With Disney+ Highwaywoman Romp ‘Renegade Nell,’ Sally Wainwright Stands and (Mostly) Delivers: TV Review
variety.comMike McCahill Guest Contributor Having established herself at the BBC with the police procedural “Happy Valley” and the crossdressing costume drama “Gentleman Jack,” screenwriter-turned-showrunner Sally Wainwright has followed countless creatives and taken the Disney shilling to initiate her latest project.
You can hardly blame her, given the reduced offer the cash-strapped British broadcaster is now extending even to its more illustrious dramaturges: rarely more than three episodes per series and four characters per scene.
Imposed by post-Brexit belt-tightening, this sorry set of limitations has exasperated those obliged to work within them while dispiriting viewers, left watching the life — and the talent — drain from primetime broadcasts.
Mashing up historical and fantastical elements, the pricey-looking, eight-part “Renegade Nell” rides into a surprisingly crowded field for light period entertainments straddling the Stuart and Georgian eras, emerging after the sadly short-lived BBC comedy “The Witchfinder” and Apple TV+’s recent “The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin.” While far less aggressively daft than either of those, “Renegade Nell” skews markedly younger than Wainwright’s past fare.
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