Sherwood

“Everything you could hope for is here. It is the drama equivalent of bowling a strike: a writer knowing the setting and themes in his bones, a dream cast drawn to the richly allusive resulting script, each of those actors doing their best work in years (which, given the standards that Manville, Morrissey, Armstrong et al maintain is quite something to watch) and their chemistry, with beautiful direction from Lewis Arnold and Ben A Williams, creating something even greater than the sum of its superb parts.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“There was much heavy shovel work to do and many characters to establish in this first episode, which slowed the action down. However, the script was sparklingly jabby and lean. It took its time to get to the meat of the matter, namely that gruesome murder by crossbow in a terraced street, which immediately evoked, given the location and the drama’s title, allusions to Robin Hood. But when it did the scene was excellent. This is going to be a knotty, complicated story, but I doubt it could be in better hands than James Graham’s.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“It is really, really good, a show that is ostensibly a police procedural about murders in a Nottinghamshire village but turns out to be so much more: a layered exploration of community, class and enmity. Authenticity is an overused word, but Graham grew up in the area and every line of dialogue, every detail of those terraced houses with their tiny backyards, rings true. The BBC agonises over its portrayal of working class communities north of Watford, but here is a show that nails it.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“The way in which David Morrissey’s DCS St Clair investigated his own broken community was reminiscent of Kate Winslet’s cop in Mare of Easttown. Elsewhere in the mix were the Sparrow family, who run the local archery site, while paterfamilias Mickey (Philip Jackson) packaged up cocaine at the kitchen table. Gary Jackson’s widow Julie (Manville) was not on speaking terms with her sister, Cathy (Rushbrook), while Joanna Froggatt’s Tory canvasser Sarah had a peculiar relationship with her admittedly peculiar father-in-law Andy (Adeel Akhtar). That may make it sound like Emmerdale, but Sherwood is shaping up to be one of the most compelling dramas of 2022.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i

“This entire drama, supposedly serious and political, is teetering on the brink of becoming a Midsomer Murder. The victim, former miner Gary Jackson (Alun Armstrong), was shot through the heart with a crossbow bolt on his way home from the working men’s club. All his neighbours have a reason to hate him — and they’re all played by star names. Just as in Midsomer, we were so busy spotting famous faces that it was hard to concentrate on the plot.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The sprawling canvas on which this murder mystery plays out requires some finesse on the part of the writer, James Graham, to keep things under control. And he doesn’t always achieve it: the temptation of Robin Hood iconography proves irresistible but distracting, and a Romeo and Juliet subplot involving grandchildren from rival families feels like a B-story too far. But as with 2020’s excellent Quiz, Graham proves adept at sympathetic, vibrant storytelling.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent