Forget Versailles (you should anyway, for your mental health), Jamestown is the period drama we should all be watching. It's an ambitious new show which chronicles impossibly awful life in the early days of British pioneers settling in America.

Set in the early 17th Century, Jamestown tells the story of three courageous, dynamic women: Jocelyn (Naomi Battrick), Alice (Sophie Rundle) and Verity (Niamh Walsh), who leave their dark pasts behind in England, and brave the perilous journey to a new life in America.

The three women end up in a male-dominated settlement. Their journey to America was paid for by future husbands, who funded their passage over in exchange for marriage. Can you imagine!

The eight-episode historical drama may have been made by the creators of Downton Abbey, but don't expect to find anything light and fluffy. The unknown men try to take possession of these brave travellers and – from what we can tell from the trailer – the women decide to fight fire with fire. We've never been more grateful for tinder.

Jamestown airs on Friday 5 May, 9pm on Sky 1