I watched all six episodes today and thought it was excellent. But I am surprised at a NYTIMES editor approving a review sentence starting off with assumed knowledge of the obscure Hellraiser movies.
24
Bodyguard is terrific. But avoid the final episode. I lasted only 10 minutes. Overall the BBC's Killing Eve is better. In fact, fabulous.
14
The first 20 minutes of Bodyguard will have you hooked. It was shown on a Sunday night and it was a long weekly wait for every episode as you got no review of the next episode from the BBC.
And definitely check out Line of Duty if you can. It's another well written series.
Enjoy
30
We have always been drawn to British crime/spy thrillers. The first time we experienced the acting skills of Benedict Cumberbatch was in 2008's "The Last Enemy" by the BBC. And don't we all love "Luther" with Idris Elba? What about the BBC's 2011 thriller "Page Eight" with Bill Nighy and Rachel Weisz? Don't say american audiences don't like these shows. Some of us are addicted to them. They're much better stuff than the blood and guts over-the-top fare produced homeside.
98
Consider the recent, sadly abbreviated, "Sherlock Holmes" (4 short seasons only) with Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman? Or "Endeavor"?
Aside from the stalwarts - Agatha Christie's Mrs. Marple leads directly to American favorite "Murder, She Wrote" or endless prior iterations of Sherlock Holmes' mysteries, the major difference between Anglo and American thrillers is blood, gore and flimsy characters (American) vs. the lack of blood, gore, GUNS, a focus on misdirection and slow unfolding of "who-done-it."
The first can lead to lots of gore and car cases for murky reasons by flimsy characters; Anglo can be very slow, excruciatingly boring at times and lack tension.
What I find sad is the British thriller-mysteries are picking up the frenzied pacing of American shows, while scrambling plot lines beyond comprehension(which can lead to uneven acting). Americans are picking up the unfolding of complex plots and/or characters, along with surprise twists, but they haven't got the hang of it; so the plots are scrambled and the characters are confusing. ( the need for a car chase or a couple murders can play havoc with a series)
And sometimes, it all comes together......
16
@BGK
Yes, we too love British mysteries and thrillers for the same reasons. Some Scandinavian ones are even better. For a while we eschewed Netflix in favor of Acorn. Unfortunately Acorn seems to have lost out to Netflix in getting new series and now specializes in Aussie soap operas.
11
I absolutely adored M-I 5. It was the first series I ever watched where everyone, I mean everyone, I loved was eventually killed off.
I was always saying, “Not him!”, or “I can’t believe she was killed, she was so nice!”. Wonderful series and so suspenseful. And emotional!
42
I disagree with your assessment that British crime series don't cut it here in US. KILLING EVE is monumental and highly acclaimed the world over
62
@Duffie Exactly. Same goes for "Luther" and "Broadchurch".
47
And don’t forget The Tunnel. A copy of Denmark’s/Sweden’s “The Bridge”, but a beautifully realized copy nonetheless.
35
Typical media soft sell of the old "someone to watch over me," vulnerable female stereotype.
So much more mileage, drama and opportunities for insightful humor possible if the bodyguard were female and the politician male.
Instead, we'll get "I can handle myself" (she can't handle herself) "I'm the boss here" (bad men go after her) etc.
You say, women can't fire a gun, take a bullet, throw a punch? ... paging Gina Carano!
8
Thank you for this review. We've enjoyed several British police dramas on Netflix, notably Happy Valley and Broadchurch, and thanks to this review we're going to check out Bodyguard. I'm also going to get Line of Duty on DVD from my local library. Thanks again.
50
@WDL. Line of Duty is also on Netflix, at least here in Canada.
11
Interested to see how America reacts to this after viewing the total country wide zeitgeist reaction Britain had with this show. "Line of Duty" is a must watch "The Caddy" is probably one of my favorite villains in recent years but the themes are very British. I think the "Bodyguard" will be much more accessible to American audiences given its plot lines and characters. I highly recommend it as a binge watch this weekend. Then if you like it head on over to amazon prime to watch "Line of Duty". Lennie James is amazing in season one.
22
@kariato
"Line of Duty" was a masterpiece. I was prepared not to like it because it involved Northern Ireland and the ruling British security forces. Keeley Hawes was wonderful playing a really tough "copper" of integrity.
11
Don't understand your point about 'ruling forces'. Do you romatically prefer the remaining rump of the murderous IRA?
8
US police shows tend to be over-the-top all-attitude, except perhaps Bosch (courtesy of amazon). Some of the British police procedurals are very good, and they are more low-key which is what I'd much rather prefer.
41
It’s fun to watch, especially the first two episodes; goes off the rails later, but by then you’re hooked. You could do worse things with your time.
19
Without a doubt this is absolutely excellent...
18
Looking very forward to seeing this. And if it is any way like 'Line of Duty', also written by Jed Mercurio, it definitely won't disappoint.
24