Shantaram

I have to say I have never read or even heard of the books for Shantaram so I wasn't sure what to expect but being a Charlie Hunnam fan I thought I'd give it a try. So far so good. Hunnam does an excellent job as the lead here and the rest of the cast all do a good job too. Some people are complaining about his accent but I don't see any problems with it and if that's the reason you don't like the show then that's your problem. I've read that it stays pretty close to the source material so that should please some of the book lovers. It also portrays 1980's Bombay very well and the attention to detail is amazing. Overall the acting and storytelling is what makes this a good show. Hunnam is such an underrated actor, he's been great in just about everything he's been in. I'm glad that he's become the star he deserves to be.

Thoroughly enjoyed this show from start to finish.

After the final scene it says "To be continued" - great news! I thought.

Then I read that it has been cancelled the day after the final episode aired.

Are you serious?!?!?!

It's not perfect but it's a very good story that keeps you engaged based on a best selling novel.

When you consider the brain dead, trash tv that is spewed out daily from these subscription channels I am simply amazed they have dropped it.

I mean come on Apple! You renewed that non-sensical drivel Invasion for a second season yet canned this?

I hope some other studio picks it up.

(UPDATE. I thought this was brilliant. Just found out today that the absolute thick, moronic numbskull muppets at Apple have cancelled the second season stupid stupid of Apple!)

(2nd update: I still cannot believe that this has not been reinstated due to complaints and uproar from the audience!!! The reviews are generally great and the story was left hanging)

(Update 2 ½: Apple+ you are complete morons. I am losing faith in you entirely!!!)

Review: I started watching this (and have now seen all of the first 4 currently available episodes) at the recommendation of a friend who partly read some of the book many years ago. In fact I have now got the book to read once I have finished this tv show.

The story is based on factual events, and the acting and cinematography is very very good. It starts well and eases you in to the story, you FEEL the angst and the conflict of the main character, The filming and style makes you feel as if you are there as a fly on the wall watching this journey.

I am genuinely surprised how good this is and how it makes me feel while watching it.... I felt the raw anger or frustration, I felt touched by the lives of the people the main character Lin interacted with.

I am a big fan if Charlie Hunnam since the days of Sons of Anarchy, but wasn't sure how he would pull of this new character and accent. He does well.

I can't wait for each episode and will read the book once I have finished this show as my experience is that regardless of how good a film or TV show is, the books are usually better.

I recommend anyone to watch this show, you will know within 2 episodes if you like it or not.

When the book was released people I know either loved it or hated it. One of my friends thought that Shantaram was going to change her life, I remember working in a dead end job and the staff shared a dog eared copy, dreaming of a better life. Another person howled at what he saw as a poorly written self-help manual. I think how you responded to the book depended on your state of mind. I loved it at the time and have waited a long time for the adaptation which could only have been made in the era of prestige TV.

The cast and crew have done a great job of filming the 'un-filmable' book. They have stayed fairly close to the source material from my recollection. I think Hunnam has given an accurate depiction of an Australian male, the immediate feeling someone is a 'mate' with affection and the easy larrikin humour. Having known people who have quit heroin Hunnam is convincing Dale/Lin as someone whose pain is raw and who desperately wants to atone for past sins. Can I remind everyone that not even Meryl Streep did a convincing Aussie accent? That being said, it will be interesting to see how the complex source material pans out over the series which I think is 12 episodes.

Updated: I just finished episode 10 and it was quite a tense and interesting part of the story. The whole series has taken ages to build up and I feel the writers could have selected parts of the source material but then again, they may have ruined a complex story. Lo and behold I just found out that Shantaram has been cancelled. It was a lot better than a lot of the uninteresting dross on Apple TV+ or Netflix for that matter. Overall, I would give the best episodes 8 out of 10 and the slowest one's 7 out of ten. Turns out the novel was un-filmable. Go figure. I might switch off my AppleTV+ subscription now, very little grabs my interest.

What a great show and what a bummer that apple had cancelled season two.

A real Netflix move by apple that I didn't think would happen.

Actually if I had known before I wouldn't have seen the first season. Because now Want more and then I just got disappointed.

This is one of the best games TV shows I have ever seen.

The thing is that it got cancelled because of it didn't hit at first. But that was really a bad decision, I and as far as I can tell, a lot more were ready to recommend this series.

But now I won't at that's a shame because it needs to be seen and it needs to continue.

Shame on you apple, shame on you!!!