flawed, and I'm
going to say completely unforgettable. We will get a chance
to talk about how little women and pry to prejudice
help inspire the tone for this series, why the show's
title changed from The Midford Sisters to Outrageous, and how
(01:09):
these bold, brilliant women refuse to stay in the box
society had created for them. Whether you're a fan of
period drama or you just love a great story about sisterhood,
rebellion and finding your voice, this is the episode you
don't want to miss. I'm actually mildly obsessed with BritBox
at the moment, so log into BritBox and you can
(01:30):
check out Outrageous. Anyway, let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Here is my chat with the creators of Outrages, which
was recorded.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
With them in New York City and me here in Australia,
and you can catch all the goths right here on
TV reload. How exciting to have flown to New York
and to finally be talking about this project. You guys
must be so elated.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Oh my god, Yes, I mean it's a real pinch
me moment. You know, it's been a long journey to
get from idea to here, but to find us self
suddenly Tribeca Film Festival, there are billboards in Times Square.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Well, you know what's so funny is that it is
so not of this time, and so I'm just wondering,
when you get ready to go to an event to
promote a film like this, do you kind of feel
like you want to wear some of their clothes.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
Well, you know, it'd be very dangerous to wear some
of their clothes actually, but no, the clothes are fabulous.
They are. We're hoping there's going to be a big
nineteen thirties revival because they're just absolutely gorgeous, aren't they.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
They are, Yeah, they are, but I mean we're quite
at pains also to stress that, you know, they will
also wore ordinary clothes, which I think if you've seen
any of the show, we've tried to show backstage as
well as on stage in their lives, you know, the
private moments when they're actually in pajamas and a sweater
with holes in it.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
So it's not all bias.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Cut satin dresses, some of its tweets and sturdy shoes.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
There's a few easter eggs in this first few episodes
which made me think about little Women, and I'm obsessed
with little Women. I've watched all the incarnations. In actual fact,
I made a cut of Little Women for my sister
for her thirtieth birthday, which was all.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Of the little Women that had ever been made extraordinary?
Speaker 5 (03:15):
Can we have a copy I'll send with you.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I've still got it. It's like two hundred and sixty gigabytes,
but it just keeps blending through. So anyway, I needed
to explain my obsession with that. But I kept noticing
things about these Midfield sisters in this There was very
little women, am I am? I right?
Speaker 4 (03:33):
You are right?
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I mean I think there's And also for me when
I was preparing the script, I kept thinking of pride
and prejudice as well. So that's a coming of age
story with disparate sisters with different dreams and what will become.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Of them all? Where will they end up? In Woman.
Speaker 5 (03:54):
Another parallel with Little Women is, of course, Joe's a writer,
Nancy's a writer, and having Nancy our narrator leading us
through the story was so important to us because it's
a huge story. It's got six main characters, it plays
out across different countries and all different echelons of society.
So he felt like we need a center, and Nancy
(04:15):
is that center. She's sort of holding the audience's hand
and guiding us through and looking around at her family
and bafflement and thinking, why are my siblings doing these
crazy bigness.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
When I'd kept doing my dive on this, I kept
reading about people saying that they were crazy, you know.
I kept coming across this notion that this was a
wild family. They're extraordinarily wild, and I was like, No,
these women are delicious and they exist, These sorts of
women exist in our time.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, and I think we've been really it pains to
paint them as, you know, fully rounded, complex characters, no
matter to what extremes they're drawn. Try not to make
quick and simple judgments of them, but try and look at,
you know, why they did what they did. I think
that's been a kind of guiding light to take them
(05:05):
all seriously as characters.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Yeah, but I think they.
Speaker 5 (05:07):
Are very modern in many ways, are they. That's one
of the things that makes the series feel very of now,
even though it's the nineteen thirties period piece. And I
think what makes them feel modern is that none of
them wanted to do what they were expected to do
in their time, which was to marry and have children
and breed the next generation of British aristocrats. And they
(05:28):
all to sort of different extents, and for better or worse,
gripped their own destinies with their own two hands, and
you know, made of their lives what they wanted them
to be, rather than what they were told they should be.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
I thought it was interesting about some of those stereotypes
about what women should do back in those days, and
in some ways they kind of tried to escape some
of the things that I think they were expected to do,
or in some ways they felt like they were compelled
to do certain things like get married to certain people
or to take on certain roles. But their lives sort
(05:59):
of un folded in a way that that wasn't their destiny.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Absolutely, I think that's absolutely accurate. I mean, they were
not sent to school, they were not raised for anything
other than marriage, running a household, being a mother, being
a wife, and that was the sum total of what
their dreams were supposed to be.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
And that wasn't enough for them, you know, none of them.
They didn't have any money.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
The girls had no money, and eventually the whole family
had no money. But the girls had no dowry to
bring to any match, so marriage for them was a
way of survival. They had not been educated, so they
could not get jobs. There was no profession they could enter,
so really, for women of that time and that class,
(06:49):
it was a catch twenty two. You had to marry
in order to survive. If your father wasn't paying for
your rent, food and clothes, it would have to be
a husband because you had no option of earning your
own But very very quickly Nancy, despite having had no education,
decided that she could earn.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
Some money writing.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Yeah, you know, she started writing the odd article for
Vogue or Tackler, and then a novel and then another novel.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
And I think that said something to the rest of
the family maybe, And.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
I think in terms of what you were saying better
about the different roles they occupied, the sort of choices
they made is so much in this show. The focus
is on sibling dynamics and the roles that play in
how you end up living your life. And Sarah and
I are both obsessed with big families because we're both
from big families. I've got five siblings, so has Sarah.
(07:42):
And the way that coming from a big family and
you know, reactally against what your older brother or older
sister has done, and how that shapes you. I think
that's so much what the series is about.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
That's why it's so accessible. This show is so great.
I'm from a big family as well, like my Yeah, wow.
I think it's so good to have content on television
where we can see ourselves and we can see the
diversity of women. We're not just painting one picture. And
I think that's the sweet spot about this series.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yeah, wonderful. I mean, that's fabulous. If you're taking that,
I hope that's true, you think.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
Yeah, no, absolutely, And I think historically television dramas often
forced female characters into boxes and for you, so that
was something in this real story which really grabbed you,
wasn't it. How it showed a multiplicity of ways of being.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yeah, and that women could step out pick a man,
you know, which they all sort of picked very different men,
but they didn't wait for a man to pick them.
They actually and careers too, or even political passions.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
So they stepped out of their.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Cage in a way, and they created their own destinies,
you know. They said, I mean, it's astonishing to me
that really three of those women wanted to change the world,
which seems an astonishing ambition to have for women back
in those days. But I think they were incredibly passionate
(09:13):
about their politics, no.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
Matter how wrong headed.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
They were idealists, and they had the courage of their convictions.
You know, they followed things right through to the bitter end.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
But there's something in that, isn't there, which is, you.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Know, today we're all very concerned about what other people
think of us, whether we're liked enough. They didn't have
an ounce of that. That's a lovely quote of Diana's saying,
of course, being hated means nothing to me.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
Not many of us can say that.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
But I loved that.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
And I also then Nancy had written for the original
Vanity Fair magazine, and so you can find some of
the writing that's out there, so like, it was also
really quite amazing to see what her opinion were of
that time and again how relevant it was to today.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And her writing is actually quite still very readable, isn't
it that some of them.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
I don't know if you've found any of those earlier.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Yeah, they're funny, aren't they. I Mean they're funny and
really accessible.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
Yeah, And she really pokes far that at the sort
of attitudes and you know, kind of ways of being
of her age. And she remember that article that we
read about going to a hunt. Yes, she talks about
how ridiculous that, you know, all the pageantry of hunting is,
and how the experience is utterly miserable.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Yeah, yeah, Nicole exactly Tweed. She's a great and very
modern character, isn't she. Don't you don't you feel she's
she could exist now, couldn't she. She had her language,
her use of language, her use of humor, her sort
of iconoclastic wit. I think, yeah, she felt to me,
and the fact that emotionally she's a bit of a
(10:55):
hot mess.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
There are a lot of them are hot messes.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
Yeah, it's very relatable. I think she's very Yeah, we are.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Yeah, why did you decide to call it outrageous? Are
you trying to sort of pitch it to be a
little bit more accessible so people will watch it?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I guess to get the bump.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
But you know what, for a long time it was
called the Mitford Sisters. Of course, that's catchy, isn't it.
I mean me, so I just thought this is not
I sort of we were searching.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
For a one word that would.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
That kind of summed up the feeling or the attitude
of the family, and suddenly that word came through, and
I think actually that's quite a key to the success
of the momentum the show has generated, because I think
it is a very good word for them. They were
in their time, transgressive, rebellious, you know, and they were
(11:53):
you know, some people hated them, some some people thought
they should get straight back in their box, but they
didn't care. So I think it's a good Yeah, I
think it's a good title. I think I think it
beats them it for sisters.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Is this something that you did as a standalone series
or were you sort of thinking about doing it in
a longer for me? Are you thinking season two, he's
thinking season three or yeah, we.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Are thinking that, although nothing is firm yet, but yes,
you could certainly extend this their stories.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
I mean, I think at the end of series one, you've.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Got a hunger, So haven't you what happens next in
their lives? Because we're just leading up to the Second
World War? How does that pan out for all our characters.
I mean, I think it's I think it's extraordinary what
does happen? So yeah, let's we get the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
You know, I'm not a psychic. I'm not going to
put on the psychic hat and pretend that I am.
But I think that there's going to be I think
there's going to be more of this, and I think
that's quite exciting. Bridgeton and there's these other sort of
period pieces in television series have become so popular these days.
What do you think is the reason for that genre
being so popular and so universal right around the world.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Well, I suppose there's an escapism, isn't it always to
period dramas. You're entering a different world. You're entering this
place where there's different social codes, ways of being fabulous outfits,
you know. So I think that is that accounts for
the interesting period. But I think we wanted to not
(13:28):
work against that exactly, but we wanted to bring a
slightly different energy to that genre, and we wanted to
reflect I suppose that this is a real story, you know,
unlike Bridgeton, unlike Downton. All of this really happened, and
these characters had real lives, and so we were we
were at payings to kind of I think, like what
(13:50):
I'm saying before, to kind of or like Sarah was
saying before, to sort of step behind the curtain of
these lives. And it's not kind of prim and proper.
They're not terribly well behaved. They're not static, they're dynamic characters.
They're unruly, they're chaotic, and that energy fed into all
aspects of the show, from the way it was shot,
to the design, the performances, and you know, and the
(14:13):
way that Sarah written the scripts.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Did you take liberties with it? I was like so
curious about this because you know, were you wanting it
to be so factually correct or were you were you
allowing some of these characters to build a bit valuable.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
I wanted all the facts to be true. So there are,
of course, there are lots of dates and events that
are real, actual facts, and I didn't.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Want to manipulate any of those.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
But what was not always clear was how the characters
felt about the things that happened to them, and the
choices they made, and how conflicted they were about that.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Even the letters they wrote.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
To each other don't always delve into their deep feelings
or their introspection their self awareness, and so I did
have quite a bit of artistic license, I felt in
their inner workings.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
So that was where I was able to have.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
My fun and you know, use my I suppose imagination
is how would they have felt about what happened to
them and about the family dynamics?
Speaker 4 (15:13):
You know, how jealous were they of each other?
Speaker 3 (15:16):
How close were they? The central question that the show
asks is can will this family survive? It's being torn
apart back politics, but can the family bond survive? I
think there might be a lot of families going through
that at the moment.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Yeah, I think this is the space where this show
works the most. You know, basically what you're describing there,
where you've been able to expand this universe is where
this show sings. And I really hope people listening to
this chat that might not have thought about watching it
do watch it because it is really fascinating, very enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
It's pure entertainment. I have to go.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
But I finished this podcast every time with the question,
so we're gonna have to be very quick with it.
But I always ask people what's a behind the scenes secret,
something that people.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Who will watch the show won't know?
Speaker 1 (16:01):
And I feel like I always should supply this to
people before wait, before we meet yeah, yeah, because then
people are like, oh, god, of course it's something you know.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Yeah, people just lined up in the daily mail, No
I'm only joking.
Speaker 5 (16:17):
Well, I have it behind the show secret for you.
It's not really a secret. But there was an amazing
moment when our sick because the thing is about that
our cast they really gelled together like a real family.
It was incredible. They they loved each other, they loved
hanging out with each other. They're still in each other's
lives and it was always amazing when the six sisters
(16:39):
were together on set. And one day they were all
in costume things that had to be switched around a
little bit in the schedule, so they had a little
weight before they were all on set together, and they
decided to They decided to head out to the local
Tescos in full regalia as as the Medes sisters. The
Tescos for anyone if you lost any bit, it's the
(17:01):
supermarket chain in the UK, and they walked the aisles
in their full bit for god. But I think cause
of absolute sensation. I only wish I had been there
to witness.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
I'm just picturing them going through McDonald's, you know, with
their congratulations.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Guys. I know that this is like an interesting time
to make content and it's you know, there's so many
streaming services there's so many places for entertainment.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
But yet you've crafted a story that is.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Truly engaging and so fun, and that must feel really
rewarding at this point. So I want to say congratulations,
you know, on the story.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
Thank you, Thank you so much. It's music to ours
that you enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
I'm going to because I've got to go and keep
watching the show. Yeah, back to you on how it
goes beyond episode two, but enjoy chatting to the media,
and thank you for both for being so generous with
your time.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
Oh, thank you, thank you, fantastic, thank you.
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