TV shows we love: The Durrells

Moving to a seaside house in Corfu surrounded by nature may sound like a dream right now yet in 1935 when Louisa Durrell relocated her family of four there it was less than the idyllic slice of paradise than it seems. That’s how the British comedy-drama series The Durrells begins and is also what happened in real life as the series is based on the family’s journey from England to Greece.

The series begins with Louisa announcing to her four children that they will shortly be moving from Bournemouth to the Greek island of Corfu in hopes of a better future that her widow’s pension can afford.

There, they find a stunning house that overlooks the sea, full of potential with its rundown walls, crumbling ceiling and no electricity, as with the rest of the island. Still, Louisa is desperate to make it work and with the help of maid Lugaretzia who speaks very little English, they slowly begin to form a new life in Corfu.

Things fall apart yet being in a close-knit Greek community where people help each other out and also get too mixed up in each other’s business, they form friendships, love affairs and enemies. Well-known Greek actor Alexis Georgoulis plays Spiros Halikiopoulous – the family’s first friend. Another actor adding to the series’ local touch is Yiorgos Karamihos who plays scientist and poet Dr Theo Stephanides who befriends Louisa’s youngest son, Gerry, in their shared love for nature and animals.

It’s through the real-life Gerald Durrell that his family’s adventures became well known and his bestselling The Corfu Trilogy inspired the four seasons of this series and I’m glad it did. The ITV series is a sweet escape to a bygone era when Corfu’s scenery was simpler and the fauna rich. Through the plot’s romances, childhood adventures and unlikely friendships, The Durrells is a heart-warming watch. The scenery and cinematography that really steal the show.