The Assassin; Inside the Cult of Jesus Army

“The Assassin is perfectly crafted preposterousness. It is stylish, witty, tightly written, even more tightly paced and takes the job of massively entertaining us at every turn with the proper amount of seriousness.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“The Assassin, Prime Video’s new six-part comedy thriller starring Keeley Hawes, is an education in how it should be done. It’s an absolute cracker. Writers Harry and Jack Williams have yet another five-star knockout triumph on their hands, and I can’t wait for the final two episodes.”
Tom Peck, The Times

“Summer is usually a dead time for TV, so The Assassin is very welcome. Admittedly, the pace slackens after the first two episodes and it becomes a little less satisfying as the novelty wears off. There are also a couple of logical inconsistencies: why would a professional hitman waste dozens of bullets cutting down bystanders instead of concentrating on their target? Don’t think too hard about it. Just enjoy the ride. And beware an angry woman with a cheese fork.”
Anita Singh, the Telegraph

“The Assassin moves along at such a zippy pace that it’s hard to keep up with the tangled mess of storylines. There are glimmers of light, though. When Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore are given the space to spar, their spikey chemistry is off the charts – I’d much rather watch a series about a son getting to grips with his mother’s past as a hitwoman than this forgettable, sloppy attempt at an international espionage thriller.”
Emily Baker, The i

“The Assassin is spoiled by being overly derivative, to the point of being distracting. The soundtrack is too reminiscent of a Bond movie, and the old billionaire bloke sounds and behaves uncannily like a knowing parody of Succession’s Logan Roy. That doesn’t stop The Assassin from being intriguing and very, very nearly working – but it renders it frustrating. After all, as Hawes’s hitwoman would know, the difference between success and failure for a sniper is a question of mere millimetres.”
Sean O’Grady, The Independent

“Much of the story has been extensively covered, but Ellena Wood’s series uses the existing array of newspaper and TV reports and documentaries on this church to her advantage; she skilfully overlays it with the fresh detail of the movement’s latter day reckoning with the authorities.”
Ben Dowell, The Times

“As a genre, true crime can spread awareness, bust taboos and breed empathy, especially when survivors are able to articulate the impact the misdeeds had on their own lives. But this is always tempered by a certain exploitation, recasting vulnerable people’s trauma as entertainment. As the camera lingers on these tearful men and women – after teasing their revelations over almost 80 minutes of nauseating tension – it feels as if the programme has failed to pull off that particular balancing act.”
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian