Terrible writing
Unlike the majority of people posting on here, I'm all for "remakes" or new adaptions of books, even when there is a beloved version that already exists.
However this one was terrible. And not just because I'm nostalgic for the '85 miniseries, but because the writing on this is bad.
Oftentimes the dialog was changed for what seemed no reason whatsoever. Some clever lines were changed or simplified for no good reason, losing all their charm.
For those of us who know the characters, it's like they went out of their way to needlessly change the characterization of the characters. Anne is meant to be the imaginative one and Diana is meant to be the--frankly--dull one. But here we have Diana being just as imaginative as Anne right from the get-go.
Mathew is meant to be extremely socially awkward and very non-talkative. This Mathew has phrase and quip for everything.
Marilla is meant to be cold and stern who eventually goes through an arc where she warms up and loosens up a bit on the rules. This Marilla is immediately sympathetic and warm to Anne.
Same with Mrs. Rachel Lynde.
And what the heck was the point of constantly (badly) foreshadowing Matthew's death if he never ends up dying at the end?
It's like the person adapting the book to screen had barely read the book.