CALL THE MIDWIFE Begins This Sunday

Call the Midwife, the BBC series that, incredibly, beat the UK ratings for Downton Abbeys second season, debuts on PBS this Sunday.

People calls it ” the soppily tender story of ’50s midwives in London’s East End” and gives it 3.5 of a possible 4 stars.

The UKs Telegraph wonders “Will Downton Abbey’s stateside fans stomach the Call the Midwife crises?” and warns that, “with recent UK period drama focusing on upper-class glamour … US viewers … may be in for a bit of a shock – despite PBS’s carefully describing the drama as ‘colourful’ (as in blood-drenched).” Adding that “close-ups … will support the US view of the lamentable state of British dentistry.”

But US critics are won over. The Washington Post ranks it as one of the best of the new season, saying,

The cast is marvelous, the gritty, post-war set pieces are meticulously recreated and, even with all the warm-water enemas and splattered afterbirth, the story always has its eye on uplift and good cheer.

Watch Call the Midwife – Preview on PBS. See more from Call the Midwife.

The series is based on Jennifer Worth’s memoirs, released as a tie-in edition in August. In addition, there is a companion volume and an audio from HighBridge.

The Life and Times of Call the Midwife: The Official Companion to Season One and Two
Heidi Thomas
Retail Price: $29.99
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Harper Design – (2012-10-23)
ISBN / EAN: 0062250035 / 9780062250032

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