The original bad boy poet: more scandals than sonnets, more lovers than lines.
Season 1 • Episode 2
LatestAnabella learns that marriage to the greatest Romantic poet of his age is one of heartbreak and betrayal. After the birth of their daughter Byron suggests a separation, and the news of his relationship with his half-sister quickly becomes a national scandal. Byron goes into exile and continues his life of hedonistic pleasure in Venice.
Byron revolutionized English poetry and died a hero. He became famous overnight when the poetic record of his adventures abroad was received with rapture. This rich historical drama explores the true identity of the wild poetic genius who broke every taboo in the book. Byron's affairs and his unconventionality, however, were always destined to bring him down.
Acting
Jonny Lee Miller's Byron: equal parts charisma and self-loathing.
Costume
Those collars! That hair! The aesthetic commitment is *chef's kiss*.
Writing
Sharp dialogue that makes 19th century scandal feel surprisingly modern.
Jonny Lee Miller
Lord Byron
Natasha Little
Augusta Leigh
Stephen Campbell Moore
John Cam Hobhouse
Julie Cox
Annabella Milbanke
Vanessa Redgrave
Lady Melbourne
Penny Downie
Lady Judith Milbanke
Sally Hawkins
Mary Shelley
Oliver Milburn
Scrope Davies
Camilla Power
Caroline Lamb
Branka Katić
Teresa Guiccioli
Pauline Moran
Mrs Curtin
Julian Firth
Thomas Moore
Nicholas Pritchard
Colonel Leigh
Jean-François Wolff
Tita
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jonny Lee Miller is actually Byron's direct descendant — casting that borders on ancestral reenactment. Spoiler level: FREE
This BBC production arrived during the early 2000s prestige drama boom, when networks realized audiences would watch historical figures be messy for hours. Spoiler level: FREE
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