Hostage; Mudtown

“Hostage is one of the best British dramas I’ve seen this year, and I couldn’t tear myself away from all five episodes. It has all the hallmarks of what we used to call ‘watercooler TV’ – gob smacking cliffhangers, shocking reveals and a smattering of red herrings to discuss with colleagues the next day.”
Emily Baker, The i

“It’s a rollicking, propulsive and compulsive yarn that also manages to give two great parts to two women of a certain age then leaves them to get on with it as characters rather than symbols.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Hostage is neatly paced and at its best when Suranne Jones and Julie Delpy are sparking off each other, but much of the time it feels generic, boxes ticked and its tension delivered safe and sound. Netflix can do better.”
Martin Samuel, The Times

“If you’re prepared to suspend a platoon’s worth of disbelief, then Hostage is not without adrenalin-rush entertainment value. The interplay between Jones and Delpy raises the intensity whenever they are together. Ultimately, though, Hostage feels like five stories crammed into one and sometimes less really is more. In this case, a lot less.”
Keith Watson, The Telegraph

“I really, really wanted to love Hostage, a series headed up by two such formidable women. In 2025, it is refreshing, still, to see female characters calling the shots, barking the orders and making the big decisions. The trouble is, beneath the series’ slick exterior lies a slightly wonky storyline – one that ranges from the shrug-worthy to the downright jump-the-shark.”
Helen Coffey, The Independent

“If you felt like bailing out of Mudtown after the first episode because, despite a very good cast, it sometimes felt like being slapped on the head by a magistrate’s handbook, then I hear you. However, it would be a pity if you did, because it gets much better. Mudtown, named because of the muddy riverbanks in Newport, South Wales, also deserves credit for being a crime drama that – praise be – isn’t about the police.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Fans of Keeping Faith will lap up Mudtown. Both dramas are centred on strong-minded, competent women, haunted by their past mistakes, juggling jobs and family while married to fairly useless men.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail