When is The Buccaneers set? Historical premise, explored

At first glance, The Buccaneers looks like it belongs on the usual shelf. It opens with expensive fabrics, heavy curtains, and bright chandeliers. Everything seems polished. Characters speak with calm precision. The atmosphere is controlled. Then, something starts to crack beneath all of it. A feeling, maybe, that something doesn’t quite belong there.

The story unfolds in the 1870s, during the Gilded Age in America - a time of booming wealth and fast social climbing. The British side of the narrative, however, remains rooted in structure, aristocracy, title, and order. While Americans were chasing new money, the British elite were still orbiting old traditions. And this difference is exactly where the conflict begins.

A group of young women, rich but socially unplaced, travels from America to England, not necessarily to make a point, but to find a space. They enter the London Season, a kind of social stage where families display their daughters and search for matches. The ritual isn’t subtle. It’s an open market dressed in silk and manners.

The presence of these outsiders creates tension. They’re not rude or wild, just unfamiliar. Too direct. Too emotional, maybe. And that subtle disruption starts to echo through the rest of the show.

A novel left incomplete, then revived

Edith Wharton wrote the original The Buccaneers in her later years. The manuscript was unfinished when she died in 1937. Years later, writer Marion Mainwaring stepped in to complete it. She used Wharton’s notes and fragments, aiming to follow the original tone as closely as possible. The completed book was published in 1993.

The novel takes place in the same decade as the show. The 1870s setting is more than just background. It reflects a cultural shift between continents. America was loud, new, and full of ambition. England was holding tightly to what it already had. The young women at the center of the story arrive caught between those two worlds. They’re shaped by both, but don’t fully belong to either.

There’s something fragile in that. And that fragility is part of what makes the story work.

Bringing it to the screen: tone and timing

Apple TV+ released its version of The Buccaneers in late 2023. The show stayed loyal to the period, but it didn’t freeze it in place. Some choices made the series feel more immediate: the pacing, the way characters hold their silence, and the camera lingering a little longer than usual. And the soundtrack, here and there, adds contrast.

Moments aren’t always big. Some just land quietly and stay there. A room full of eyes watching someone dance too freely. A conversation was cut off before it ended. Or a quiet pause, when a character realizes the cost of being seen for who they are.

Instead of trying to modernize the plot, the show offers space for emotions to speak louder than the era.

Characters walking the edge

There’s Nan, who moves through the story with uncertainty that doesn’t feel staged. Her discomfort is real. It shows in the way she listens and in how she waits before speaking. She doesn’t rebel loudly, but she also doesn’t settle.

Then there’s Conchita. Brighter, louder, harder to ignore. Her presence changes the tone of every room she enters. And not because she wants attention, but because she can’t help drawing it. Neither of them fits the role they’ve been handed. And The Buccaneers doesn’t try to force them into it.

Other characters circle this dynamic. Some are pulled in. Others resist it. That tension, the way people try and fail to understand each other, becomes the true engine of The Buccaneers.

Design that follows emotion

Visually, The Buccaneers leans into detail. The clothing isn’t just beautiful; it says something. Color choices, textures, even the way fabric folds when someone turns a corner, all add to the mood. Rooms are grand, but there’s a sense of being trapped inside them.

The design doesn’t shout its intentions. It supports the story quietly. A certain dress feels too bright for the occasion. A dining room feels colder than it should. All of it builds the unspoken part of the plot.

The historical setting is respected but not worshipped. The Buccaneers chooses emotional clarity over textbook accuracy, and that helps the characters stay close to the viewer.

How was it received?

Reactions varied. Some thought the show was too subtle, while others praised its patience. It doesn’t offer quick resolutions. Instead, it lets situations unfold naturally. For some, that’s frustrating. For others, it’s refreshing.

There’s been talk comparing it to other period dramas. But The Buccaneers seems less interested in pageantry. It focuses more on the space between what people want and what they’re allowed to show. That’s where most of the conflict lives.

Critics debated whether the tone was too modern, too quiet, or too in-between. Yet the audience response was steady. Viewers connected with uncertainty and how emotions simmer just under the surface.

Where The Buccaneers stands now

The first season aired in November 2023. The second followed in June 2025. So far, no official word has come about a third. But the pace at which the story moves doesn’t seem rushed. Each season seems more focused on unfolding than finishing.

There’s still more to discover. Relationships haven’t settled. Conflicts haven’t been resolved. And maybe they’re not supposed to.

The feeling that stays

The Buccaneers doesn’t try to explain everything. It gives space for things to remain uncertain. That can feel strange, especially in a genre where clarity is often the goal. But that’s part of what makes the series stay with the viewer.

It’s not just a story about dresses and titles. It’s about displacement, what happens when someone steps into a world that wasn’t built for them, and decides not to disappear. Some moments feel incomplete, and that might be the point. What lingers, in the end, is the silence between the words.