7 Reasons You Should Be Watching PBS's Poldark

Ross Poldark, as played by Aidan Turner, has big amazing hair that is presumably filled with secrets and also longing. I love an actor in extensions, and Aidan Turner brings it so, SO hard.

All the drama takes place in Cornwall in the UK, and the scenery is top-notch. There’s the roaring sea, the rolling countryside, and most importantly, Poldark himself.

There’s mine drama, which isn’t the most fun, but it’s relevant to the time period. Also there’s this whole thing where the girl Poldark was in love with up and married his snooze-worthy cousin. And there are kitchen wenches, sea captains, and prostitutes. The 18th century was crazy, guys.

Old-timey pining is the best kind of pining. Also, all of this pining is usually immediately resolved — someone is married off, someone ends up in jail, or someone just up and dies. It’s great.

Sure, Poldark is the main dude about town; but his ex-fiancée, Elizabeth, cousin Verity, and kitchen-wench-turned-bad-b*tch wife Demelza are all whip smart, loyal, and strong — not just for Poldark’s benefit, but for each other, too. Also Demelza can wear the hell out of a traveling cloak.

Much like Outlander did before its insane second half, Poldark makes you wait a few episodes until revealing inevitable pairings — like Poldark and Demelza. It’s like, you know it’s going to happen, but Poldark makes you wait. Once things kick off though, they keep going; there are often spans of months from episode to episode, which keeps the story itself from lagging.