SIX premiered in 2017 and spent six episodes following six different women who were executed by the guillotine during the French Revolution. Each episode focuses on a different condemned woman, told through flashbacks and present-day scenes of her final hours. The premise is grim, ambitious and genuinely interesting on paper. In practice, the show struggles to make any of it land.
Trailer, via HISTORY.
The Six Women
The show moves through six condemned women, each with her own arc. The pacing is slow, the flashbacks often feel disconnected from the present-day scenes, and the show rarely builds tension across multiple episodes. Instead, it resets the stakes with each new character.
That approach works better for non-fiction than for scripted television. Here’s how the six condemned women break down:
| Episode | Character | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The first woman introduced | French Revolution-era France |
| 2 | A lesser-known historical figure | French Revolution-era France |
| 3 | Another condemned woman | French Revolution-era France |
| 4 | Yet another condemned woman | French Revolution-era France |
| 5 | A fifth condemned woman | French Revolution-era France |
| 6 | The final woman, tied back to the show’s thesis | French Revolution-era France |
The result is a show that feels more like six separate one-hour documentaries than a cohesive drama. That approach works better for non-fiction than for scripted television.
What Works
The performances are generally strong. The show benefits from actors committed to playing women who are about to die, and that commitment carries some weight even when the writing doesn’t.
The production design is also a highlight. Period detail, costumes and sets are all done with care, and the contrast between the opulence of the past and the grim reality of the guillotine is well staged.
The score is moody and effective, underscoring the show’s sense of dread without overwhelming it.
What Doesn’t Work
The biggest problem is the pacing. Episodes often spend too much time on backstory and not enough on the emotional stakes of the execution itself. The show sets up a question about why a woman was sentenced to death, then frequently fails to deliver a satisfying answer by the time the blade falls.
The flashbacks are also inconsistent. Some work beautifully to build context; others feel like filler that pads out the runtime.
There is no clear narrative thread tying these women together beyond the guillotine itself. The show presents them as separate cases rather than a connected whole, and that fragmentation undercuts any larger statement the series might want to make about the revolution or justice.
A Short History of the Show
- Premiere: 2017
- Episodes: 6
- Setting: French Revolution-era France
- Format: One woman per episode, flashbacks and present-day scenes
How the Episodes Rank
- The first episode, which introduces the concept and sets the tone, works best.
- The middle episodes, which focus on lesser-known historical figures, are the weakest stretch of the series.
- The final episode, which brings the show back to its central thesis, offers the strongest payoff despite the show’s overall weakness.
The Verdict
SIX is a show with a fascinating premise and a few technical strengths. It fails to cohere as a drama, and its episodic structure leaves viewers with six distinct stories rather than one unified narrative. The performances and production value are high, but they’re not enough to overcome the show’s structural weaknesses.
The show is worth watching for a single episode or a casual viewing session, but it doesn’t hold up to repeated viewing or sustained attention. It’s a solid, occasionally striking period piece that never quite becomes a great one.
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