At first glance, iconic director Guy Ritchie’s name wouldn’t normally be associated with classic Victorian-era author Charles Dickens; and yet, their stories actually have a lot in common. Both Ritchie’s and Dickens’ work explore Britain’s deep-seated class divide, the fight to climb out of poverty in a system designed to keep people underfoot, and the role of the aristocracy in England’s imperialist society.

Ritchie has dabbled in the Victorian era before, including with his much-loved Sherlock Holmes movie adaptations and Prime Video’s more recent Young Sherlock series, so who knows? Perhaps, one day, after he’s finished with The Gentlemen, MobLand, Young Sherlock, and whatever other movies he’s currently got in development, Ritchie will attempt a Charles Dickens adaptation, joining the ranks of hundreds of other filmmakers with a new take on David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House, or Barnaby Rudge.

In the meantime, though, Hulu and Disney+ have produced a wholly surprising drama series, one that deftly combines multiple Guy Ritchie-esque heist stories and the director’s recognizable creative flair with what is arguably Charles Dickens’ most beloved novel. The Artful Dodger is a not-so-direct sequel to Oliver Twist, set in Australia 15 years after the events of the book, as viewers are reunited with Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s Jack “Dodger” Dawkins and David Thewlis’ Norbert Fagin, Jack’s (and Oliver’s) surrogate “father” and notorious London thief.

The Artful Dodger Is One Of Hulu’s Best Original Shows

The Artful Dodger is one of the most adventurous, riotous, romantic, and well-structured Hulu originals to date, combining Ritchie-style heist hijinks and bloody gore galore with a story about friendship, love (in all its forms), duty, and social division. Jack, now a trained surgeon, gets dragged back into the world of criminality and secrets when Fagin finds him in Australia, desperate to outwit Port Royal’s hideously menacing and pious police chief, Captain Gaines (Damon Herriman).

Complicating matters and endangering Jack’s future further is his developing attachment to the governor’s daughter and wannabe surgeon, Lady Belle (Maia Mitchell). Like many women of that era, Belle is destined to be married off to a so-called “good man” — read: wealthy and of proper social standing — when the only person she really wants is Jack, both as a medical teacher and as so much more. They’re the most unlikely pair, but that’s what makes them work. Belle isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty; she’s stubborn to a fault, and she’s fearlessly in love with someone deemed to be beneath her station.

What makes The Artful Dodger so special, beyond its genuinely entertaining, violent schemes, bloody surgery scenes, killer soundtrack, mysteries both medical and murderous, and Thewlis’ hilariously sneaky performance as Fagin, is the way it isn’t afraid to surprise the audience. One of the show’s most welcome and compelling twists occurs in the second season, when Belle’s sister, Lady Fanny (Lucy-Rose Leonard), carves out an entirely new identity for herself, far removed from her ditzy, well-meaning, younger-sister persona.

Every storyline feels earned, and every relationship feels real. The Artful Dodger balances everything beautifully, making it one of the decade’s best original period dramas — and not just on Hulu. After two seasons, The Artful Dodger has fully embraced its slightly mad premise and style, and there’s so much left to explore.

The Artful Dodger Needs A Third Season

Credit: Disney+

The Artful Dodger season 2 premiered on Hulu and Disney+ internationally earlier this year, after a long, two-and-a-half-year wait for new episodes. There’s currently no word on a third season — the show hasn’t officially been renewed or canceled — though that doesn’t mean it’s time to give up hope. It took an entire year for Disney to confirm season 2 after The Arful Dodger‘s season 1 finale. The same could happen again between seasons 2 and 3. It’s a complicated production, after all, shot largely on location in Australia with a mixed British and local Australian cast.

The show certainly deserves a third season, though, not only to reward its fantastic critical performance (The Artful Dodger currently holds a near-perfect 96% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ and audience score), but to ensure all the story’s loose ends are tied up, as well.

At the end of The Artful Dodger season 2, Jack and Belle are perhaps the only ones enjoying a happy ending, though their future isn’t safe yet. What happens when Jack relapses and takes up his thieving ways again? Will they stay in Port Royal, or brave the seas? Fagin’s fate remains… unclear, while other characters, like Inspector Boxer (Luke Bracey), Lady Fanny, Belle’s parents, and Fagin’s accomplices, deserve better closure, too. At this point, it would be genuinely criminal for Disney and Hulu to pass on The Artful Dodger season 3. Fingers crossed.

All episodes of The Artful Dodger are streaming now, exclusively on Hulu and Disney+.

Release Date

November 29, 2023

Network

Disney+

Directors

Jeffrey Walker, Corrie Chen, Gracie Otto

Writers

Andrew Knight, Dan Knight, James McNamara, Vivienne Walshe

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  Thomas Brodie-Sangster

  Dr Jack Dawkins