Cast

• Amybeth McNulty as Anne Shirley ^[5]
• Geraldine James as Marilla Cuthbert ^[5]
• RH Thomson as Matthew Cuthbert ^[5]
• Lucas Jade Zumann as Gilbert Blythe ^[6]
• Dalila Bela as Diana Barry ^[7]
• Corinne Koslo as Rachel Lynde ^[7]
• Aymeric Jett Montaz as Jerry Baynard ^[7]

Production

According to executive producer Miranda de Pencier , this adaptation of the novel has a different look and feel to past productions, aiming for a “documentary level of realism”, as reflected in the extraordinary detail which has gone into the design of sets and costumes. ^[8]

Staff

Besides the show, the series has many female directors. ^[9]

Casting

Approximately 1800 girls on three continents auditioned for the role of Anne Shirley. Amybeth McNulty was chosen for her ability to deliver dialogue which is incredibly thick and dynamic and beautiful, according to Miranda de Pencier. Showrunner and scriptwriter Moira Walley-Beckett describes her as “luminous, transparent, smart, soulful and emotional. ^[9]

Filming locations

The series is filmed partially in Prince Edward Island as well as locations in Southern Ontario (including Millbrook ^[10] and Caledon ). ^[11]

Music

The opening theme is the song ” Ahead by a Century ” performed and originally composed by Canadian band The Tragically Hip . ^[9]

Themes

Moira Walley-Beckett: “In this day and age, themes of identity, prejudice, bullying, being an outsider, searching for a way to be accepted and how to belong Anne Shirley “accidental feminist “, and how she “really wanted to tell this story now.” ^[9]

Broadcast and release

The series initially premiered on March 19, 2017 on CBC and aired on a weekly basis, concluding on April 30, 2017.

The series debuted Netflix is on May 12, 2017 under the name Anne with an E . ^[12] [13]

Episodes

No.	title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Can. Viewers (millions)
1	“Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny”	Niki Caro	Moira Walley-Beckett	March 19, 2017	0.999 [14]
When a miscommunication brings a girl, Anne Shirley, to Green Gables instead of a boy, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are faced with a life-changing decision.
2	“I Am No Bird, and No Net Ensnares Me”	Helen Shaver	Moira Walley-Beckett	March 26, 2017	0.780 [15]
Hoping all is not lost, Matthew races to catch up with Anne while Marilla anxiously hopes and waits for their return to Green Gables.
3	“But What Is So Headstrong as Youth?”	Sandra Goldbacher	Moira Walley-Beckett	April 2, 2017	0.994 [16]
Anne is excited to begin school and make friends, but is unprepared for the bullying that comes when she does not fit in. Marilla too, is testing new waters as she accepts an invitation to join a “Progressive Mothers” group.
4	“An Inward Treasure is Born”	David Evans	Moira Walley-Beckett	April 9, 2017	0.654 [17]
Anne is faced with the decision of whether or not to return to school. Gillis House and Anne’s generous actions help her in her choice.
5	“Tightly Knotted to a Similar String”	Patricia Rozema	Moira Walley-Beckett	April 16, 2017	N / A
Anne must deal with the inevitability of womanhood when she gets her first period . At the same time, Marilla and Matthew acclimatize to parenthood and revisit moments of their youth through Anne.
6	“Remorse Is the Poison of Life”	Paul Fox	Moira Walley-Beckett	April 23, 2017	0.656 [18]
When her little sister becomes ill, Diana runs to Anne for help. Meanwhile, the Blythe farm sees change, as Marilla is reminded of what she gave up and Matthew receives some unsettling news.
7	“Wherever You Are Is My Home”	Amanda Tapping	Moira Walley-Beckett	April 30, 2017	N / A
The Cuthberts are the best of all.

Reception

Critical response

The series has achieved a rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes , the site’s critical consensus stating: ” Anne with an e uses its complex central character to offer a boldly stylish, emotionally resonant spin on classic source material that satisfies in its own right. ^[19] The series has a rating of 79 on Metacritic based on 15 reviews, indicating “favorable reviews”. ^[20] Most reviewers have been women.

Emily Ashby, writing for Common Sense Media , calls the series an “exceptional” and “spectacular” interpretation, giving it four out of five stars. ^[21] Tasha Cerny, Contributor for the Tracking Board, praises the cinematography as lush and colorful, the vibrating characters, and the plot. “I am surprisingly thrilling for a story about a young girl living in a small secluded community in the late nineteenth century. Laughed, I cried, and I did not expect either from a show about a little girl. ” ^[22] Gwen Inhat of the AV Club , calls the series “at once darker and sweeter than the original” novel, praising the core cast, reserving the highest for the series lead: Amybeth McNulty is an amateur singer and songwriter. ^[23] Writing of the 90-minute premiere episode for the first time for the first time Toronto Star , Johanna Schneller was appreciative of Walley-Beckett’s departure from the novel, bringing its subtext to the fore: “Reading between the novels lines and adding verisimilitude , she gives us quick but potent glimpses of the miseries many orphans faced in 1890s imperialist culture . ” ^[24]Hahn Nguyen, Reviewing the series for IndieWire , concurs with this assessment, saying: “Rather than ruining the series, they give the context for why it would be gratitude for the beauties of nature, basic human decency and having a family to call her own. Montgomery had a lot of Anne’s need to escape into imagination on her own lonely childhood, and her stories have always had an underlying poignancy that made them all the sweeter. ” ^[25] Jen Chaney, writing for Vulture.com , agrees, saying: “What is it from other previous? -related or not, can be inclined to avoid. ” ^[26] The Neil Genzlinger , writing for the New York Times , commenting on reports of darkness and grittiness, goes so far as to call the adaptation “richer” than the source material: “Ms McNulty’s Anne is still wonderfully ebullient and eminently likable, she’s just not the one-dimensional figure of other adaptations. ” ^[27] Annie Hirschlag, writing for Mic , suggests that a genuinely contemporary Anne is bound to reflect the current television landscape and wider culture of its times (the 2010s): “Since today’s entertainment is peppered with antiheroes – ,

Some reviewers were more ambivalent, especially about Walley-Beckett’s changes to the story. Canadian novelist Saleema Nawaz , who has appeared on the 90-minute premiere of “The Life of Toronto” , has been nominated for Best Actress by McNulty and Thomson. Theme song as reflective of the continued relevance of the source material. Matthew’s Wild Horse Ride “. This is the first time I have ever seen a horse in my life. ^[29]Writing for Entertainment Weekly , Isabella Beidenharn expressed similar feelings, purpose, putting the source material aside, it’s a fine show on icts own “, and she conceded That” inventing a dark side might help Anne With an E made into today’s TV landscape. ” ^[30] Allison Keene, writing for Collider , Chartered That Anne is a good drama is icts own terms, Allows purpose it is “only a fair adaptation” of the novel, at its best in the home scenes: ” Anne with an E is undeniably The Most stylish adaptation we’ve ever seen of Anne of Green Gables . Montgomery’s Story. ” ^[31] Writing for Variety , ed . Critic Sonia Saraiya is one of the most famous and most influential artists in the world. Anne’s dysfunction “, presenting” a slightly soapy view of Anne’s trials and tribulations that are at the time really humanize her In others, are rather infantilizing “. ^[32]

Sarah Larson, writing for The New Yorker , was the least impressed with changes made to the story, arguing that they alter Anne’s character to the point of non-recognition. While she is a woman, she is the only one who does not know what to do with her. A “betrayal” of Montgomery ‘s novel, comparing the treatment unfavourably to Patricia Rozema ‘ s 1999 adaptation of Jane Austen ‘s Mansfield Park . ^[33]

References