Wolf Hall (TV series)

A few dissenting voices found some flaws. ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' alleged that there was a substantial drop in ratings between the first and second episodes, despite all the following episodes holding high and consistent ratings.<ref>Anita Singh,[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/11378523/Wolf-Hall-a-turn-off-as-a-million-viewers-switch-over.html Wolf Hall a turn-off as a million viewers switch over], ''The Daily Telegraph'', 29 January 2015</ref> [[Simon Schama]] stated concerns about how the series depicted historical figures.<ref name="schama">{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec5583e2-b115-11e4-9331-00144feab7de.html |title=What historians think of historical novels |date=13 February 2015 |first=Simon |last=Schama |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |access-date=20 August 2015}} {{subscription required}}</ref> [[Emily Nussbaum]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' cited "small weaknesses", but wrote "the show’s deliberately paced six hours turn out to be riveting, precisely because they are committed, without apology or, often, much explanation, to the esotericism of their subject matter."<ref name="TNY">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/04/queens-boulevard|title=Queens Boulevard|last=Nussbaum|first=Emily|date=27 April 2017|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|access-date=22 April 2020}}</ref>

A few dissenting voices found some flaws. ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' alleged that there was a substantial drop in ratings between the first and second episodes, despite all the following episodes holding high and consistent ratings.<ref>Anita Singh,[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/11378523/Wolf-Hall-a-turn-off-as-a-million-viewers-switch-over.html Wolf Hall a turn-off as a million viewers switch over], ''The Daily Telegraph'', 29 January 2015</ref> [[Simon Schama]] stated concerns about how the series depicted historical figures.<ref name="schama">{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec5583e2-b115-11e4-9331-00144feab7de.html |title=What historians think of historical novels |date=13 February 2015 |first=Simon |last=Schama |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |access-date=20 August 2015}} {{subscription required}}</ref> [[Emily Nussbaum]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' cited "small weaknesses", but wrote "the show’s deliberately paced six hours turn out to be riveting, precisely because they are committed, without apology or, often, much explanation, to the esotericism of their subject matter."<ref name="TNY">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/04/queens-boulevard|title=Queens Boulevard|last=Nussbaum|first=Emily|date=27 April 2017|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|access-date=22 April 2020}}</ref>

''The Mirror and the Light'' also generated controversy over the inclusion of non-white actors, a departure from the first series. Colin Callender, the founder of [[Playground Entertainment]], the company that produced the series, addressed the "color-blind" casting issue, saying, "The world has changed since the first series. We felt that diverse casting was appropriate and something we should and wanted to do. It’s as simple as that."<ref>[https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/wolf-hall-colour-blind-casting-newsupdate/ "Wolf Hall director defends color-blind casting after Hilary Mantel approved changes" by James Hibbs, RadioTimes.com, 8 November 2024], Retrieved 28 May 2025</ref> However, the choice drew criticism, including from the journalist and author, [[Petronella Wyatt]], a descendant of [[Thomas Wyatt (poet)|Thomas Wyatt]] who was portrayed in the series by a British actor originally from Egypt. Writing in ''The Daily Telegraph'', she called the decision "absurd" and said "to portray English aristocrats as black or mixed-race is, conversely, an act of reverse racism, as it suggests that ethnic minorities in Tudor Britain had the doors of society flung open to them, when in fact they led drear and oppressed lives."<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/04/09/wolf-hall-mantel-wyatt-colour-casting-amir-el-masry/ "Wolf Hall is back – but casting a mixed-race British-Egyptian as my ancestor Thomas Wyatt is absurd" by Petronella Wyatt, The Telegraph, 9 April 2024, Retrieved 28 May 2025]</ref>

''The Mirror and the Light'' also generated controversy over the inclusion of non-white actors, a departure from the first series. Colin Callender, the founder of [[Playground Entertainment]], the company that produced the series, addressed the "color-blind" casting issue, saying, "The world has changed since the first series. We felt that diverse casting was appropriate and something we should and wanted to do. It's as simple as that."<ref>[https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/wolf-hall-colour-blind-casting-newsupdate/ "Wolf Hall director defends color-blind casting after Hilary Mantel approved changes" by James Hibbs, RadioTimes.com, 8 November 2024], Retrieved 28 May 2025</ref> However, the choice drew criticism, including from the journalist and author, [[Petronella Wyatt]], a descendant of [[Thomas Wyatt (poet)|Thomas Wyatt]] who was portrayed in the series by a British actor originally from Egypt. Writing in ''The Daily Telegraph'', she called the decision "absurd" and said "to portray English aristocrats as black or mixed-race is, conversely, an act of reverse racism, as it suggests that ethnic minorities in Tudor Britain had the doors of society flung open to them, when in fact they led drear and oppressed lives."<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/04/09/wolf-hall-mantel-wyatt-colour-casting-amir-el-masry/ "Wolf Hall is back – but casting a mixed-race British-Egyptian as my ancestor Thomas Wyatt is absurd" by Petronella Wyatt, The Telegraph, 9 April 2024, Retrieved 28 May 2025]</ref>

The lighting design, which used historically accurate natural light sources (such as candlelight for evening scenes) prompted criticism from viewers who felt parts of the series appeared too dark.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/11361855/Wolf-Hall-viewers-complain-naturally-lit-scenes-left-them-in-the-dark.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/11361855/Wolf-Hall-viewers-complain-naturally-lit-scenes-left-them-in-the-dark.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Wolf Hall viewers complain candlelit scenes left them in the dark|last=Furness|first=Hannah|date=22 January 2015|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|access-date=30 April 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The lighting design, which used historically accurate natural light sources (such as candlelight for evening scenes) prompted criticism from viewers who felt parts of the series appeared too dark.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/11361855/Wolf-Hall-viewers-complain-naturally-lit-scenes-left-them-in-the-dark.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/11361855/Wolf-Hall-viewers-complain-naturally-lit-scenes-left-them-in-the-dark.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Wolf Hall viewers complain candlelit scenes left them in the dark|last=Furness|first=Hannah|date=22 January 2015|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|access-date=30 April 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>