The Listeners

English teacher Claire starts to hear a humming noise, a sound that nobody else can hear. The hum starts to affect her life, she finds some comfort when a student, Kyle, also hears the same noise, the pair explore the noise, and are drawn to a group.

I've heaped praise on the drama output of both ITV and The BBC during 2024, both organisations have put out some wonderful content. This however, this is the low point, a total dud.

Excruciatingly slow to start, it should have been half the running time, the only time the series offers anything, is in the third episode, which I enjoyed. Episode four is truly one of the most painfully, terrible things I've ever watched, there are no words for how awful it is.

We get such a feeble explanation, we don't even get to glimpse the sound, we should have been given the hum very early on, it made it impossible to empathise with Claire. There's weird, and then there's plain old incomprehensible, and this I'm afraid is that, it leaves the viewer cold.

It's diversity on steroids, as you'd expect, The BBC's world view on things continues to patronise.

Some decent performances however, Amr Waked stands out, the guy has some real presence.

Avoid.

4/10.

This show is an extremely well observed, nuanced portrayal of someone who feels lost and is seeking a different way of life. Suffocated by her choices, Claire (played by the exceptionally talented Rebecca Hall) begins hearing a sound she can't escape while living a life defined by her role as a teacher and mother.

The 'hum' leads her down a dark path, away from those she loves to find connection elsewhere, amongst other lost people struggling to cope in mainstream society. All in all I found this a very poignant study that brings up questions around mental illness, reality, convention and the drive that makes someone abandon those they love.

Some lovely outfits. Everything is a close up to magnify the main actresses' beauty. Can't say much more really.i wanted to like it but found the acting irritating let alone the characters. Puts you off yoga, humous, flat white's and vintage dresses. I'm on the last episode now and writing this review with one eye on the telly and one on my phone, just goes to show how some dramas can be spellbinding and then there's this one which concentrates neurotic people. I've started watching The Long Shadow. I'm really enjoying it and it ticks all of my boxes. This drama is mainly about crying and hyperventilating x.

You have to be in the right frame of mind to tackle this series. If you enjoy portraits of relationships and what binds people together as well as what splits them apart then this is for you. If you're looking for something that's more in the sci-fi/thriller genre then you have to look elsewhere. As for the acting, that other people have commented on, then all I can say is that it fits perfectly the directoral style. Rebecca Hall is an outstanding actor and plays the role she is given to perfection and so do the other actors. It's a slow but intriguing portrait of dysfunctional relationships and how they evolve. The plot device is intriguing but not really the central premise.

Anybody giving this tripe praise have been sucked in for the wrong reasons, perfectly indicative of what the exceptionally poor plot is about . Rachel Hall , in my honest opinion , would normally be as sound as a row of houses , but this is utterly lamentable ? Turning tinnitus ( and yes I am being deliberately obtuse ) into a David Koresh love in is utterly absurd . The acting , in the first episode , by the whole ensemble is nothing short of bringing the whole " equity card " house of cards down upon the lot of them ! The irony being , part of the plot is watching a school piece of Am Dram . Don't waste your time on this . I can categorically state , that it won't win any gongs and it will be forgotten at the end of it's scheduled timings.