TV Show review
March 19, 2017 · 47 min · TV-G · Canceled
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Anne with an E.
Woke representation / casting
Added prominent Black and Indigenous characters (Bash, Ka’kwet and family) with dedicated arcs on racial prejudice and cultural difference; explicit dialogue calls out Anne meeting her “first person of color”; deliberate expansion beyond the books’ mostly white rural PEI setting.
Woke political dialogue
Repeated direct conversations about feminism, girls’ capabilities versus boys’, women’s limited choices, and social injustice; Anne’s published article on women’s rights triggers community backlash framed as progressive resistance.
Identity-driven story themes
Anne’s core arc centers outsider identity, trauma survival, and fierce fight for acceptance and belonging; expanded with explicit racial, Indigenous, and gender-identity conflicts plus empowerment against societal norms.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Portrays 1890s Canadian community norms, traditional gender roles, conformity, and residential-style schools for Indigenous children as restrictive and harmful; highlights systemic bias against women, minorities, and nonconformists as problems requiring challenge.
Review
Anne with an E is a three-season Canadian period drama loosely based on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables books. It follows orphan Anne Shirley’s arrival in 1890s Avonlea, Prince Edward Island, where her vivid imagination and fierce spirit help her win over reluctant adoptive siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert and gradually reshape the tight-knit community. The series expands the source material with a darker trauma-focused backstory for Anne and adds prominent storylines about feminism, racism, and Indigenous experiences, including explicit on-screen discussions of gender equality and prejudice.
Woke character or canon changes
Created new diverse supporting characters and subplots on racism and feminism absent from Montgomery’s novels; reinterpreted Anne with heavier modern trauma and vocal social-advocacy elements.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Book purists and conservative reviewers repeatedly accused the series of pushing modern feminist ideology, forced diversity, and left-leaning social commentary; labeled “woke,” “grimdark,” and a betrayal of the source’s lighter spirit.
Creator track record context
Several directors (Niki Caro, Patricia Rozema) have feminist or socially conscious film histories; showrunner emphasized updating themes of identity and prejudice for contemporary relevance; overall reflects progressive Canadian television production patterns.
Production
