[4] Set between 1781 and 1801, it stars Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark, a British Army veteran of the American Revolutionary War, who returns to his home in Cornwall to find that his father has died, leaving his estate in ruins.

The series follows his efforts to rebuild his fortune with the aid of his maid-turned-wife Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) and his relationships with his cousin Elizabeth Poldark (Heida Reed) and rival George Warleggan (Jack Farthing).

In 1783 Captain Ross Vennor Poldark returns from the American Revolutionary War to his home of Nampara in Cornwall after three years in the army.

Upon his return home, he discovers his father Joshua has died, his estate is in ruins and in considerable debt, and his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth is engaged to his cousin Francis.

He meets a young woman called Demelza Carne at Truro market and hires her as a scullery maid but they fall in love and marry in 1787.

Throughout the five series, the story continues to follow the lives of Ross and Demelza, Elizabeth and Francis and George Warleggan while they deal with their marriages, lost loves, death, the birth of their children and war.

[5] On 8 April 2015, the BBC announced that a second series had been commissioned[30] which premiered on 4 September 2016, and contained content from the third and fourth Poldark novels.

The storyline for the fifth series was meant to give insight into Ross's story between the seventh and eighth novel, The Angry Tide and The Stranger from the Sea.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Like an epic romance novel come to life, Poldark offers a sumptuous visual feast, from gorgeous scenery to a charming, handsome lead.

[38] Reviewing season 1, Mike Hale of The New York Times called the series "Sweeping, stirring, rousing...good stuff"[39] and his colleague Sarah Seltzer also wrote: "the series delivers immediately on the panoramic scenery and romance that this genre demands: plunging cliffs, green fields, galloping horses and burning glances aplenty".

[40] Brian Lowry of Variety wrote: "Turner brings the necessary swoon-worthy qualities to the emotionally wounded lead...but the cast is uniformly good."

"[41] Keith Uhlich of The Hollywood Reporter made positive comparisons to the kind of romance novels sold in airports and said "This is trash done ecstatically well.