# The Doll Factory
**The Doll Factory** is a six-part British period thriller television series, first broadcast on [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) in 2023, adapted from Elizabeth Macneal's 2019 debut novel of the same name. Created by Charley Miles, it stars Esmé Creed-Miles as Iris, a doll painter in 1850s London who dreams of becoming an artist, with [Éanna Hardwicke](https://www.edgepedia.org/eanna-hardwicke) as the obsessive taxidermist Silas and George Webster as the Pre-Raphaelite painter Louis Frost.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/63205/the-doll-factory) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21338936/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Six-part scripted thriller, episodes of about 49 minutes, age rating 18[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/63205/the-doll-factory) • [3](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/the-doll-factory) |
| Source | Adaptation of Elizabeth Macneal's 2019 debut novel *The Doll Factory* (Atria, 368 pages)[4](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781982106768) |
| Setting | London in 1850, around the construction of the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park[5](https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Media-Release-The-Doll-Factory-21-November-2023.pdf) |
| Lead cast | Esmé Creed-Miles (Iris), Éanna Hardwicke (Silas), Mirren Mack (Rose), George Webster (Louis Frost)[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21338936/) |
| Creator and directors | Created by Charley Miles; directed by Sacha Polak and Cathy Brady; Julie Harkin was the casting director[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/63205/the-doll-factory) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21338936/fullcredits/) • [14](https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/2023/11/21/dont-miss-the-highly-anticipated-six-part-thriller-the-doll-factory-from-thursday-7-december-on-sbs-and-sbs-on-demand/) |
| Production | Buccaneer Media, Shinawill Productions, and Cineflix Rights; shot in Ireland from September 2022[7](https://www.productionlist.com/production/the-doll-factory) |
| Release | United States premiere November 27, 2023 on Paramount+; Australia from December 7, 2023 on SBS[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21338936/) • [5](https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Media-Release-The-Doll-Factory-21-November-2023.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story is set in London in 1850, with the [Great Exhibition](https://www.edgepedia.org/great-exhibition) being erected in Hyde Park. Iris paints the faces of dolls for a living alongside her twin sister Rose, working for Mrs. Salter, and by night secretly paints herself naked in the cellar. Silas is a taxidermist who owns a shop filled with his creations and dreams of finding an item so unique it will make him famous. Louis is a painter and member of the [Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood](https://www.edgepedia.org/pre-raphaelite-brotherhood) searching for his next muse. When Iris meets Silas, and then Louis, she is offered a chance to escape and start a new life, but to take it she must abandon her sister and sacrifice her reputation. As her world expands, a story of dark obsession begins to unfold.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/63205/the-doll-factory) • [5](https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Media-Release-The-Doll-Factory-21-November-2023.pdf)
In the series, Iris spends her days creating mourning dolls, painted for people who want to remember a deceased child, under the watchful eyes of Mrs. Salter, played by [Pippa Haywood](https://www.edgepedia.org/pippa-haywood).[5](https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Media-Release-The-Doll-Factory-21-November-2023.pdf) • [8](https://dvd-fever.co.uk/the-doll-factory-the-dvdfever-review-paramount-esme-creed-miles/) When Louis asks her to model for him, she agrees on the condition that he also teaches her to paint.[4](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781982106768)
## The source novel
Macneal's novel was published in August 2019 by Atria at $27 for 368 pages, and *Publishers Weekly* described it as a fresh dramatization of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, pairing the real painters [William Holman Hunt](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-holman-hunt), John Everett Millais, and [Dante Gabriel Rossetti](https://www.edgepedia.org/dante-gabriel-rossetti) with the fictitious brotherhood member Louis Frost.[4](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781982106768) In the novel, Silas Reed is a taxidermist who sells stuffed animals to artists as props, and he stalks Iris with the intention of possessing her like an object; only Albie, a street urchin befriended by Iris, understands how much danger she is in.[4](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781982106768) The book was slated for publication in twenty-eight languages, and TV rights were sold to Buccaneer Media.[9](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59041248-the-doll-factory) On Goodreads it holds a rating of 3.77 from more than 27,000 ratings.[9](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59041248-the-doll-factory)
## Cast and production
Esmé Creed-Miles leads as Iris, with Mirren Mack as her twin Rose, Éanna Hardwicke as Silas, and George Webster as Louis Frost; Laurie Kynaston plays Millais and Akshay Khanna plays Rossetti.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21338936/) • [1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/63205/the-doll-factory) The wider cast includes Sharlene Whyte, Freddy Carter, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Jim Caesar, Aysha Kala, and [Nell Hudson](https://www.edgepedia.org/nell-hudson).[5](https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Media-Release-The-Doll-Factory-21-November-2023.pdf)
The series was produced by Buccaneer Media, Shinawill Productions, and Cineflix Rights, with principal photography in Ireland beginning in September 2022; Dublin is listed as a filming location.[7](https://www.productionlist.com/production/the-doll-factory) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21338936/) Elizabeth Macneal served as an executive producer alongside Anna Burns, Charley Miles, and Richard Tulk-Hart.[10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_doll_factory) Lele Marchitelli composed the music and Tibor Dingelstad was director of photography.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21338936/fullcredits/)
## Release and reception
The series premiered on Paramount+ in the United States on November 27, 2023, with two episodes available at launch and daily episodes thereafter.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21338936/) • [8](https://dvd-fever.co.uk/the-doll-factory-the-dvdfever-review-paramount-esme-creed-miles/) In Australia it arrived on SBS and SBS On Demand on December 7, 2023, streaming free in full with double episodes weekly at 9:30pm on the SBS channel.[5](https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Media-Release-The-Doll-Factory-21-November-2023.pdf) TVmaze lists the show's status as ended after its single 2023 season on Paramount+.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/63205/the-doll-factory)
Reception was mixed. On Metacritic's season page, The Guardian scored it 60, praising the performances of Esme Creed-Miles and Éanna Hardwicke and noting that the final episode abandons steady period-drama conventions for theatrics; The Telegraph scored it 40, calling the show pretty but lacking heart and soul.[11](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-doll-factory/season-1/) [The Observer](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-observer) gave 3/5, finding it full-on in its dancing candlelight, carnal reveries, and encroaching menace, and The Upcoming also gave 3/5, calling the slow-burn atmosphere the real star of the gothic romance.[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_doll_factory/s01) Audience ratings on IMDb stand at 5.8.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/the-doll-factory)
## Availability
The series is no longer widely available. JustWatch reports it is not available for streaming in the United Kingdom, though it remains available in Ireland and a small number of other countries on Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Canal+, and other services.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/the-doll-factory) TV Insider likewise lists the show as currently unavailable on any streaming platform.[13](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/the-doll-factory/) In Australia it can still be watched free on SBS On Demand.[5](https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Media-Release-The-Doll-Factory-21-November-2023.pdf)
## References
1. [The Doll Factory, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/63205/the-doll-factory)
2. [The Doll Factory (TV Series 2023), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21338936/)
3. [The Doll Factory streaming, JustWatch UK](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/the-doll-factory)
4. [The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal, Publishers Weekly](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781982106768)
5. [SBS Media Release: The Doll Factory, 21 November 2023](https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Media-Release-The-Doll-Factory-21-November-2023.pdf)
6. [The Doll Factory, Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21338936/fullcredits/)
7. [The Doll Factory, Production List, Film & Television Industry Alliance](https://www.productionlist.com/production/the-doll-factory)
8. [The Doll Factory, The DVDfever Review](https://dvd-fever.co.uk/the-doll-factory-the-dvdfever-review-paramount-esme-creed-miles/)
9. [The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal, Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59041248-the-doll-factory)
10. [The Doll Factory, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_doll_factory)
11. [The Doll Factory Season 1 Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-doll-factory/season-1/)
12. [The Doll Factory: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_doll_factory/s01)
13. [The Doll Factory, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/the-doll-factory/)
14. [Don’t miss the highly anticipated six-part thriller The Doll Factory, from Thursday 7 December on SBS and SBS On Demand - SBS About](https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/2023/11/21/dont-miss-the-highly-anticipated-six-part-thriller-the-doll-factory-from-thursday-7-december-on-sbs-and-sbs-on-demand/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Adapted and franchise screen series › Literary and classic serial adaptations › Thriller and crime adaptations*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license