Renegade Nell

Renegade Nell (formerly The Ballad of Renegade Nell) is a British historical fantasy action adventure television series written by Sally Wainwright and starring Louisa Harland. Produced by Lookout Point for Disney+, the series premiered on 29 March 2024., It tells how, in a fantasy version of 18th-century England, Nell Jackson (Harland) is framed for murder and becomes a highwaywoman—the most feared person in the country. With the help of a magical sprite called Billy Blind, Nell realizes that her destiny is bigger than she ever imagined.

Cast

 * Louisa Harland as Nell "Nelly" Jackson, a young fugitive
 * Adrian Lester as Robert Hennessey, Earl of Poynton
 * Nick Mohammed as Billy Blind, a fairy that grants Nell her powers
 * Bo Bragason as Roxy Trotter, Nell's younger sister
 * Enyi Okoronkwo as Rasselas, a young stable boy
 * Craig Parkinson as Sam Trotter, Nell's father
 * Florence Keen as George Trotter, Nell's youngest sister
 * Frank Dillane as Charles Devereux, aka Isambard Tulley, a wanted highwayman
 * Alice Kremelberg as Sofia Wilmot, daughter of a magistrate and an ambitious widow
 * Jake Dunn as Thomas Blancheford, Sofia's brother and the magistrate's heir
 * Pip Torrens as Lord Blancheford, a magistrate and the Trotters' landlord
 * Jodhi May as Queen Anne
 * Joely Richardson as Lady Eularia Moggerhanger, a newspaper magnate
 * Iz Hesketh as Valerian, Lady Eularia's attendant
 * Ashna Rabheru as Polly Honeycombe, a young noblewoman with writing aspirations

Production
In April 2021 it was revealed that Disney+ had acquired the series from British screenwriter Sally Wainwright. Ben Taylor, Amanda Brotchie and MJ Delaney are directing episodes. Faith Penhale, Will Johnston, Louise Mutter and Johanna Deveraux are executive producers. Jon Jennings is series producer and Stella Merz producer.

In a Radio Times interview following the series' premiere, director Ben Taylor said a second season was being written and would likely involve a time jump; Disney+ had yet to confirm whether there would indeed be a second season at the time of the interview's publication.

Casting
In August 2022 Louisa Harland, Nick Mohammed, Joely Richardson, and Adrian Lester were announced as being among the cast for the series.

Filming
Principal photography was reported to have started with a nine-month schedule for the planned eight episodes. Joely Richardson was pictured in costume at Oxford's Bodleian Library in October 2022. Other filming locations included Hampton Court Palace, Bourne Wood in Farnham, Rousham House in Oxfordshire, Broughton Castle (the Blancheford's manor house) also in Oxfordshire, and the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

Broadcast
Renegade Nell streamed on Disney+ from 29 March 2024.

Reception
On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph said "Harland carries the whole series and is sensational." Lucy Mangan in The Guardian gave the show four stars and described Harland as "being brilliant". Fiona Sturges in The Financial Times described it as a "stylish about-turn" for Wainright, but that "it is really Harland's show".