While neither as densely packed as Downton Abbey nor as confrontational as Indian Summers, Victoria is a satisfying entry in the lush English teledrama genre. Jenna Coleman is excellent as the young, headstrong queen, and there's something interesting about the mix of royal grace and petulant teen. The rest of the cast is also quite good.
One thing I wished I was more clear on is what exactly Victoria's role is. In the early episodes there are people angling to take charge of her so they can "help" her rule, yet it doesn't look like she has much more actual power than current British royalty. It looks like by this time the queen was already pretty much of a figurehead who could do little more than what parliament allowed for her. I think the series is basically about a young, rich, famous person's soap opera-ish life. But I'm fine with that.
One thing I wished I was more clear on is what exactly Victoria's role is. In the early episodes there are people angling to take charge of her so they can "help" her rule, yet it doesn't look like she has much more actual power than current British royalty. It looks like by this time the queen was already pretty much of a figurehead who could do little more than what parliament allowed for her. I think the series is basically about a young, rich, famous person's soap opera-ish life. But I'm fine with that.