THE DURRELLS IN CORFU

One of TV’s brightest gems has one of the strangest names, which means that its quiet four season run on PBS may have passed you by. There’s still time! When I talk to friends and family about it, they never even heard of it. It's no secret I don't watch much tv, and If I do, it's mostly PBS, or British tv. For three seasons, Masterpiece audiences have been charmed by The Durrells in Corfu.

 The story is based on the real Durrell family... of a hilariously, dysfunctional, quirky family who decamps from dreary England to a sun-dappled Greek island. In the fourth and final season the Durrells’ idyllic island life is cut short by the outbreak of World War II.

 The series begins in 1935, when Louisa Durrell suddenly announces that she and her four children will move from Bournemouth to the Greek island of Corfu. Her husband has died some years earlier and the family is experiencing financial problems. A battle ensues as the family adapts to life on the island which, despite a lack of electricity, proves that Corfu is cheap and an earthly paradise It's  been established that this isn’t a series about posh people, but it could still look (to some) like a stodgy historical drama. It is truly anything but. The Durrells is incredibly funny, thanks largely to Keeley Hawes’ “grin and bear it” portrayal of Louisa Durrell, who is unflappable in the face of everything her children get involved in ,and that she sometimes gets involved in as well. Her eldest son Larry ,Josh O’Connor, is something of a confidant but also a consternation as he grumpily writes his novels, and giddily and constantly brings a revolving door of girlfriends to the house.  Leslie ,Callum Woodhouse is an exasperating dolt who loves shooting his guns and puffing himself up beyond his abilities, but he’s also increasingly likable ,he’s also hilariously worshipped by their entertaining and deadpan elderly and often infirm housekeeper Lugaretzia, played by Anna Savva. Margot ,Daisy Waterstone, is interested in everything, but not particularly good at anything, though her desire to find her vocation is one that echoes the show’s overall themes.

Waterstone’s portrayal of Margot as an earnest ditz is truly fantastic. Finally, Gerry.

Gerry is a young naturalist who keeps an array of animals to study throughout the house, inside and out, adding to the already carnival-esque atmosphere within their abode. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the fun performance by the legendary Leslie Caron as the Countess Mavrodaki

and the beyond handsome Alexis Georgoulis...

as Louisa's sough after and handsome crush, Spiro.

Oh my is he handsome. I'm sad to see yet another good show end in a already crowded field of garbage. If you did watch the show and haven't seen the final season yet. you'll be treated with easy going, low key, and whimsical touchstones that made the show so good over the years.  And if your just now hearing of the series and watch on a streaming network....your in for a treat.I'll miss this gem.It's a show I could see myself in. I was touched to see it end with a dinner in the sea.