The Forsyte Saga

The Forsyte Saga is a British-American drama television serial based on John Galsworthy's novel series of the same name. Taking place from the 1870s to the 1920s, three generations of the upper-middle-class Forsyte family are explored.

The Forsyte Saga (2002-2003) is a British-American period drama serial created by John Galsworthy and Stephen Mallatratt for ITV1, adapted from Galsworthy's novel series. Across ten episodes spanning two seasons, it follows the upper-middle-class Forsyte clan through three generations, with Soames Forsyte (Damian Lewis) at its center, a proud solicitor whose possessive hold on his wife Irene (Gina McKee) collides with his cousin Young Jolyon Forsyte (Rupert Graves) and the charming Phillip Bosinney (Ioan Gruffudd). The engine is the family's obsession with property, status and reputation, and what happens when love refuses to be bought or kept. Each episode is a deliberate, long-form unfolding of drawing-room confrontations, marriages made for money and private longings hidden behind formal manners. Its tone is melancholic and measured, with a restrained, elegant atmosphere in which every gesture carries weight. Set in Victorian and Edwardian London from the 1870s to the 1920s, the story traces a dynasty losing its certainties as the century turns. Fans of Downton Abbey, North and South and The Buccaneers will find similar resonance in its costume-rich domestic melodrama and its sweeping view of class and inheritance.

• Downton Abbeymultigenerational upper-middle-class family drama, period domestic melodrama
• North and Southsweeping British family saga, class and inheritance tensions, period costume drama
• The Buccaneersgenerational family saga, dynastic power and romantic entanglements across decades

Created by

John Galsworthy, Stephen Mallatratt

Release Date

2002-04-07

Episode runtime

75 min

Rating

8.1 / 10 (45)

What is The Forsyte Saga about?

Three generations of the wealthy Forsyte family wrestle with love, property and pride as Victorian certainties give way to the twentieth century.

What is The Forsyte Saga like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Forsyte Saga as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.

Is The Forsyte Saga violent?

No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Forsyte Saga.

Which shows are like The Forsyte Saga?

Shows with a similar feel include Downton Abbey, North and South, and The Buccaneers.

How long is The Forsyte Saga?

The Forsyte Saga: 2 seasons, 10 episodes.

Is The Forsyte Saga still running?

No, The Forsyte Saga has ended.

Where can I watch The Forsyte Saga?

In United States, The Forsyte Saga streams on Netflix, PBS, PBS Masterpiece Amazon Channel, Netflix Standard with Ads, Thirteen, WETA+.