The Rumour Mill Podcast

Regency Rumours/Dr Kayla Jones

The Rumour Mill is the sister podcast to Regency Rumours — the YouTube channel where Dr. Kayla Jones makes essay-style videos about period dramas, history, and historical fiction. Same obsession. Looser format. Less essay, more historical yapping. Expect period drama chat, niche show deep dives, history with a healthy side of gossip, and occasional guests like historians, historical fiction writers, and people with actual expertise in how period dramas are made. Also available on all major podcast platforms...watch or listen, whatever works for you. (Youtube Members on the Burners and Yearners tier get early access to new episodes. Join the membership over at Regency Rumours.) New episodes weekly. Grab a cup of tea, settle into your sitting room and subscribe!

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Yesterday · 35 min
I Watched Netflix's Lizzie Borden Series So You Don't Have To
The new Lizzie Borden Netflix series is finally here, but this latest installment of the Monster anthology leaves a lot of historical facts axed (get what I did there). Instead of exploring the chilling true crime reality of the infamous 1892 murders, the show leans heavily into sensationalized gore and sexualising a spinster. On this episode of the Rumour Mill, we are diving into why this highly true crime adaptation missed the mark by prioritizing cheap shock value over the real history of the actual case.Instead we've got tightening corsets and gothic parlors and over-the-top macabre aesthetics without offering any real psychological depth. While it is always fun to see Charlie Hunnam back on screen, even his casting feels wildly out of place in a narrative that completely ignores the complex gender and class politics of the 19th century. Let's unpack why this bloody take on a classic Victorian era mystery feels much more like male-gaze fan fiction than a thoughtfully dark period drama.Let’s connect! Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@regencyrumours Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regencyrumours/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@regencyrumours⁩ Substack: https://substack.com/@regencyrumours Email: regencyrumours@gmail.com Get full access to The Rumour Mill at regencyrumours.substack.com/subscribe
September 16 · 35 min
The Problem With Hollywood's Obsession With Robin Hood
For this episode of The Rumour Mill, we have GOT to talk about two new adaptations that are coming out in 2026 about Robin Hood, maybe? We'll be talking the drama around Andrew Garfield's The Uprising and Hugh Jackman's The Death of Robin Hood. Whilst these adaptations look exciting, they are often gruesome and dark...and not what audiences are looking for in a Robin Hood adaptation. Why do studios continually keep making Robin Hood when audiences aren't asking for him? Are these two adaptations great examples of origin stories and subversions of a classic character, or just another medieval mess? Let’s connect! Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@regencyrumours Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regencyrumours/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ @regencyrumours⁩ Substack: https://substack.com/@regencyrumours Email: regencyrumours@gmail.com Get full access to The Rumour Mill at regencyrumours.substack.com/subscribe
September 9 · 49 min
The Problem with BBC's North & South vs the Novel
Come for the yearning, stay for the history! In this episode of The Rumour Mill we are deep diving the 2004 BBC North and South mini series and compare it to Elizabeth Gaskell's 1855 novel. We'll be talking about how Richard Armitage's Mr Thornton is completely different in the book, Brendan Coyle's Mr Higgins and that EPIC train scene that means more than you think...This one is for the nerds, for strap in, let’s get to some North and South historical yapping! Timestamps:00:00 Why North & South still owns us01:52 Welcome to The Rumour Mill, spoilers ahead03:26 Book vs series first scene05:20 Margaret Hale in the book vs the series17:04 John Thornton in the book vs Richard Armitage's 24:47 The Great Exhibition scene 28:02 Nicholas Higgins book vs series34:16 THE TRAIN STATION SCENE vs the book44:05 Final verdict on Book vs BBC seriesLet’s connect! Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@regencyrumours Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regencyrumours/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@regencyrumours⁩ Substack: https://substack.com/@regencyrumours Email: regencyrumours@gmail.com Get full access to The Rumour Mill at regencyrumours.substack.com/subscribe
September 2 · 33 min
The Problem with My Brilliant Career and Female Ambition
In this video, we delve into the complexities of the new Australian period drama My Brilliant Career on Netflix, based on the novel written by Miles Franklin. The story, set in the Edwardian era, follows the life of Sybylla Melvin as she navigates her ambitions and the societal expectations placed upon her by her stuffy wealthy grandmother. We're talking Edwardian Gibson Girl hairstyles, love triangles, historical romance spice and whether this new adaptation focused a little to much on booktok tropes and not enough on female ambition... #mybrilliantcareer #edwardian #netflixseries Let’s connect! Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@regencyrumours Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regencyrumours/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@regencyrumours⁩ Substack: https://substack.com/@regencyrumours Email: regencyrumours@gmail.com Get full access to The Rumour Mill at regencyrumours.substack.com/subscribe
July 30 · 25 min
I Watched A Woman of Substance So You Don't Have To
In this episode of The Rumour Mill, we are talking Edwardian scandal, the myth of the fallen woman.Based on Barbara Taylor Bradford's bestselling novel and starring Brenda Blethyn, this is a rags to riches story set against the brutal class divisions of the Edwardian era, where a working-class woman's ambition could cost her her livelihood as well as her reputation. We are pulling apart the betrayal, toxic relationships and the forbidden romance in this historical fiction series turned period drama where Emma Harte goes from a maid in an apron to the richest woman in the world.Channel 4's/Britbox’s A Woman of Substance is British historical drama at its most brutal and where scandal and ruin are not the ending of a young woman’s life but the beginning. The fallen woman trope originating from the Victorian era gets completely flipped on its head through this story of revenge…Let’s connect! Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@regencyrumours Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regencyrumours/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@regencyrumours⁩ Substack: https://substack.com/@regencyrumours Email: regencyrumours@gmail.com #awomanofsubstance #britbox #edwardian Get full access to The Rumour Mill at regencyrumours.substack.com/subscribe
July 22 · 30 min
The Problem with Netflix's Little House on the Prairie
In this episode of The Rumour Mill, I'm breaking down why Netflix's reimagining of Laura Ingalls Wilder's story is stunning, frustrating, and a bit complicated in equal measure. The reboot is so gorgeous to look at, but that Instagramification of the American frontier is exactly where things get complicated. When you filter the brutal realities of 1870s settler life through a dreamlike, sun-drenched haze, you end up romanticising a time that was in reality, harrowing. The 1970s Michael Landon Little House on the Prairie veered far from the books, but so many people loved it for its warmth and community spirit, but there was a lacking in historical representation for the Osage Nation. Can Netflix's version commit to being a cosy family drama or is it a haunting historical reckoning with an identity crisis? Let’s connect!Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@regencyrumoursInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/regencyrumours/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@regencyrumours⁩Email: regencyrumours@gmail.com #littlehouse #littlehouseontheprairie #michaellandon #americanhistory Get full access to The Rumour Mill at regencyrumours.substack.com/subscribe
June 24 · 32 min
We NEED to talk about the BBC casting a young, hot Poirot
The BBC just announced a brand new Poirot series and if you've been anywhere near period drama social media this week, you know the reactions have been... mixed.Audiences have been understandably wary when the BBC announces another Agatha Christie adaptation. After David Suchet spent 25 years defining Hercule Poirot and putting the bar so high, its hard to see how a new young Poirot could measure up. Kenneth Branagh's theatrical Murder on the Orient Express divided audiences, and the less said about some of the other reimaginings (like John Clvavich's ABC Murders) the better.But the casting of Edward Bluemel as a young Poirot is somewhat of an exciting choice, I gotta be honest. His breakout role as Guilford Dudley in My Lady Jane proved he has the kind of charm, vulnerability and exactness a new Poirot requires.If anyone can make us believe in a pre-moustache Hercule navigating a new life in London, it might just be him.This podcast episode is pure speculation (the series hasn't aired yet) but based on what we know about the casting, the creative team & the BBC's recent track record with Christie, there is a lot to unpack. Is this a unique Poirot we've been waiting for or are we setting ourselves up for disappointment again? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!Let’s connect! Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@regencyrumours Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regencyrumours/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@regencyrumours⁩ Substack: https://substack.com/@regencyrumours Email: regencyrumours@gmail.com#poirot #agathachristie #davidsuchet #myladyjane Get full access to The Rumour Mill at regencyrumours.substack.com/subscribe
June 12 · 33 min
Is the 1980s officially a period drama era?
Is Rivals a period drama? In this podcast essay I argue the 1980s is officially a period drama era and Rivals on Disney Plus is proving it. We're talking 80s fashion, big hair, shoulder pads & Cotswolds scandal, the age gap relationship between Rupert & Taggie, and Jilly Cooper's appetite for forbidden romance. I also get into Golden Girls as my benchmark for 80s fashion that prioritises comfort, why the age gap relationship at the heart of Rivals plays like classic forbidden romance, and how Disney Plus styled an aspirational 80s. If you love period drama the way we love the Regency era, the 80s now belong on the same shelf. Let’s connect! Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@regencyrumours Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regencyrumours/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@regencyrumours⁩ Substack: https://substack.com/@regencyrumours Email: regencyrumours@gmail.com#PeriodDrama #Rivals #JillyCooper #RupertAndTaggie #ForbiddenRomance #AgeGapRomance #DisneyPlus #80sFashion #RegencyEra #booktok Get full access to The Rumour Mill at regencyrumours.substack.com/subscribe
June 9 · 35 min
Did this new adaptation just FIX Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice?
In this video, I'm making the case that Mr. Collins is the most misread character in the Jane Austen canon. From David Bamber's creepy obsequiousness in the 1995 BBC series, to Tom Hollander's nervous awkwardness in Pride and Prejudice 2005, to Matt Smith's gloriously unhinged energy in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies — every actor has brought something different to this character. But it's the 2026 BBC adaptation of The Other Bennet Sister, based on Janice Hadlow's novel, that finally gives us a Collins with real depth… Let’s connect! Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@regencyrumours Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regencyrumours/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@regencyrumours⁩ Email: regencyrumours@gmail.com#PrideandPrejudice #JaneAusten #TheOtherBennetSister #PeriodDrama Get full access to The Rumour Mill at regencyrumours.substack.com/subscribe
June 8 · 5 min
Welcome to The Rumour Mill
Hi there, I’m Dr Kayla Jones, a historian and the person behind Regency Rumours, a YouTube channel where I make long form essay style videos on period dramas, history & historical fiction. Check out Regency Rumours! If you’ve ever finished a costume drama and immediately needed to talk about if its historically accurate, whether there was enough yearning or the look of the costumes, then you’re in the right place. The Rumour Mill is the sister podcast and newsletter to Regency Rumours. It’s a podcast and newsletter where we can chat about upcoming releases, revisit older and more obscure period dramas and explore historical fiction. I’m planning on having a lovely mix of guests to the podcasts, articles on history deep dives that I didn’t have time for in my videos and a bit of sharing my journey of publishing my own historical fiction novel. So whether you’re interested in a bit of swooning, social history, or the chance to argue about whether the book was better, pull up a chair in my little sitting room and we’ll get to some historical yapping! Subscribe to come along, and I’ll see you in the Rumour Mill! 🩷 Get full access to The Rumour Mill at regencyrumours.substack.com/subscribe

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