Bleak House poster

Bleak House

★ 8.3 12K votes 2005–2005 1 season · 15 episodes Ended BBC One
British TVThe British television sensibility: tone, restraint and format traditions.This show: 9/10Period pieceSet meaningfully in a past era.This show: 9/10Secrets & liesHidden truths straining every relationship.This show: 9/10LegalCourtrooms, lawyers and the machinery of the law.This show: 8/10Class divideWealth, poverty and the gulf between them.This show: 8/10AtmosphericMood and place thick enough to touch.This show: 8/10Ensemble castMany characters carrying equal weight.This show: 8/10Social commentaryDeliberate critique of how society works.This show: 7/10
Rate this series
Starring
Anna Maxwell MartinCarey MulliganDenis LawsonGillian AndersonTom GeorgesonCharles Dance
Starring
Anna Maxwell MartinCarey MulliganDenis LawsonGillian AndersonTom GeorgesonCharles Dance
Ratings per Episode
246810
Votes per Episode
0100200300400

Bleak House Episode Ratings Heatmap

AvgE1E2E3E4E5E6E7E8E9E10E11E12E13E14E15
S18.17.87.87.97.88.08.28.28.58.28.38.38.18.48.58.5

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Bleak House episode ratings heatmap infographic

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About

"A Victorian saga made to feel urgent"

An adaptation of Dickens's sprawling novel, centered on an interminable inheritance lawsuit that has consumed generations and the tangled lives orbiting it, including a young woman raised without knowing her parentage and a aristocratic lady guarding a dangerous secret. Watching it feels surprisingly brisk for a Victorian costume drama: quick cuts, overlapping plots, and a soap-opera rhythm replace the usual stately pacing. It's carried by strong performances and a genuine sense of dread and intrigue as the mystery tightens, making a dense classic feel unexpectedly gripping and modern.

Watch it for

the unusually brisk, almost soap-opera pacing that makes a dense Dickens plot feel gripping.

Maybe skip if

you want a slow, traditional costume drama rather than fast, intercut storytelling.

Written by our AI editor to help you decide, spoiler-free by design.

All Seasons

▼
Season 12005
8.14K157h 43m
EpTitleRatingYoursVotesRuntime
▶1Episode #1.17.8
34457 min
▶2Episode #1.27.8
29029 min
▶3Episode #1.37.9
27929 min
▶4Episode #1.47.8
26529 min
▶5Episode #1.58.0
26529 min
▶6Episode #1.68.2
25629 min
▶7Episode #1.78.2
24929 min
▶8Episode #1.88.5
25529 min
▶9Episode #1.98.2
24729 min
▶10Episode #1.108.3
24629 min
▶11Episode #1.118.3
24729 min
▶12Episode #1.128.1
23429 min
▶13Episode #1.138.4
24129 min
▶14Episode #1.148.5
24429 min
▶15Episode #1.158.5
23229 min

Full Cast & Crew

Cast

Anna Maxwell Martin Esther Summerson
Carey Mulligan Ada Clare, Ada Carstone
Denis Lawson John Jarndyce
Gillian Anderson Lady Dedlock
Tom Georgeson Clamb
Charles Dance Mr. Tulkinghorn
Patrick Kennedy Richard Carstone
Timothy West Sir Leicester Dedlock
Burn Gorman Guppy
Hugo Speer Sergeant George

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