User reviews

Just watched the first episode on Channel 4, the pilot was 1 hr 45 min long but wasn't boring at all though some of it was a bit predictable but it's only the first episode and still got 9 more to go. The first episode was about Ralph Whelan and the rest of the Indian Civil Service begin the annual move to Simla where Cynthia Coffin prepares the exclusive white British Club for the summer season. Overall it was a great experience and especially performance by Jemima West, Julie Walters, Henry Lloyd-Hughes and Nikesh Patel were flawless and true to their character. The sets looks great and hope the audience enjoys it and the producers manage to make the remaining 30 episodes.

When I saw the trailer for Indian Summers, I couldn't wait till the series began. For some reason I was positive that this was going to be a class apart.

The settings are picturesque, reinventing Shimla's green glories. The English men and women are dressed in the most befitted way. The story, although gripping, is a little slow paced for a 10-part series.

I enjoy watching the series, but with a grudge. I strongly feel the authenticity of Indian culture in northern India have been heavily compromised. I could be wrong, I am not a historian or an expert of the past. However, from what I see, the Indian folk shown in the series are no where close to what people of Shimla look and dress like. The dressing and physique of the people is heavily bent towards South India. Even if there were multiple cultures thriving in Shimla at the time, considering it's summer capital status, something doesn't seem to fit in.

I found it delightful, suspenseful, and full of drama. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical backdrop Characters were so well defined, I wanted more from the Whelans and Dalals . I so wish it had gone on for 3 more seasons

Some months ago, I binge watched all of S1 over a weekend. Real life was effectively cancelled until the closing credits of the final episode. It was a glorious, immersive experience.

This is a genuine 'Jewel' of a show. Sure, it has some laboured historical anachronisms and the usage of tropical Penang as a filming location means Simla has been woefully miscast. But these misgivings aside, as a filmic experience Indian Summers is magnificent.

Cinematography is exquisite, the vibrant colours simply dance off the screen and the production values are top notch. The setting is lush and evocative. The plot is riveting, inter-laced with the politics of the time, (with dark resonances for us today). This is definitely a post-colonial reading of the last days of the Raj, but there is certainly some balance afforded by the marvellously textured and excellently acted characterisations. For example, Ralph Whelan is a charming sociopath, but there is nuance and intrigue in his character that makes him compelling throughout.

Overall, I can safely say that this is one of the best, original TV productions I have seen for some years. I can't wait for the second series!

The setting is beautiful and the audio and visuals and costumes really bring you into the series. I can almost smell the air of the mountains. There are several themes running through the series and you can see things starting to come together into a more coherent whole by the 3rd episode. I would rate this series as one of the best i've seen - along the lines of Downton Abbey or The Wire. There are also some really great actors and actresses like Jemima West and Henry Lloyd- Hughes. Jemima West really carries the show. Little subtleties add a lot of flavor to this series. Highly recommended and great for unwinding after a long week.

I went into Indian Summers out of curiosity but, with the thought that, realistically it wasn't something I'd be too into. The whole kind of 'period drama with a twist' has never worked for me. However, I quickly had a change of opinion - I think this might be the best show I've seen this year.

Everything that you would expect to be good is - the acting is superb from pretty much the whole cast - I can't think of anyone who lets it down. The story is complex, with various characters lives interweaving against the backdrop of crumbling colonial India, with endless contrasts of high society and vicious oppression being beautifully balanced to seem both natural and revealing.

The thing that stood out to me though, and it is certainly something that is harder to pinpoint, was the vibrant nature of the whole show. Despite much of the 'action' coming from character tensions rather than events, the eclectic range of character backgrounds, combined with the fierce political and cultural battles being fought brought the show to life in a way I haven't seen for some time. A beautiful colour palette with some stunning camera work makes this an absolute pleasure to watch.

I don't know how season 2 will live up to this standard, but I owe the whole team my confidence after such a brilliant show.

Having travelled in India, the scenery and the people were very real to me. The fashion of the time seemed authentic. However the plot was a little confusing and I didn't always know what was going on, even though I was trying to concentrate hard. I was a little disappointed in that, as I usually like anything about India, be it drama or documentary. My husband feels the same but we intend to watch again next episode and hope it will not be so hard going as to not be entertaining and a must see drama. We have read that this drama cost £14 million to make and found that one of the women actors mumbled and whispered, so much so that we had to turn the television up higher than usual, but then the more audible voices were too loud. In this day and age and spending £14 million the sound quality could be better.

Each episode builds on the one before it. It is stunning.

I'm not going to give any spoilers away, but this is the most visually astounding thing I've ever seen come out of UK, and that includes Downton Abbey.

The acting is amazing, there are so many strong performances that it's impossible to pick out just one; the storyline riveting, the costumes are pitch-perfect, and there's more than a little sex, drinking, and romance.

The tension is palpable, and if you know anything about history, you know why.

Don't miss it, watch it twice. It's a feast.

I am enjoying this series, because of the fabulous scenery and the historical context. It's interesting to see how the resentment is building up amongst the local people, and how racism exists not only amongst the British occupiers but amongst the Indians themselves with their appalling caste system.

However I am disappointed with the characters. The cast includes a full set of stereotypes of the late British Empire, from the drunken Scot to the frustrated missionary, the arrogant consul to the Anglophile nawab. Thank goodness for Julie Walters, she's the only one who can actually carry off her character and bring her to life. The rest are just wooden.

Fabulous show. The acting is superb, the characters and the writing top notch, the attention to detail and historical accuracy amazing......Very sad that the show was cancelled. I think that was all about timing, and really not at all to do with the quality of the series. We needed a series like this, but all the way to the end of british rule. This period of history is not one that is well known today.

Got a reference to this series from a book. It is interesting to understand the history from British's perspective. Actually they claim that the story takes place in Shimla, whereas it doesn't feel like. But as a south Indian, I could easily connect to the characters as most of them are plotted with southern culture. But its also contradictory to the locality of the story line, which makes some odd feelings. It is very clear that there wasn't enough clarity for the maker on the diversity of Indian cultures and territories. It feels good to know that their memories of India are fading away. Anyways I would like to emphasis on the historical events than its making flaws.



It would be more interesting to know the impacts it makes either on current British or Indian viewers. Out of curiosity, looked into the IMDb comments section, but disappointingly most of the comments just touches the making style. Yes of course naturally I expect the British to be ashamed of their ancestors, at the same time I should admit, in over all even I couldn't feel anything to be proud. It is so horrible to watch the way Indians were treated from their point of view itself.

I set out to watch this show with great anticipation, as it was set in my hometown of SIMLA ( erstwhile summer capital of India under the British rule). To my great disappointment, it hardly evokes any excitement or nostalgia. The plot is engaging and the makers have taken great care in representing all strands of history ( both British and Indian version), yet from a perspective of an Indian, this show ends up as yet another stereotypical drama about the glorious days of British Raj ! What hurts the most is the setting itself- the producers didn't even bother to look at actual town of Simla. As the stereotype goes, India is a tropical country, so a town situated in foothills of Himalayas appears to be a tropical rain forest ! The native tongues used by the Indian cast predominantly belongs to southern parts of India, rather than the hills in the north. The reason the British made Simla their summer capital was its stark resemblance to the British climate and geography. All in all, watch it for its plot, set against a historical backdrop, but beware as it perpetuates the stereotype of India. I would much rather pick a Merchant Ivory production !

I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed watching this show. The historical backdrop is fairly well depicted, and the leading characters are well-developed. Julie Walters and Henry Lloyd-Hughes give truly masterful performances, especially in how they have portrayed the inextricable bond that exists between their respective characters. It almost seems like they have unwittingly added more depth to the story by doing so.

Although I am not British myself, 'Indian Summers' was so engrossing that watching it was sort of a cathartic experience for me.

The show may be a slow-burner for some, especially season 2, but do keep at it. You won't regret it.

It's a really lovely show. I had tried to watch it when it was first broadcast on PBS, but somehow it was not compelling enough and I somehow got the sense that the story would be insubstantial. I'm so happy I went back to the show and starting watching again. I didn't give the show enough of a try or sometimes it just happens this way. I remember my first attempt at seeing "The Wire" didn't work, but then a year later I went back to see what the rest of the American viewers and critics were raving about. Perhaps that show was very popular abroad, as well. Well, actually it must have been because the IMDb ratings reflect as such. The story-line for Indian Summers is compelling and the characters are definitely fascinating to follow. I did find all the major roles played very interesting. The locale is beautiful and one learns much about the history (political/cultural) of India during the time of British rule. I'm really looking forward to Season 2 which apparently will be available to view in a month or so (at least in my geographic location).

We have come to expect more from Masterpiece Theater, but this is so shocking dull I can't believe it was even encouraged. Someone must have done one hell of a sales pitch in a meeting to get this project green-lighted. It moves at a nail's pace and at the end of a 2 hour episode you feel completely drained and realize you just wasted your time. A re-run of Downton Abbey in Season 1 would be a much better investment in your time. So consider this a friendly heads-up, this is not a well put together story. It lacks clear identification of the characters, their purpose and motivation of why they are there and what they expect to accomplish. At best it isn't even an interesting story or premise to hang on to. It was all I could do to stay awake because I was expecting some sense of what I was watching that never came.

I am surely showing my age when I compare this wonderful production to the SUPERB 40 year old BBC production "The Jewel in the Crown". I am clearly a bigger fan of the latter, but that is not a criticism . "Indian" shows a slightly earlier time, giving even a more a sense of the build up to the necessary but horribly violent partition of 1947, so well portrayed in "The Jewel". All the acting in both productions is superb - the tensions between the various Indian populations and the pretty monolithic English population (with just a few English rebels accused of going "Native"). It is crucial history that most Americans are unaware of. I don't know how familiar even the present English generation is with this terrible colonial history. In both productions, the fantasy world the English had created in India, truly believing themselves not only superior to Indians of all classes, but perfectly secure from any native sense of injustice and rage - is incredibly remarkable - and not far removed from our own history of slavery and "Jim Crow-ism" in the US South (AND NOrth!). If you love this series, please also see "The Jewel in the Crown", for as full a picture of this time and place as we Americans are likely to get or understand. PS "Harry Potter's" own Julie Walters shows an appallingly wonderful side in "Indian". And Judy Parfitt, late of "Call the Midwife" was a similar character 40 years ago in "Jewel". - Nothing like a glorious English actress! (How did Maggie Smith escape either production??)

I wondered if I would enjoy this series, as of late I've found TV drama to be dire - for example the dialogue in Downton turned me right off, and I've not managed to watch an entire episode. This is different, it's a classier production, obviously there are inaccuracies and mistakes, and that's a shame, but the historical aspects are intriguing and the acting is a cut above anything else on TV today. The characters are well drawn and one gets the atmosphere of the day if not the actual situation and language. I take the points made in other comments. BUT the story is compelling, the characters and their mistakes and their pathways hold one to the screen until the episode ends and a wail goes up - not the end!!! Absolutely fabulous, it's a story, right? Based on facts perhaps, inaccurately portrayed - maybe, but it's a class drama and wonderfully done. I love it, and I didn't expect to do so.

While it's not to the level of Jewel in the Crown or Passage to India, This little production is entertaining in it's own way. It does evoke some of the absurdities of British rule in India and the last days of the Raj. The seasoned actors do their best with a script that's appalling at times, and at others just plain silly and predictable. The second season really scratches around for plot lines to follow but many of them just become more and more outrageous. As has been pointed out, not a lot of attention was paid to detail. The actress playing Whelan's wife is supposed to be American but her accent is so poorly done, it becomes distracting. Simla was used as a "Hill Station" where the handful of British administrators who governed the whole country would go to escape the summer heat. It would not have tropical foliage like what is shown. Things like that may pass unnoticed by the average viewer but for people who know, it is very distracting and irritating. Overall, it's an entertaining but a very superficial view of a time in history that has been much better portrayed by other authors, script writers and TV series! So watch it just for entertainment value, and don't expect too much!

Just perfect. We were a bit sad after the last episode to miss the characters...

Being born and brought up in Simla, only a few years after the British left, I hated it!!! It was so hard to watch. Simla is at 7500 ft above sea level. Tropical foliage where there should have been majestic deodars or Himalayan Cedars. Why did they not film it in Scotland? The vegetation and topography is so much more like the Himalayas. The Raj was as much about Simla and its unique landscape and the way it influenced life and government as anything else.

The whole concept of the Mall and Promenade every evening, the Gaiety Theater and Green Room, Bandstand not to mention A race course created on a small hill using local labor to flatten the ridge to create an oval space, defined Simla. I actually have a map of the houses of the British which enabled social activity without losing ones way.

The producers, directors etc, just did not get it! The Indians consisted of many more levels of society...educated, refined and of illustrious families.....than just household retainers and clerks. The British Civil servants themselves, were generally competent and decent and their lives consisted of a lot more than socializing. A bad show, misinforming the viewers. So disappointed, PBS!

Love this show as my family came from India. My dad has frequently told me about the many dances he attended and the opulent lifestyle that the family led while living in India. My Great Grandfather was known as 'Car Pop' due to the amount of cars he had back in the early 1900's in India. I have so many photos of dinners, cars and camping trips, trains and military in India. The show helps me understand how life may have been for both the British and the Indians. Though it may not all be factual ,it is still a great show to watch. I thoroughly enjoy the story line, cast and settings. Cant wait to see the next series of Indian Summers. The Indian actors are all great.