About the Show

2015

When a rural English town finds itself on the verge of World War II, the community’s women struggle to put aside their differences and join forces amidst the chaos and uncertainty of wartime.

Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey) and Francesca Annis (Reckless, Cranford) star in this heartwarming story of courage, friendship, and holding onto light in our darkest moments.

Bond and Annis play two small-town rivals, battling over control of their local women’s service organization. Bond plays forward-thinking Frances Barden, a born leader with a stubborn streak, while Annis is her antagonist, Joyce Cameron, obsessed with class and tradition. With war looming, the local chapter of The Women’s Institute faces its moment of truth. Will the group shut up shop for the duration, or will it reinvent itself to help the nation in its hour of need? It will take calm, fortitude, and creativity to bring the diverse women of the village together, and to help the community survive the harrowing years to come.

Home Fires is based on Jambusters, Julie Summers’ history of the Women’s Institute in World War II. Audiences and critics fell in love with Home Fires during its recent UK broadcast, which enticed over six million viewers each week. The Daily Mirror (London) applauded the series as “an astonishing story about women as war breaks out.” And the Sunday Express (London) echoed, “There are few better dramas on television.”

Co-starring with Bond and Annis are a multitude of gifted British actresses playing the spectrum of women in the village, from maids to shopkeepers to gentry, including Ruth Gemmell, Claire Rushbrook (Great Expectations), Frances Grey, Clare Calbraith (Downton Abbey), Rachel Hurd-Wood (Peter Pan), Leila Mimmack, Claire Price (The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Fenella Woolgar, Leanne Best, and Daisy Badger.

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