This series is 'based upon' a true story and draws from the interest that generates. It does involve and blend depictions of real people - including great artists and figures from the period who we now know and revere. There is a lot of name dropping in this drama to sprinkle a little extra magic in there.
This being said it's for light entertainment value only. We have lots of sexual intrigue and what I'm reluctant to describe as tension (it never really builds as tension to be honest). There's sex - let's put it that way - but again, nothing graphic, nothing explicit. Likewise, there's a war context - but there's no real fear or tension about the place (even when people are arrested you are never in fear of their lives). There is no depiction of mistreatment even if it is spoken of and some of the language is of the day (opinions shared by Nazis and sympathisers) to make you feel revolted.
This is a drama that takes you to a viewing platform from where you ought to be able to see all these things - but it is just short of showing you anything powerful or shocking. Instead it's foggy and misty, and you're distracted by an indulgence of clothing, houses, scenery, and an inexplicable mood that might explode into a party or a song and dance at any moment. There is the token anxious character here or there - but they the party poopers rather than someone making a genuine and valid point. We see little of PTSD, flashbacks, anxiety attacks, worries or concerns. The artists are resilient in their joy - they are not preoccupied with expressing the darkness of the surrounding circumstances.
Likewise, when the fleeing refugee Jews make it to the south coast of France in their hopes of escape - they don't find each other huddled in masses, cough and starving, exhausted from walking hundreds of miles - instead it looks like a beach holiday. One man runs delighted into the sea and splashes in the water (salt water that nobody could drink). Nobody is concerned about where to find food or how to make the next venture to escape the country (given their backs are to the sea).
Overall this is a problematic depiction and it's lightweight. It's for enjoyment - not to recreate anything sharply. How accurate it is, I find very questionable.
Nevertheless if you suspend that problematic aspect, you can enjoy a lot about the series. There is some decent acting and the lead female actress, Gillian Jacobs, is very charming and charismatic, giving an enjoyable performance overall. I'd like to see her in something that pushed her a bit harder to be honest.
This is a solid 6 - but overall there are better dramas out there and this will never be regarded as a classic because it's too forgettable and it's just not compelling.
