Hulu’s 16-Episode Crime Caper: How Ritchie Meets Charles Dickens in a Masterclass of Mixing Genres

A Dickens sequel in Australia

The Artful Dodger follows Jack Dawkins 15 years after Oliver Twist. Now a trained surgeon in the Australian coastal penal colony of Port Victory, Jack faces his past when Fagin arrives and draws him into a plan to steal gold from the British Crown.

The series can be followed without prior knowledge of Oliver Twist, with Jack and Fagin at its centre. Their criminal schemes sit alongside Jack’s work as a doctor and his growing relationship with Lady Belle Fox, the governor’s daughter, played by Maia Mitchell.

Four genres, one central story

The show combines crime caper, Victorian period drama, medical drama and romance. Jack and Belle develop surgical techniques together, while their professional partnership grows into a romance. Heists, quick-paced action, a crew of part-time criminals and an anachronistic soundtrack bring a Ritchie-like energy to the story. Jack’s appetite for risk connects his medical work, criminal schemes and relationship with Belle, whose social standing makes him an unlikely match.

Renewed, with an ending ahead

The second season consisted of eight episodes and arrived in February. In August, Hulu and Disney+ confirmed a third season, a quicker renewal than after the first season premiered in November 2023. Production began in Sydney, Australia, at the end of September.

Brodie-Sangster, Thewlis and Mitchell are set to return. Disney said the show was its most-viewed Australian Original title on Disney+ to date, but the third season will be its final one. The renewal follows a second-season finale that left Fagin’s fate uncertain while giving Jack and Belle a future to consider.