Robin Hood

The show heavily features female empowerment. Maid Marian is portrayed as a daring secret agent who does not stand in Robin’s shadow. Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine acts as a strong feminist mentor, and a female outlaw fights in disguise. It also emphasizes the Saxon pagan identity fighting for freedom.

The series takes a highly critical view of Christianity, which is a major Western cultural institution. It portrays the Christian Church as a hostile and oppressive foreign force, while painting the pagan characters as noble and oppressed victims.

The series heavily alters the classic folklore. It turns Robin Hood from a historically devout Christian into a pagan rebel. It also race-swaps Little John, turns Maid Marian into an active spy and leader, and introduces a woman posing as a boy among the Merry Men.

The show faced strong backlash online and in media reports. Viewers complained about the anti-Christian historical revisionism, the race-swap of Little John, and the forced insertion of modern political and gender-based themes into a medieval setting.

Most of the primary creators, writers, and producers have clean or highly moderate records with no history of social-justice activism. However, one of the directors, Orsi Nagypál, has a strong public track record of queer and feminist activism.