Boarders

BBC Three's Boarders arrives with energy, heart, and a pitch that practically sells itself: five Black working-class teens are offered scholarships to a posh boarding school in the wake of a PR scandal. It's a fish-out-of-water set-up ripe with class tension, culture clashes, and comic potential - a fresh spin on British school dramas that rarely centre stories like these.

And for the most part, Boarders delivers what it promises - a lively, character-driven coming-of-age story with flashes of sharp social commentary and a likeable cast. The young actors bring warmth and authenticity to roles that sometimes feel more like archetypes than fully formed characters, and when the writing lets them breathe, there's real heart here.

But for a show about friction, Boarders can feel strangely frictionless. The class satire never cuts as deep as it could, the emotional arcs are uneven, and the stakes often feel manufactured rather than earned. The tone wavers - veering from sincere drama to heightened farce without always sticking the landing - and the writing sometimes leans on easy tropes rather than doing the harder work of digging into the nuance the premise begs for.

That said, there's something undeniably watchable about it. The pacing is brisk, the setting well utilised, and the chemistry among the cast does a lot of heavy lifting. It's the kind of series that feels like a stepping stone - for its cast. With a sharper script and more narrative focus, Boarders could've been something great. As it stands, it's solidly watchable - sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating, always full of promise.

This isn't just. Good series it's bloody brilliant I don't really watch many dramas on bbc but I was going through all my apps looking for something new to watch and found this it has everything romance, drama, thrill and inclusivity without running it down your throat and shows the different versions of black teens watched all episodes in two days because it has me hooked wish it was 10 episodes in total but they left room for a new season hopefully and the actors are very talented individuals. Honestly well done bbc three.

10s a cross the board also woukd love to know more about each character.

Zoomed through the six episodes. Couldn't resist the fun and entertainment. It's one of those love hate dramas. Doubt there will be not much middle ground in the reviews. The chairperson of the governors Carol is wonderfully slimey played by Niky Wardley. Bernard the hard pressed headmaster is her equal but somehow scores a few more goodie points. Josh Teduku as Jaheim and Jodie Campbell as Leah must surely go on to far greater things.

One fears the wrath of those pointing to racial stereotypes and endorsement of elitism BUT if one considers it as just light entertainment - it's fab.

Anyway, it was a horrible tasteless picture (you'll know when you see it) and needed to be put on hold for bonfire night. Just enjoy it !

Both of the seasons of this show are well written at times with moments that are genuinely funny that will make you laugh out loud especially if you know my stereotypes of private school kids in the uk being unbearable and out of touch. The will they won't they relationships every character has is interesting at first a they are hopefully building for a payoff in the third season but Christ they are all written with the emotional subtlety of a sledgehammer with characters constantly putting their foot in the mouth as they fail to learn from their mistakes over and over which begins to grain after a while in season 2 but overall a good binge worth show especially if your from the uk.

I loveed, the fact that they did not take long to release the 2nd season or outright cancel the show like other TV shows! I love how they include LGBTQ characters, so seamlessly. I resonate with Omar so well. I love how the show, shows us the point of view of different characters that come from the same background: "a bad neighbourhood". And shows us how different they all can still be and how differently they react to the same situations. A Tv show like this: centered in black characters and is realistic, i have rarely seen. Hope on seeing more projects like these in the future! Loving season 2 so far cannot wait to see more.