Maryland; Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland

“Maryland confounds your expectations and is all the better, all the more credible and all the more moving for it.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Credit to the writer Anne-Marie O’Connor for creating (along with Suranne Jones) something that doesn’t need tired violent tropes for its energy and plot, but uses the simpler, perennial themes of sibling rivalry, secret yearnings and unfulfilled potential. An intriguing watch and a refreshing change.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Maryland is an ITV drama but doesn’t behave like one. What follows is a low-key study of family dynamics, particularly the relationship between Becca (Suranne Jones) and her sister, Rosaline (Eve Best). The characters speak and behave like real human beings. There are no thrills here, but there are truths.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“It’s a great twist on the genre of ‘domestic secrets and lies’. Becca (Suranne Jones) and Rosaline (Eve Best) have been betrayed, not by unfaithful husbands or devious teenagers, but by their parents. The opening hour of this three-part drama presented an intriguing set-up.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

”Suranne Jones, who co-wrote Maryland as well as starring in it, has described the ITV show as ‘old-fashioned television’ and that’s exactly what we got in last night’s first episode: low-key British family drama, with a light thriller element. It was great fun to see Jones playing against type. This is an intelligent, restrained drama about the ties that bind.”
Francesca Steele, The i

“Co-created by Jones and Trollied supremo Anne-Marie O’Connor, Maryland is not setting out to reinvent drama. The script, in its backdrop and the emotional cogs that turn throughout, is undoubtedly functional. It recalls, at times, projects like Broadchurch, Bad Sisters and Mrs Wilson. This is hardly a bad thing: it might be a hybrid of commonplace parts, but it’s an effective one.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent

“It is history in the round: unhurried, vivid, human, told without judgment or interruption. Shocking, fascinating TV.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“It is a superb piece of work, not merely a litany of horrors but an opportunity for those involved to look back.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph