Maryland

A quiet, contemplative, endearing little ITV drama - definitely a slow burn - effectively capturing the rawness of grief in the wake of someone's unexpected passing.

Eve Best & Suranne Jones deliver understated, powerhouse performances in the two lead roles, playing flawed sisters with an unhealthy sibling rivalry (who barely remain in contact under usual circumstances) & therefore, the fairly basic concept allows for the tension they harbour to organically manifest itself (with no cheap gimmicks or contrived plot twists; the writing focusing solely on the complexities of human interactions & conflict which may emerge from the various ways in which one may individually respond to certain stimuli), once they're thrust in to an intense situation & the dynamic of their fractious relationship is disturbed by this monumental event in their lives.

Yes, the execution is messy & not every issue raised throughout is satisfyingly resolved by the end, but that authentically mirrors the imperfection of reality & acts as a brilliant way to ground the narrative in something tangible & resonant - which we can all personally relate to.

Nature or nature, we are all a product of our family and this carries through our whole life.

Maryland is the story, whilst mainly about the relationship between two sisters, about how the passage of time builds deep bonds and deep wounds among family members having pursued what life they wanted to or felt they needed to lead.

TV is full of programmes with a goodie and a baddie, or very stereotypical formats. McDonalds for your eyes.

Maryland is very different, it's written and acted with refreshing normality with a flawless sensitivity to the highly complex reality of family life and relationships.

This is clearly not going to be for everyone, you can easily figure that out by reading the reviews. I really enjoyed it. Two sisters coming up against every family fault line. It wasn't overly dramatic, but it didn't feel slow either. A bit of a mystery thrown in to spice things up. I thing dramas about women's lives seem inconsequential to some people, and they are still rare unfortunately. The sisters had very different lives, plus a lifetime of misconceptions. The situation brought it all up to the surface. There were aspects of this show that I worried might wander into soap opera, but it never did that. It was warm and true throughout.

I agree about the Stockard Channing thing. She was fine in her part, but why not use an English actress? There must be a story there.

Just a wonderful family story with some thought provoking issues along the way about life, love and family. Loved the acting in this. Not sure why some reviews are awful as it is a fab storyline. A nice normal message to boot.

Binged in one day. Parts of the story aligned with my sister and I. Plus my Irish mum has always wanted to go to the Isle of Man. Mum recommended we watch this. So will be interested to get my sisters take. There is one scene in particular that I want her to watch as she has thrown that sentence my way before about not having children. So sis. Start watching this please.

Maryland looks at two estranged sisters drawn together by a family tragedy which exposes uncomfortable secrets they have to deal with.

Plus points were the sisters played by Suranne Jones and Eve Best who played the sibling rivals beautifully. Negatives for me were in the storyline which sometimes didn't quite add up for me.

Production values were fine and I enjoyed the beautiful Irish scenery (though it was set in the Isle of Man it was shot in Ireland). Personally the story didn't grab me and hold me, but if you like the principals give it a shot, its a quick watch with just three episodes.

Probably not one that will stay long in the memory but a fairly interesting family drama that examines grief and deception and what they can do to families.