Inventing Anna; The Fear Index; Magpie Murders

“Inventing Anna comes from the Shonda Rhimes stable and stays within the Shondaland (her production company) comfort zone – a multilayered tale brilliantly told, at pace and with glee. It may have more heft than it initially appears, but it is played essentially as a modern soap opera – and God, is it fun.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Delvey’s story calls for exactly the kind of high-budget, higher-drama treatment at which Rhimes excels. And when Julia Garner was cast as Delvey, the series seemed destined for success. But the result falls flat. Inventing Anna is a stretched-out nine-episode romp that never quite catches the enigma of its protagonist – or matches her appeal.”
Annabel Nugent, The Independent

“This might not be the Anna Delvey drama we expected. It’s more trash than grit, though undeniably enjoyable. As a true crime Gossip Girl, it’s a fun, slick joyride. But once you try to take it as seriously as her crimes, it’s hard to see Inventing Anna as anything other than a very expensive Anna Delvey PR campaign.”
Emily Baker, The i

“A despondent greyness hangs over the four-part adaptation, which struggles to overcome lustreless cinematography and a plot that unfolds with all the urgency of a hedgehog pottering across a suburban garden. This is a thriller with one finger on the snooze button.”
Ed Power, The Telegraph

“The lead performances, and the intriguing premise, are enough to keep The Fear Index rolling along, but – like money – it’s more reliable in paper than on screen.”
Ed Cumming, The Independent

“Anthony Horowitz has adapted this one himself, and it perhaps shows, having a light cleverness of touch even as it remains within the confines of the kind of cosy crime series usually watched with a mug of cocoa. By presenting a traditional period mystery (with its 1950s sleuth, village pubs and Daniel Mays channelling Sleuth’s Inspector Doppler) folded within the more knowing modern plotline, he’s made a series that successfully has its cake and eats it — a rich fruitcake with a dash of brandy in it.”
James Jackson, The Times