TV series

The Mallens

1979–1980 · 2 seasons

A brooding, slow-burning period saga of inherited shame and ruinous passions, heavy with dread and old-money decay.

Overview: The Mallens is a British television drama based on four Catherine Cookson novels, The Mallen Streak, The Mallen Girls, The Mallen Secret, and The Mallen Curse. Produced by Granada Television for ITV1, it ran for thirteen episodes from 10 June 1979 to 3 July 1980. A ruthless 19th-century Northumberland squire, Thomas Mallen of High Banks Hall, has a genetic white streak (poliosis) in his hair and fathers numerous illegitimate children, all of whom inherit the white streak and live disastrous lives.
How it feels: Dark, melancholic, tense and earnest. Slow-burning and needs your attention.
About: Family, betrayal, class, obsession
Content: Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: darkstrength 3 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: family
betrayal
class
obsession
fate
Places: countryside
single country house
small town
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: serialised
ensemble
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild