TV Show review
Review basis: 2 seasons, 16 episodes · through February 10, 2026
November 29, 2023 · TV-14 · Returning Series
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Artful Dodger is an Australian TV series set in 1850s colonial Australia. It follows Jack Dawkins, the former pickpocket known as the Artful Dodger, who works as a surgeon while his old partner Fagin draws him back into crime and heists. Lady Belle Fox, the governor's daughter, drives a major arc by demanding training as the colony's first female surgeon despite strong opposition from family and society.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Artful Dodger.
Woke representation / casting
Belle is the central female lead portrayed as highly competent and ambitious in a male-only medical field in 1850s Australia. Some Indigenous and diverse actors appear in supporting roles.
Woke political dialogue
Gender restrictions and class divides appear through character conflicts and Belle's arc, but without frequent explicit activist speeches.
Identity-driven story themes
Belle's determination to become a surgeon despite family and societal pressure forms a recurring driver for plot, romance, and conflict across seasons.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The story shows harsh colonial medical practices, class barriers, and limits on women in a penal colony setting. Framing stays mostly within the historical period.
Woke character or canon changes
Fagin's Jewish identity from the Dickens novel is omitted or softened. Belle is an original character given a strong modern-style gender ambition story.
Production
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No significant public complaints treat the series as pushing woke, DEI, or identity politics messaging.
Creator track record context
Most key creatives show professional entertainment careers without clear patterns of identity or activist work. Miranda Tapsell has a public history of Indigenous advocacy.
