Kiri; Britain’s Brightest Family; Miriam’s Big American Adventure

“Beautifully observed and not-as-grim-as-expected, Kiri is full of clever scenes that gently tease out the knotty tangle of intersectional themes – race, class, social care – without threatening to strangle.”
Chitra Ramaswamy, The Guardian

“It was skilfully set up, not just as a mystery, but as an exploration of the complex problems faced by foster carers and social services, with Sarah Lancashire, who acts with every inch of her face and body, as a woman doing an unenviable job taking the rap. I can’t think of anyone who could portray it better.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“It was riveting. Far from relying on soothing moral platitudes, Jack Thorne’s script was a complex study of human frailty, concerned with raising difficult but vital questions. In someone else’s hands, it may have felt didactic; instead it was open-minded, allowing the viewer to forge their own opinions.”
Patrick Smith, The Telegraph

“The storyline was set up in a deft 20 minutes, all beautifully controlled by Sarah Lancashire as a mouthy, cavalier renegade — very different to her indestructible police sergeant in Happy Valley.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Like National Treasure, Kiri observes the explosion as a scandal breaks and observes the effects on the protagonists as their lives unravel. These are, of course, hot-button issues for Thorne to play with but you never feel like they are dictating the characters’ actions.”
Bernadette McNulty, The i

“Writer Jack Thorne set out his stall early in this promising four-parter, as we watched Miriam (Sarah Lancashire) taking her elderly, flatulent dog for a walk. Don’t make assumptions, we were warned, but Sarah Lancashire’s all-cyliners portrayal of the scotch-swigging, blunt as boot-nails Miriam tempts everyone into it.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“I had high hopes for Britain’s Brightest Family, fondly remembering Ask the Family. But in this quiz, presented by Anne Hegerty (the Governess in The Chase), the families, though undoubtedly clever, sat in comfy armchairs and faced far easier questions. It’s nice to have a proper family quiz show, though.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Miriam was proving surprisingly likeable in Miriam’s Big American Adventure, reining in her tendency to insult everyone within earshot, as she motored through the mid-west of the United States. We were seeing the actress on best behaviour — far removed from the caricature harridan of The Real Marigold Hotel.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail