Bloodlands; Sisterhood; Mastermind, House of the Dragon

“There’s nothing subtle about some of the acting in Bloodlands, especially Nesbitt’s lingering, over-emphatic glances, more starey than glowering. But then the script asks him to do a lot of clunky signalling, like calculating the price of the gold stash by doing old-school long multiplication on a notepad.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i

“There are slight flickers of humour too, such as when Brannick smirked lengthily when the nightclub bouncer said that Robert Dardis wanted to “ride [Olivia Foyle] like a stolen bike”. Yet my issue with it hasn’t changed from the first series — it is unrelentingly dour with few likeable characters. Does it matter if one enjoys the sidekicks more than the main draw, such as his partner, DS Niamh McGovern and the irascible boss DCS Jackie Twomey, played brilliantly and swearily by Lorcan Cranitch? He gets some of the best lines, and rightly so.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“But although Bloodlands 2 might have a dual story, with the hunt for Colin’s killer layered below the question of whether Brannick can recover his loot undetected, it no longer has the added heft and relevance that the Goliath plotline provided, tapping as it did into the post-Brexit fear that Northern Ireland’s smothered resentments might spring violently back to life. Without that veneer of seriousness, the show’s real identity as a genre piece about an in-too-deep maverick cop is revealed: the conveniently placed clues and particularly the cast’s reliance on pained looks and sly side-eyes becomes hilariously noticeable. The latter reaches a peak in a laugh-out-loud scene where Brannick, McGovern and Olivia get into a Mexican standoff of meaningful stares.Nesbitt himself, meanwhile, nervily spinning the steering wheel of Brannick’s Volvo or jabbing at a burner phone like a doomed Line of Duty constable, no longer has a role that befits his marquee billing. Bloodlands has fallen back down to earth.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian  

“This series doesn’t waste time trying to wrongfoot its viewers. It isn’t a whodunnit, as such, and in its early stages it doesn’t seem particularly interested in what led to the crime itself, which is hinted at in flashbacks that bookend the first episode. I am sure that will come. Instead, this is more concerned with the local community…But I find myself charmed by Sisterhood’s steady, ominous pace. It refuses to thwack you over the head with high-octane drama, instead opting for a no-frills, fuss-free approach to setting up the avalanche of secrets that you just know is about to come. There is a grey gloom that hangs over everything, a flat drizzle that seems to defy the drama of the natural landscape. This is staid and practical stuff.”
Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian 

“Mastermind categories are less rigorous than they once were, though. The first contestant, Ruth, was old-fashioned, and her choice of subject, the life and works of Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, would have won the approval of original host Magnus Magnusson. But the other specialist choices were quirkier, including the novels of crime writer Raymond Chandler and the feats of British athletes at the last Olympics…Ben looked the part in flat cap and waistcoat, though he rather spoiled the tough image by revealing that his mum helped him with revision.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“This doleful episode, called We Light the Way, suffers slightly in the wake of its striking predecessor, but there’s still plenty to chew on. It begins with a breath of fresh air: a rolling hillside, a swooping camera and a lady – Rhea of the Vale (Rachel Redford) – on horseback. There’s something of the Yara Greyjoy about her – she’s frisky and sharp-tongued.”
Tom Huddleston, The Guardian