I’ve always been a sucker for a good period drama, so when word reached me that an independently-produced Regency romance called Seeking Persephone was winning over hearts and minds on social media, I had to see it for myself. What I discovered was a charming and understated binge-watch that delivered all longing, no lust, and one spectacular performance from an up-and-coming actress.
Seeking Persephone is based on the first of Sarah M. Eden’s Lancaster family romance novels, which follow five siblings, all saddled with names plucked from Greek mythology, as they embark on squeaky clean romances in early 1800s England. Persephone (Ryann Bailey) is the eldest child and utterly devoted to caring for her impoverished family after the death of their mother. So when Persephone gets an incredible offer of marriage from the reclusive Duke of Kielder (Jake Stormoen) — he will offer the Lancaster clan an insane amount of money provided Persephone marry him sight unseen — she does her duty and marries for convenience, not love.
Over the course of Seeking Persephone‘s four episodes, we watch as Persephone attempts to cope with her loneliness while the Duke struggles to connect with a woman he’s actually more attracted to than he expected. We learn that the Duke, aka Adam, was scarred from a series of surgeries as a child and he can’t believe anyone would care for him apart from his mother and best friend Harry Windover (Toby-Alexander Smith). Seeking Persephone follows the classic “Beauty and the Beast” romance trope in Regency garb.
Seeking Persephone is also decidedly tame. If you’re one of the people who does not like sex on screen, Seeking Persephone is made for you. In fact, there is so little sex in this show that Persephone and Adam’s marriage is never even consummated! (Does that mean it’s even legal? Are they really married if they never sleep together?) Don’t worry, though, there is a whole lot of yearning and even a few chaste kisses.
Two things kept me binging all of Seeking Persephone last Saturday night. One, the series’s director, Utah-based filmmaker John Lyde, made a series of incredible production choices that left the low-budget show feeling decidedly closer to Masterpiece on PBS than Hallmark. Two, leading lady Ryann Bailey is absolutely captivating to watch. She pulls you in with her expressive eyes and pitch perfect British accent. I was honestly astonished to find out that Bailey still seems to be grinding out self-tapes from her home because she feels like a real ingenue on the rise. (Sarah M. Eden seems to agree because Bailey also stars in yet another of the author’s recent independent TV adaptations, a Western called The Sheriff of Savage Wells.)
However, what maybe interests me the most about Seeking Persephone is the idea that romance authors are now not only self-publishing their work, but taking full control of the adaptations. We’ve already seen Jenny Han successfully adapt The Summer I Turned Pretty into a monster hit, but she had the infrastructure of Amazon Studios at her disposal. This is pure independent television production and it’s interesting to see it take off. Which other authors might turn to crowdfunding amongst their fans to bring their stories to life?
Seeking Persephone is now streaming on Passionflix, which you can conveniently add on to your Prime Video account for $6.99/month after a free one week trial.
