This Town

It's music it's racism, it's immigration, it's political, it's oppression, it's religion, it's addiction, it's neurodivergence, it's coming of age, it's family obligations and independence, it's heartbreak and redemption... Everything! And it's done superbly. This show sucked me in and still hasn't spit me out. This was nothing like I expected and I just might re-watch it immediately after I finish it. The acting was on point with only a few moments that were awkward but every show has that. Nicholas Pinnock and Michelle Dockery shine. Watch this. You won't regret it. I laughed, I cried, I cheered and I loved.

From the creator of Peaky Blinders Steven Knight.

There are moments when it has a similar feel with some of the dialogue.

Like Peaky Blinders it has a great soundtrack. Once I got into the second and third episodes I started to really like it, and invested into the characters a lot more. Felt like I was waiting a long time for the development of the band, but plenty of other stories to keep you going until that point. Felt like The Commitments at one point as the band were coming together. A few very good performances from the lead characters, especially Levi Brown & Michelle Dockery, who couldn't have been any further away from the character she played in Downton Abbey.

I am very surprised at the rave reviews here. This is so beautiful to watch, and so close visually to the Midlands of that era, but the storyline! Its pitiful. The accents are almost all terrible. How hard is it to ask a Brummie how to end their sentences? The sappy love stories, the terrible original music, and most of all, the predictable pattern of the narrative are cringeworthy. A band making it because they have the will! How original. Is it really that easy? I might form one....

Finally, a show not set in Belfast, Scotland or London, and its like a teenager wrote the plot. My lord, this hurt so much to watch.

Before watching This Town I hadn't listened properly to the synopsis and thought this was a fictional depiction of the rise of two-tone, which was originally what peaked my interest in the show. To find that this was more of an ode to that time in the midlands, I wasn't disappointed however. Especially to find such well acted and deep characters that took the story to a much more enjoyable level. There's a few different stories within the overall story here but all are explored properly and the show is the better for it. I don't understand another review I've seen here saying it wasn't about music. An excellent soundtrack and the central theme of getting a band together should really appeal to any muso. Especially fans of Ska, Two-Tone and Reggae. Can't wait for series two having binged this start to finish. Just a thought - why does anyone who gives a TV series a poor review actually sit through all the episodes? Things that make you go mmm????

Beautifully shot, great music, good actors, amazing locations and wardrobe. But it just doesn't come together.

Some parts are rushed while others are lingered on for too long without any real impact, emotional or artistic.

The characters speak like they're in a play - too dramatic, forever reciting someone else's words. You can tell there is a lot of talent on the screen, but it goes to waste. The characters aren't developed in an interesting way, or aren't developed at all. Their arc are murky, not intentionally (which can be interesting) but in a lackluster, clumsy sort of way.

Even the way the songs were edited in felt like they were always missing the punchline, and there were some GREAT songs in this show. It's like the scenes and the music are disjointed, not well-suited.

Dante felt, to me, a very difficult main character. He is so disconnected from anything that doesn't directly involve him (and some things that DO involve him) that it kept making me disconnect and pull away from the show. There were good moments with the other characters that got drowned in lots of scenes of cardboard cutouts of people talking to each other in predictable, wooden dialouge.

It's an entertaining show but could have been so much more.