Chimerica; Earth from Space

“It’s a strikingly intelligent drama, capturing big ideas without sacrificing story or character, and making the personal political and back again. It, unexpectedly and thrillingly, makes you care anew about issues that sometimes seem too large and ineffable to grapple with.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Where Chimerica feels truly bold is in offering a nuanced portrait of Chinese society in a British drama, from the jolting scenes of military crackdown through to modern salarymen endorsing Trump against a backdrop of gleaming skyscrapers. The script hasn’t quite moulted its theatrical skin. But Chimerica is a brainy geopolitical thriller and there are precious few of those.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“An excellent plot plus a decent lead performance by Alessandro Nivola was let down by needless cheesiness and thin characterisation, possibly to fulfil a TV-thriller brief. However, it was zinging with topicality.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Everything about this story jarred. For a start, no decent war photographer would dream of sticking two images together with digital Sellotape. It’s beyond unforgivable, and makes Lee deeply dislikeable. The drama also makes a big deal of despising President Trump, but its storyline can only stoke the White House pretence that ‘fake news’ is endemic in major American newspapers.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“An atmospheric adaptation of a thought-provoking play, with writer Lucy Kirkwood giving viewers a great deal to chew on.”
Sarah Hughes, The i

“There is ample aesthetic appeal in seeing Earth from above, which will not be news to anyone who has recently found themselves having to select a new screensaver. There is far more here, however, than just a visual treat. Surveillance of this kind allows scientists to see places they might not have been able to access previously, and the resulting insights can be significant.”
Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian

“This was a fresh take on the wildlife documentary, but they are no longer soothing pleasures. The carrot of a chubby seal two seconds later becomes the shitty stick of guilt at what we have done to our planet. Mesmerising television but, as so often now, depressing.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“An hour of television that was long on awe. Images of the San Andreas Fault or the island city Venice swimming like a fish in its lagoon have the power to take the breath away.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“This was an hour of ravishing, apparently abstract images that gradually resolved into recognisable views. There was so much to see the show couldn’t linger anywhere for long, and that sometimes felt frustrating.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail