Hulu’s 2-Part Historical Drama With Near-Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score Is One Of Its Best Original Shows

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Hulu has a fantastic original series – a historical drama that’s received almost perfect reviews. With popular shows like Peaky Blinders, Netflix’s House of Guinness, and Hulu’s A Thousand Blows already attracting a lot of attention, it’s tough for new period crime dramas to gain viewers. To succeed, a show needs something unique to make it stand out.

Hulu’s new series delivers a surprisingly violent, historical heist story set in Australia. Though it seems unlikely to successfully create an action-packed sequel to Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, The Artful Dodger, created by James McNamara, David Maher, and David Taylor, manages to pull it off with remarkable skill.

Starring Thomas Brodie-Sangster (known from The Maze Runner) as Jack ‘Dodger’ Dawkins, a reformed thief now training as a surgeon, and David Thewlis (Harry Potter, Fargo) as the criminal Norbert Fagin, The Artful Dodger is a thrilling series packed with daring robberies, intense medical scenes, compelling mysteries, and a sweeping love story. It’s a well-paced show across two seasons, and its impressive 96% rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics and 97% audience score on the Popcornmeter are well-deserved.

The brilliance of The Artful Dodger lies in its accessibility – you don’t need to know anything about Dickens to love it. A sequel to Oliver Twist set fifteen years later, the show thoughtfully explores familiar Dickensian themes like class differences, police misconduct, and the death penalty, all while maintaining its own distinct character and charm.

Jack performs surgery in high-pressure situations, working with the limited medical tools available in a 19th-century prison colony. A secret relationship with Belle, the governor’s daughter and a fellow surgeon-in-training, adds dramatic tension. The clever and funny robberies planned by Fagin, with Jack and a memorable cast of characters, keep things exciting. The Artful Dodger is a show with broad appeal.

It’s currently unclear if The Artful Dodger will get a third season, as it hasn’t been officially renewed after its second season came out in February 2026. However, the show took a year to get renewed for season 2, so another season is definitely possible. In fact, the series has a lot of potential and could continue for many seasons to come.

The Artful Dodger Has The Potential To Become One Of Hulu’s Longest-Running Dramas

The show The Artful Dodger has the potential to be a long-running hit on Hulu. The chemistry between Jack and Belle is strong, and their characters – Jack’s tendency to bend the rules and Belle’s rejection of societal norms – open up endless possibilities for future storylines and adventures.

As season 2 concludes, Jack considers returning to his work as a naval surgeon, and the possibility of Belle joining him. This could lead to them traveling the world together, pioneering new surgical methods and allowing the show to explore fascinating historical settings. This setup offers endless possibilities for fresh storylines and could keep The Artful Dodger constantly evolving.

Although it seemed uncertain what would happen to Fagin at the end of the second season, there’s still a lot the show can explore with his character. Jack and Fagin have a strong connection – wherever Jack goes, Fagin will likely be there too. This creates chances for the series to further examine their complex relationship and how Fagin negatively influences Jack.

A highlight of the second season was watching Fagin cleverly influence Belle’s sister, Lady Fanny (Lucy-Rose Leonard), as she descends into villainy. These unexpected twists in the story and character development are what make The Artful Dodger so captivating, and why it has the potential to run for many more seasons.

Season two of The Artful Dodger received perfect scores from critics on the Tomatometer and quickly became the most-watched show on both Disney+ and Hulu worldwide, including in the United States. Actor David Thewlis recently told The Upcoming that the team felt optimistic about the possibility of a third season. Considering the show’s positive reviews, compelling story, and talented cast, Disney+ and Hulu should strongly consider renewing it. Hopefully, they will!

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

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2026-04-30 01:21