The first series of what Moffat hoped would become a 42-hour televised drama following an extended family through the 20th century, was broadcast in spring 2013 and covered the years 1914 to 1920.

Unlike Downton Abbey, this version of history is a working-class history—"domestics are expected to face the walls when the master walks by".

[2] The first series was filmed in and around Hayfield, Edale, Glossop, Chapel-en-le-Frith and Charlesworth in the Peak District, and in the grounds of Tatton Park in Cheshire, during October to December 2012.

[7][8] First series The Village received mainly positive reviews after the first episode; the Independent said "the story was ostensibly small and specific", but "then it opened up, cinematically, to the world beyond with panoramic shots of the English countryside – vast acres of fields, hills and sky.

[15] The Telegraph remarked on the authenticity of scenes, commending how "The Village refused to foist contemporary relevance on its audience" and describing it as "the most accomplished new drama of the year so far".