Knit to This
The Forsyte Saga
OK, all you Gilded Age superfans, I know it’s rough right now, waiting until 2026 when Season 4 arrives and we learn whether Train Daddy George has left Queen Schemer Bertha.
I’m here to suggest a methadone treatment for your addiction: the 2002 BBC series The Forsyte Saga.
This slow-moving yet juicy BBC series is based on the novels by James Galsworthy. (Fun fact: Galsworthy won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932 for this series of novels. Fancy—maybe I’ll read them or something.)
Beginning in 1886 (Gilded Age begins in 1882), The Forsyte Saga is basically The Gilded Age, British style, with more nuance and better costumes. Class! Morality! Familial conflict! It’s all here, filmed in the sort of foggy look that reminds us that this series was made in 2002, before anybody invented focus.
This series was an early triumph for Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers, Homeland, Wolf Hall, Billions) which as I type these makes me realize he likes to play big characters facing monumental moral and ethical challenges. Right on, Damian! You are the creepiest Soames Forsyte imaginable! We despise you every bit as much as your family does.
Gina McKee plays the object of Soames’s desire (the worst job in the world), and Rupert Graves is the cousin whose honor (OK honour) drives Soames nuts.
I’ve posted the first episode, in blurry form, up top, if you want to just dive right in. It’s available on Britbox and to buy on Amazon in a boxed set, that quaint vestige of, well, 2002.
And get this: as I poked around looking for photos and trailers to share with you, I discovered the astounding news that there is an entirely new 2026 series coming, a remake of The Forsyte Saga called The Forsytes. Watch the trailer here and try to figure out what the storylines are. (Good luck with that.) (Also: They all look like Instagram influencers.)
And! I didn’t realize there was a 1967 BBC series as well. If you’re looking to Forsyte yourself to death, watch the first (black-and-white!) episode here.
Enjoy!
2002 was great. 1967 not so much.
My parents loved the ’67 version. We loved the ’02. It’s a grand story with big characters, gorgeous costumes and locations. What’s not to love? As I understand you Americans like to say? Btw, I think the focus thing may have been because they were made for VHS? Although DVDs were available they were still very expensive in the UK in the early 2000s
Ann, you make me laugh out loud!! Love The Gilded Age and can’t wait to try this one. Funny fact: I walked the trail in Newport gazing at those huge mansions with your sister- in – law, Liz a few years ago. Cannot wait to start knitting to this ” new” show!
The books are excellent. Easy to read and telling a great story.
The 1967 TV adaptation was very popular in the UK, and seemed to capture the books well.
The Damian Lewis FS wasn’t that good, partly because Damian, and (especially) Gina McKee were miscast, and also they hurried through it. The costumes weren’t great either.
That new version’s script seems laughably awful, though it looks luscious.
It is also available on the PBS app—which is also where The Forsytes will be on Masterpeice next year!
This is a grand miniseries! I watched it years go when Netflix’s still sent DVDs through the mail. It’s so good. Worthy of a rewatch.
The 2002 Forsyte Saga is on PBS Passport right now. I don’t see it on Britbox.
Thanks for the recommendation. I am already hooked after watching episode 1.
I’ve seen both versions – the older one holds up even though it is stagey.
Damien Lewis is the most chilling Soames.
Read the entire series ages ago – fear the new one is making lots of character changes. (Irene a dancer? In the late 19th c?? No way)
The 2002 version is also streaming on PBS.
I’m convinced that Damian Lewis can successfully portray any kind of character, no matter what sort of person that character is supposed to be. From “Awwww” to “Grrrrr!”–good, bad, sleazy, angelic, whatever!
I happened across an episode of this years ago and was transfixed but didn’t know the name of it (toddlers and their distractions ). I’ve searched for it since. Thank you!
I have watched the 2002 when it was on PBS. Might be worth a rewatch. And I have never read the books. A Nobel Prize??? That is surprising and enough for me to go on Libby right now and take a look for them.
My library had 46 copies of each of the series books when it originally came out in the 1920s I think. When I took them out in 1999 they had to get them out of storage. It 2as a good read
So good. I can’t imagine why it needs to be remade – because it’s that good.
Oh I remember watching the 1967 series with my parents. We were obsessed with it and my Dad bought the books. I think my Mum decided that they weren’t suitable for 11 year old me, but somehow I was allowed to watch the Forsyte Saga on the telly. I think a lot of it went over my head to be fair. When my sister was born later that year Mum wanted to call her Hélène but somehow it got changed to Elaine. I’m definitely going to have to watch this again!
I looked at the 2026 trailer and they do look like influencers. They’re way too…polished. Some of them look like they work on a 21st century cop show weekdays and Forsyths on weekends. That was my first weird thought anyway!
The 1967 black-and-white series (26 episodes) was so avidly watched that vicars in the UK had to change the time of Sunday Evensong to ensure their parishioners attended. Soames Forsyte and Irene Herron Forsyte were played by real-life husband and wife, Eric Porter and Nyree Dawn Porter.
This first version of ‘The Forsyte Saga’ was a massive TV event in the US, as well; American audiences’ reaction to it was the impetus for the creation of PBS’s ‘Masterpiece Theatre’, two years later. It has been bringing excellent British drama productions to US television for more than fifty years. (Think both versions of ‘Poldark’, ‘Sherlock’, ‘The Golden Bowl’, ‘Vienna Blood’, ‘The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries’, ‘Wolf Hall’, ‘Elizabeth I’, ‘Mercy Street’, ‘Victoria’…and too many to list here.
People assumed they were married but Eric Porter and Nyree Dawn Porter only played husband and wife – they were never married!
And yes, Vicars changed the times for Sunday evening as the whole country seemed to be watching The Forsythe Saga.
I can also recommend the old PBS series, The Pallisers, based on Trollope’s novels. It’s available on youtube.
I loved the 2002 series and read about the new cast and changes to the storyline with some trepidation. My mom said that she remembers her parents both loving the books, in the 40’s, so I thought I might give the audiobooks a try while I knit.
That focus thing, remember when the change to digital happened and all of a sudden everyone had PORES? Then makeup started looking like it was plastered on like stucco…. Things got better.
This rendition of the story is excellent (I ended up getting the boxed set). Damien Lewis made my skin crawl. Gina was a compelling, very strong woman in a really tough situation. The older version is also most interesting with rather a different feel. The book is a wonderful, long, intricate read (thank goodness for the genealogy chart!) that is more complex still. Decidedly enjoyable!
I love the 1967 black and white version of the Forsythe Saga. I love all the actors and actresses as someone has already mentioned. Eric Porter played his part well. I watched it on PBS and you can watch it on Youtube. The books are also well written. They are worth reading. I also loved Kenneth More. For me he carried the series.
This is also available on p b s passport, and you get the added benefit of supporting p b s!
Ooh, I ate up the 2002 drama a few years ago–and yes, despised Soames. Maybe it’s time for a re-watch!
Watch the first series and you’ll see how the others have failed – it was brilliant.