User reviews

The disappearance of a young boy some decades previously is the scene setter for a complex mystery drama from the pen of Harlan Coben. When the child's DNA appears at a crime scene, the four friends charged with his care must confront the ghosts of their past and resolve the mystery and conflicting hopes of their present life. The plot successfully weaves in and out between mystery thriller, police procedural and personal drama. The four lead characters are well written and, crucially, well contrasted. Each actor can hold the screen in progressing the narrative and the different personal narratives dovetail very well. are The casting of their younger selves is excellent. Good supporting cast too, with back stories complimenting the central narrative. Tight direction keeps us apace with the many twists and turns in the plot. The end is both surprising and convincing. Really superior drama. Strangely, considering the addiction to series these days, the story is so self-contained that it's hardly likely to spawn a sequel. Nevertheless, writing and direction and acting of such high calibre that some future collaboration would be welcome.

I love this show. Great cast, scripts, directing, the whole ball of w. All the twists and turns and things you expect.

My one and only problem is the sound editing and music. I guess that's really two problems. The music is...well, it's just bad. But it's also really loud. This is a perennial joke in the music business: "How was the band?" "They were awful. But at least they were really loud!"

But that's bearable. What is unbearable is the recurring, ear-splitting 2.7Khz tone that keeps floating in and out. If you have tinnitus, be wary when watching this show. Watch it! But watch out. Especially with headphones. That tone is goddawful. I can still hear it shrieking around in my head.

Otherwise, fantastic.

My dad and I binge-watched this on a Sunday, after finding nothing else to watch. The picture looked interesting, the premise looked typical- all in all, I didn't go in with high expectations, simply something I could waste a day watching. Boy, was I wrong. My mind has been absolutely blown!! I was worried, that, like other British TV dramas (Marcella and Broadchurch in particular), this series would become overwhelmed by the introduction of unnecessary characters with their own subplots that held no real relevance or interest and only acted as a distraction to draw out the main storyline. This, thankfully, didn't happen! Every subplot that was introduced had a direct and crucial link to the story, and were interesting and not horribly complex so that the audience could see the relevance and not lose interest. They also didn't last the entire series, unlike Broadchurch, where nothing seemed to be revealed (AT ALL) until the very final moments, and by then, the influx of information was just confusing and frankly, underwhelming. In The Five, the subplots are resolved at the right time, giving chance for the main story to be explored properly. The characters were beautifully human, making you feel for them and made you really invested in their situation, and the acting was superb!!! THE TWIST! MY GOD! I have never been more in awe of a story! It was brilliant!!! I did NOT see it coming but when I saw it all come together, it actually made sense and was satisfying... Which is what I think to be the most important thing when dealing with mysteries. There were no questions left unanswered, no what if's or feelings that this revelation was subpar. And the direction was stunning. The way the ending was done made me sob like a baby, mainly because I'm an older sibling myself and I honestly don't know what I would do in Mark's situation. It's a series that I recommend with all my heart. If you like mysteries, plot-twists, surprises, suspense, family and friendship, crime then this is for you!! And if you don't, then I'd still say watch it regardless. I have never been moved as much by a TV show. Just wow!

I have read other reviews and I can only conclude they did not take this TV series seriously. If you stick with the plot and pay attention you will find a very good story with complicated characters (which is life) trying to move forward from an event that marked their lives collectively. Tragedy brought them together and one can feel the complicity amongst them... good actors on the whole.

An unexpected ending and that is refreshing... being surprised with TV series is not easy these days.

I strongly recommend this TV series, but you need to put the social media aside and pay attention. If you are looking to pop your eyes at the TV whilst you are reading the paper, this series is not for you...

This is an entertaining murder mystery/crime type of thriller. The acting is mostly good, and it's well made. The writing gets just downright silly sometimes, though, so don't expect a believable story. The music and sound are grating and annoying: imagine the most annoying pop songs you can think of, and The Five makes painfully long scenes as music videos for them, and the director had a thing for high pitched feedback noises, which are used infuriatingly often. The show was enjoyable enough for me to turn down the sound when these squeaks and horrible, horrible music came on. I'll likely forget it a few days after I've finished it though because it's little more than a hodge podge of crime, old secrets, friends-since-childhood drama, and mystery.

Not sure what others were watching when writing some of the reviews on here, other than they can't have watched it properly - it did need to be watched closely.

It was like a bizarre cross between The Famous Five and some Scandinavian "Mystery Noir", except it was completely gripping and well worth a binge watch.

Flicking between childhood stories / memories and the current day, marital infidelities and hard luck stories, along with a wonderful slowly unfolding solution, which makes it a must watch

I will definitely be seeking out more of Mr Coben's work as it takes a particularly inventive mind to come up with a story-line like this

Don't believe the miseries on here - get stuck into it!

I was intrigued right from the first episode my one major complaint is the almost consist loud annoying music, which accompsnied any movement, running, sitting, observing! Why

I absolutely loved this show. I watch a lot of different types of series but I only came across this one as I had heard a girl from my school had a small part in it. I didn't have any expectations that I would enjoy it but I was very wrong! I was gripped from the first episode, I binge watched the whole series it was so good. I am surprised it doesn't have a higher rating, I can only assume people did not continue watching until the end. There is nothing I can criticise this series for, other than that I didn't want it to end! I really hope it gets renewed for a new series! I can't really see how they could continue this particular storyline, however if they wrote a new mystery I am sure they could make it just as gripping as this one.

It started off so good and had so much potential. I wish crime series would take the time to think through realistic events as best they can. This Series has many things that detectives simply would never do. As an example there's a series of three tapes for each murder and they come to the conclusion that a person's been killed even before they watch a specific set of tapes. Stupid. There are many events like this. Just very poor writing. It loses my interest when it becomes stupid like this.

Finally finished watching this with my partner and what a superb ending (don't worry, no spoilers!). With the exception of the nonsensical notion that the main characters, despite not being policeman and worse, being witness to the crime in question, are constantly allowed to be involved in the investigation, this series was perfect...

An excellent story (I shall have to pick up a couple of Harlan Coben novels I think), incredible acting across the whole cast, a great soundtrack, well-rounded characters, superb casting (especially where different actors were required for the same characters 20 years apart). I could go on, but in short, if you haven't started this already, do! It's still available on Sky/Now TV Box Sets at the time of writing.

It's shows like this and Utopia which so many US TV shows (which seem to get all the plaudits) really should take note of. No dragging out of episodes where you wait 6 episodes just to get 1 new piece of information. No leaving cliffhangers at the end of the 1st series to leave it open for a 2nd. None of this 'oh well you've got to get through the first 2 seasons, but then it gets good, honestly'. Just a perfect one off series which is rounded off properly and if anything moves a little too quickly. Seriously, each episode contains the equivalent of around 3 'US season finale' type moments, you'll find yourself rewinding just to make sure you'd seen things right.

I enjoyed this drama, its not usually my kind of thing,but I liked the cast ,especially Sarah Solemani and O.T. Fagbenle who played Danny Kenwood they did a good job in this series. I felt sorry for Danny as his dad was a bit of a trouble maker! Overall the story was good but it did get a bit confusing in the middle with what slade had done in my opinion.

The last two episodes were real eye openers,and i loved the ending !

I really didn't suspect who the missing boy actually was......

What I can't believe is that when there were 6 reviews on here for this series, 5 were bad !!

i'm glad there's now some more positive reviews me being one ! so overall a good series, with a great cast and mystery being solved.

There are too many scenes where I'm shaking my head.

This is my first IMDb review, which i have felt compelled to write, as the other five reviews of this title are less than complimentary. Reading them almost made me stop watching this series, but i was hooked, so didn't. And boy oh boy, am I glad I didn't cave to the poor opinions of others. The story is a tangled web, absolutely gripping and memorable! This series is excellent, absolutely brilliant! No spoilers in here, as I want you, the reader, to experience it for yourself! Only thing I am disappointed with, is that I have watched it now, I wish I could go back in time and experience for the first time again!

The acting was flawless, you could really relate to each of the characters, their background, their own personal stories and their motivations. Looking back now, the story is so convoluted, it could easily have become confusing, but, even though you had just as little idea about what had happened as the main four, the story was not lost amongst all the different story lines. The story kept you guessing, from the very first episode, to the very end of the last episode. Absolutely riveting!

I regard myself as an exacting and selective viewer of crime series/dramas - although I have seen hundreds of them, both "old" ones with a crime per episode, and "modern" ones where cases and participants intertwine and 1-2 cases dominate the whole series.

Following the Scandinavians, the Brits have found the latter's perks as well, and when based on a solid author's works (here: Harlan Coben), the result is versatile and pleasing. References to the past, mysterious events then and now, plot of several levels, realistic characters and - last but not least - performed by a cast as a team (still, I would spotlight Tom Cullen, Lee Ingleby, Michael Maloney, Geraldine James) makes The Five one of the most captivating crime series in recent years. As the scenes passed smoothly and mysteries were logically substantiated, then even the "sweet", "non-British" ending did not impair my general opinion of this series.

And as I did not guess the real thing behind this DNA issue, I can easily give my 8 strong points and recommend it to all those fond of mystery thrill without the helping hand of a vigilante or superhero.

This was a non-exceptional mystery drama with UK accents. The sound creation team should be shot. At least 2 times per episode during some dramatic scene they play this awful, piercing noise. It's like a clue that something is serious and you need to be annoyed to make sure you notice.

The squealing sound effects were so distracting and annoying in episode one, I couldn't continue to watch. Too bad since the premise was interesting.

I watched this well-done series based upon the reviews I read. I tought is was a well thought-out thriller/whodunnit that definitely is worth watching. Red herrings appear strategically to keep the viewers guessing. Please watch the 10 episodes to the awesome ending. It is a wonderful conclusion to emotional rollercoaster ride. Bravo 🤗

The Five keeps you interested right from the start, even if it's only in the hopes of discovering the reason for the title. (Spoiler... that info is never revealed.) The entire show leaves you feeling conned and the most deceptive aspect of the series is that you keep trying to figure out the importance of the subplots. Eventually, you discover that unlike other mystery thrillers, these subplots end up being nothing but smoke and mirrors. It seems their only purpose is to tease the viewer into thinking there's more to the story than what's on the surface. You keep expecting the side stories to reveal their connections with explosive twists but they don't... ever. It's almost like they were added as an afterthought in order to create the illusion of an impending "oooh, I didn't see that coming" moment. This poor attempt to throw a gotcha curve at viewers not only insults the audience but wastes everyone's time. More importantly, it distracts, creating massive disappointment for what could have been a classic whodunit series.

This series is incredible,great writing,action,acting ,plot,twist and turns, mystery,suspense, and filming! This series can't be beat! It's just superb! I'm sitting here speechless after finishing the last episode! AMAZING! The Five is well worth your time! I can't boast about Enough to do it justice!

Watched a few episodes, and would give it a 6 or 7. Severe devaluation, though, for permanent, unbearable noise. Almost unwatchable due to the constant shrieking and extremely loud high-frequency noise every 5-10 minutes or so, a "sound effect" that was originally used to simulate the effect of flash-bang grenades, and which has been increasingly abused for years in many series and even movies, for any conceivable situation. In THIS series they put it to the extreme, though, using it in every situation that might even slightly suggest the actor is experiencing confusion or whatever. Extremely loud volume and annoying pitch that can induce sudden hearing loss. Beware!