Jamaica Inn (2014 TV series)


Jamaica Inn is a British drama television series that was first broadcast on BBC One for three consecutive nights from 21 to 23 April 2014. The three-part series, written by Emma Frost, is an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's 1936 gothic novel Jamaica Inn.

Plot

Jamaica Inn is set in 1821. It tells the story of Mary Yellan who is uprooted to live with her Aunt Patience after her mother dies. Mary finds Aunt Patience under the spell of her husband, Joss Merlyn after she arrives at Jamaica Inn, a coaching inn he owns in Cornwall. Mary soon realizes that the inn has no guests and is being used as the hub of Joss' 'free' trade. Mary becomes attracted to Jem Merlyn, Joss' younger brother who is a petty thief. Mary meets Francis Davey, the parish vicar, and his sister Hannah.

Cast

Production

Filming began in September 2013 in Cornwall, Yorkshire and Cumbria. It was originally decided that the series would be filmed in Northern Ireland. An investment from Screen Yorkshire was provided for the series. The three-part series was commissioned by Ben Stephenson and Danny Cohen, both from the BBC.

Reception

The transmission of the first episode brought about a major debate on social media sites about the sound quality and inaudible dialogue, culminating in over 2,000 complaints being received by the end of the series.
Reviews were mixed to negative. Terry Ramsey of The Daily Telegraph claimed "Daphne du Maurier's story is a classic, but this hard-to-watch version is unlikely to have had people gripped." David Stephenson of Daily Express agreed: "disappointing BBC drama with mumbling dialogue and absent plot." Sean Harris later addressed his reaction to the mumbling controversy in an interview after his BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for Southcliffe.