Inspired by Anaïs Nin’s posthumously published 1979 collection of erotic short stories of the same name, “Little Birds” is a British drama television series weaving stories of love and desire together with personal drama and political intrigue, set against a uniquely distinctive backdrop of hedonism and conflict that first broadcast on August 4, 2020, on Sky Atlantic and Now TV in the UK.
Season one of this lush politically intriguing erotica premiered in the US on Sunday, June 6, 2021, on Starz.
The six-part series follows cosseted Wasp princess and heiress to arms manufacturing fortune Lucy Savage (Juno Temple) as she leaves the dysfunctional parental home – her father is conscienceless and controlling, and her mother, as a result, is a tranquilized, alcoholic, perfectly styled wreck – for Tangier. And, if she but knew it, an even more dysfunctional life married to impoverished lord Hugo Cavendish-Smyth (Hugh Skinner).
Hugo is gay, deeply closeted – we are in 1955 – and in love with Egyptian prince Adham Abaza (Raphael Acloque), who reacts badly to the news that a wife is on the way. Lucy is seduced by Morocco and, in the absence of any equivalent endeavor by her husband, falls ever more gladly under its spell. It turns out that a year’s worth of experimental medication you are given by your doctor, in secret cahoots with your father, to free you from “troublesome behaviors and distracting wants” can only do so much in the face of a land full of hitherto unsuspected delights and fabulous degenerates.
Where can I watch “Little Birds”?
Exclusively available for streaming on Starz and Sky Atlantic.