Coma; Whites Only: Ade’s Extremist Adventure

“If you can watch even the first episode of this all in one sitting, you have my great respect. I had to keep breaking off to breathe into a paper bag. By the second I was hiding behind the sofa. But at least I know now never to buy a Ring doorbell, or enrage my grumpy neighbour by demanding an occasional ‘Hello’ from him in the middle of a police investigation.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“It is painful to watch but very, very moreish, depicting a depressingly familiar nightmare that could happen to anyone. As the series progresses you watch a hellishly bad dream unfold through your fingers. It’s intensely addictive.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“No one does mild-mannered and anxious better than Jason Watkins, and that’s one of this serial’s deficiencies. It feels predictable, a morality play with a cast of stereotypes. If Watkins played the vengeful gangster, with Jonas Armstrong as the nervous nelly driven to breaking point, that could have made for a more intriguing drama.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“I’m pretty forgiving of Channel 5 dramas because they’re made on a fraction of the budget of BBC or Netflix productions – for cost reasons, this one clearly wasn’t filmed in the UK – and they have no delusions of grandeur. They’re unpretentious, does-what-it-says-on-the-tin suspense thrillers in which it’s best to skim over the details. It may end with a ridiculous final episode, because that’s often the way. But Watkins’ performance is good enough to keep watching.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“The opening episode was an expert lesson in creating an atmosphere of unease through the sharply structured script, and accompanying voyeuristic camera shots echoing Simon’s increasing paranoia. Will Simon’s lies catch up with him as the plot unfolds? My guess is yes.”
Isobel Lewis, The i

“It is essential, of course, for any interview to have an element of good faith. Still, Adepitan’s hopeless optimism underserves him as he tries desperately to be ‘one of the good ones’ while his subjects explain that apartheid wasn’t segregated enough, or that they don’t know enough about Nelson Mandela to form an opinion on him. This programme feels like watching a toddler wander into a lion’s den to advocate for veganism.”
Leila Latif, The Guardian

“It took much negotiation for the black journalist Ade Adepitan to get access to this Afrikaners’ enclave for this documentary, and the interviews ranged from ultra-civilised to tetchy. It was a tricky line for Adepitan to walk. Any interviewer wants to ask challenging questions but he risked being chucked out if he did. It was interesting but you felt that it needed another hour to really get to the heart of the matter.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Adepitan was shocked to find an 18-year-old South African who claimed to know very little about Nelson Mandela, but I found myself wondering if this documentary was made for people with a similar lack of historical knowledge. Nothing wrong with that: Channel 4 is aimed at a young audience, and apartheid ended before they were born.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph