Next of Kin; Surgeons; First Dates Hotel

“This is a credible, thoughtful and timely thriller that thus far isn’t thumpingly clichéd, but nuanced and complex. The series may go off the boil over six episodes, but so far there are plenty of good reasons to keep watching.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“This is a gritty tale of the dark tensions at play in the world today. With its central focus on Kareem’s family, the stakes are clear, the narrative is easy to follow and the characters are relatable. It may not be as complex, but give me another episode over McMafia any day.”
Daisy Wyatt, The i

“It was, if nothing else, refreshing to see a Muslim family portrayed so naturally – a gaggle of individuals bound by love, frustrations and jokes and whose normality is as suddenly and thoroughly upended by tragedy as anyone’s could be.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“You believed their plight as individuals and as a collective, thanks to strong performances and dialogue that rang true. As yet, I’m not gripped by the thriller, but there was enough in the characterisation for me to give the plot another chance.”
Benji Wilson, The Telegraph

“Terrorism does nothing but divide people. TV, ideally, does the opposite and this new drama takes its mission seriously, without forgetting to entertain.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“I really wanted to like this show. We need brilliant dramas to help us make sense of the terrorist threat. What we don’t need is indifference. Someone mentioned in passing that among the dead in the car bomb was the mother of two young twins. It was that family, whoever they were, that should have been at the centre of this story.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“It was, suffice to say, not for the squeamish, and if you’ve got any procedure, from an ingrowing toenail upwards, planned in, oh, the next 40 years, then it was probably best avoided altogether. But Surgeons was absolutely riveting. It brought together the perfect balance of ability, wonderment and jeopardy that is, as it happens, the backbone of all TV talent shows.”
Benji Wilson, The Telegraph

“Such superb operations happen every day, but remain invisible because they are successful. It’s the rare errors that grab the headlines. It’s good that factual television occasionally reminds us of this.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“The second series of the spin-off began last night and I am already a fibrillating mass of happiness. There is kindness and generosity at its core instead of the brutal pursuit of humiliation and ratings.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian