The Miniaturist - Season 1

"The Miniaturist" may feel raw and green, sometimes naively so, but in its awkward, otherworldly way champions hope and change, and that's rarely a waste of time.

The three-part period piece has some weaknesses in the final chapter, but it is nonetheless an intriguing story led by a trio of stellar performances. Oh, and it's completely gorgeous.

This is style very much as substance.

From the rustle of silk on dark staircases to the pervasive atmosphere of watery menace, this was a spellbinding drama for a winter's night.

Still, the mystery is thrilling, and the show is gorgeous to look at, and Taylor-Joy is a fantastic actress who keeps the show humming along, even when her character doesn't quite make sense for her surroundings.

It's absolutely glorious to look at in its fully formed universe of old Amsterdam; it's wicked and wild but in the turmoil, she finds out who she is, her previously unknown abilities and how adversity can cause one's heart to grow and love.

"Masterpiece"... is back with a gorgeous looking three-part series about a young woman married to a 17th century Amsterdam merchant, based on Jessie Burton's novel and lit like a Vermeer painting.

The Miniaturist is always lovely to look at and the cast are uniformly good, despite too often having to deliver lines of slightly portentous, viewer-nudging dialogue.

The Miniaturist will keep you hooked, and guessing, piece by beautifully handcrafted piece.

But just like the dollhouse at its center, The Miniaturist is better at housing facsimiles rather than characters that feel real.