They crossed the ocean for husbands—but claimed a nation instead
Jamestown is a gripping historical drama series set in 1619, as the first English settlers try to carve out a new life in what would become America. Created by Bill Gallagher, the show dives into the raw, complex beginnings of colonial Virginia—not through the eyes of the founding fathers or warriors, but through the lives of three women sent across the ocean to marry strangers.
The series begins with the arrival of Jocelyn, Alice, and Verity—three very different women, each carrying her own secrets, ambitions, and dreams. They’re part of England’s controversial plan to stabilize the Jamestown colony by sending “maids to make wives,” a scheme born out of desperation as the all-male settlement struggles with hunger, disease, and political chaos. But the women quickly discover they are not pawns—they are catalysts.
Jocelyn (Naomi Battrick), refined and calculating, uses charm and intelligence to secure power in a patriarchal world. Alice (Sophie Rundle) is idealistic but headstrong, fighting to make real emotional connections despite being promised to a man she barely knows. And Verity (Niamh Walsh), bold and witty, refuses to be tamed—her sharp tongue as deadly as any blade. As their stories unfold, the show explores female resilience, class conflict, racial tension, and the brutal birth of a new society.
The show doesn’t shy away from the harsh truths of colonization. Native characters are present, often caught between diplomacy and survival, and the arrival of the first African slaves in later seasons introduces the darkest layers of the colony’s legacy. Jamestown attempts to humanize history without romanticizing it, offering a nuanced look at ambition, violence, and shifting loyalties.
Visually, the series is stunning: muddy riverbanks, candlelit rooms, towering forests, and fortresses built from fear and hope. The drama is high-stakes and often soapy—duels, betrayals, seductions—but always anchored by its themes of survival and transformation. These women may have been sent to serve, but they end up shaping the future of Jamestown far more than the men who brought them there.
In a world built by men, Jamestown shows what happens when women rewrite the story.
