The Iris Affair

Always the same with these shows that have strong female leads, take a look at the IMDB rating graph a little way down the main page showing the spread of votes. You'll find a surge of 1s, a surge of 10s , then a lot of 7s and 8s. To decipher just ignore the 1s and 10s and take the median average. For this show it's a solid 7-8 which I'd say is about right. Iris (Niamh Algar) is charismatic, clever and energetic. Male lead is Tom Hollander who is reliably good and kind of plays a sympathetic but troubled antagonist but in a good way. The story rattles on at a good pace with enough time for some character development that you wouldn't get if this was a film. Some great European locations cap it off. Strongly recommend but try the rating trick above, works every time.

I so wanted this to be in the vein of Night Manager, or Slow Horses but it is utter tripe.

The writer, director and whoever does the cut have surely got to grip you with something in the first episode but this is just turgid and over indulgent. There's nothing at all to see here based on episode 1 and half of episode 2. There's so many characters introduced and absolutely zero attention given to any kind of back story to either character played by the two leads - the superb Tom Hollander I am very familiar with and yet the storyline and script drags him down to a level I have not yet experienced. The actress playing the lead role totally passes me by and in any case brings an inadequate level of light, shade, or relatability to her character and the plot.

The whole thing seems so messy that I'm struggling to give a coherent opinion.

The trailers for this show looked very good. Alas, the actual viewing was a huge let down. On the plus side, the scenery was amazing and the lead actor did have some compelling scenes. However the storyline appeared to have been written by a bored eight year old. It drifted around never actually getting anywhere, with non-sensical scenes dragging on far too long. In the final episode our heroine finds a reason to strip down to her underwear and swim (badly) from her stolen boat to the beach. Why didn't she simply run the boat onto the beach? And then, it ends with clearly another series to come. Really, why?

The Iris Affair is a project that clearly aimed high, but in doing so, it ends up spreading itself too thin. The story tries to operate on too many levels at once, juggling tones and themes that never quite settle into a coherent whole. Instead of committing to a clear identity, the film tries to appeal to as many audiences as possible-and in the process, risks pleasing none of them fully.

Tom Hollander, usually a reliable presence, feels like a miscast here. His performance never quite lands in the way the role seems to demand, leaving key emotional moments flatter than they should be.

That said, the series isn't without merits. There are genuinely beautiful scenic shots scattered throughout-moments where the cinematography outshines the narrative and gives the story flashes of the elegance it seemed to be striving for.

Ultimately, The Iris Affair is an ambitious attempt that doesn't quite come together. With a tighter focus and a more fitting lead, it might have delivered something truly memorable. As it stands, it's a decent but forgettable watch.

All that money, a good cast, great locations but a totally ludicrous story and script. I can never understand how a commissioner (Sky in this instance) can commit so much money to a series of scripts that a child would say are nonsense. It's such a shame - no one involved could watch The Iris Affair and say, hand on heart, that they had delivered a great watch.