ITV's Adultery, with Romola Garai and Dominic Cooper, gets mixed reviews
ITV's six-part drama Adultery, written by Danny Brocklehurst and starring Romola Garai and Dominic Cooper, drew reviews from the Radio Times, Independent and Guardian. All see a familiar story; they differ on whether the leads' chemistry and the characters redeem it.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Adultery is a six-part ITV drama written by Danny Brocklehurst, in which Romola Garai plays Beth and Dominic Cooper plays Tom, two married people who begin an affair. Radio TimesN “In Danny Brocklehurst's ITV series, Beth and Tom embark on a textbook affair” Read at Radio Times ↗ The IndependentLC “ITV's new sexy six-part drama, Adultery” Read at The Independent ↗ Left · 2Beth is a working-class fitness trainer or zumba teacher and mother of two, unsettled by the death of her best friend; Tom is a middle-class GP. The Independent and the Guardian both say they meet when she knocks him off his bike with her car. The IndependentLC “when she knocks him off his bike with her car” Read at The Independent ↗ The GuardianLC “they meet when she knocks him off his bike and injures his wrist” Read at The Guardian ↗ Mixed · 2Both are married, to Neil (Matthew McNulty) and Hannah (Shelley Conn), and their teenage children, Ollie and Jess, are in a relationship with each other. Radio TimesN “Beth and Tom initially find themselves in each other's orbit because their teenage children are in a relationship of their own.” Read at Radio Times ↗ The IndependentLC “neither his wife, Hannah (Shelley Conn), nor her husband, Neil (Matthew McNulty)” Read at The Independent ↗
Mixed · 2The series is set in the North West, and the Guardian describes a trip to Tom's cottage in the Lake District. Radio TimesN “set in the North West” Read at Radio Times ↗ The GuardianLC “They have to drive to Tom's cottage in the Lake District instead.” Read at The Guardian ↗ Centre · 1The series is on ITVX and STV Player, with the run continuing on ITV1 and STV at 9pm on Monday 26 October, according to Radio Times. Radio TimesN “Adultery is available to watch in full on ITVX and STV Player. It continues on ITV1 and STV at 9pm on Monday 26 October.” Read at Radio Times ↗ Left · 3All three critics call the story familiar. Radio Times says it "doesn't take many diversions" from the usual route of temptation, guilt and exposure. The Independent says it covers "nothing in the way of new ground". The Guardian calls it "a clattering bag of cliches". Radio TimesN “Illicit TV affairs tend to follow a route map, and this six-parter doesn't take many diversions.” Read at Radio Times ↗ The IndependentLC “this kind of show, covering nothing in the way of new ground, lives and dies by the chemistry of its leads” Read at The Independent ↗ The GuardianLC “Adultery, in short, is a clattering bag of cliches delivered by ciphers” Read at The Guardian ↗
Left · 1The Independent is the most positive. It calls the leads' chemistry "electric" and the writing "smart", and says the show treats everyone involved as complex, flawed human beings rather than villains or victims. The IndependentLC “Fortunately, here the casting team absolutely understood the assignment.”“The show is more sophisticated and nuanced than many that have gone before it in terms of presenting the humanity of everyone involved” Read at The Independent ↗ Centre · 1Radio Times is lukewarm. It finds the drama "middling" and slow to get exciting, and says Beth has "genuine emotional weight" but the other characters feel "sketched in pencil". It welcomes a primetime ITV1 drama without dead bodies and crime-scene tape, and notes the setting allows some exploration of surveillance technology. Radio TimesN “As for the excitement, that takes a while to arrive.”“it's refreshing to see a primetime ITV1 drama that doesn't feel the need to litter the screen with dead bodies and crime-scene tape”“Beth, at least, has genuine emotional weight.” Read at Radio Times ↗ Left · 1The Guardian is the harshest. It calls the series "risible", says Garai and Cooper are "far too good for" it, and finds its characters and plot impossible to believe in. It still praises "great central performances, especially from Garai and Conn". The GuardianLC “It all adds up to people it is impossible to believe in or care about.”“There are great central performances, especially from Garai and Conn” Read at The Guardian ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left2 outlets
- Framing
- The two left-leaning outlets split. The Independent leads with the leads' chemistry and calls the show steamy and electric. The Guardian mocks the clichés, with a comic list of life lessons.
- Emphasis
- The Independent stresses chemistry and humane character writing. The Guardian stresses implausible dialogue and details such as car sex, rat poo and a rickety table.
- Leaves out or plays down
- The Independent barely mentions the plot's predictability beyond the genre. The Guardian says little about the series' theme beyond calling the class commentary clumsy.
- Charged language
- “electric”“risible”“clattering bag of cliches”
- For example
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“Adultery review – The chemistry in this steamy ITV drama is electric” — The Independent
“Adultery review – a risible tale of middle-aged car sex, rat poo and rickety furniture” — The Guardian
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Radio Times gives a measured verdict of a middling drama that is competent but formulaic, and praises its absence of crime-drama tropes.
- Emphasis
- The formula of attraction plus obstacle, the soap-like structure, the surveillance-tech theme and the hope offered by the younger generation.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Says little about the leads' on-screen chemistry.
- Charged language
- “middling”“soapland showdown”
- For example
-
“Adultery review: Romola Garai and Dominic Cooper lead middling midlife relationship drama” — Radio Times
“there's little here that's meatier than the tearful reckonings that follow a standard soapland showdown” — Radio Times
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Adultery is a six-part ITV drama written by Danny Brocklehurst.
- Romola Garai plays Beth and Dominic Cooper plays Tom; both are married to other people.
- The couple's teenage children are in a relationship with each other.
- All three reviewers call the premise and plot familiar.
Where accounts differ
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Whether the supporting characters are convincing
- Left
- The Independent says Hannah and Neil are complex, flawed, living, breathing human beings. The Guardian says the characters are impossible to believe in or care about.
- Centre
- Radio Times says characters around Beth feel sketched in pencil rather than indelible ink.
-
Whether the leads' chemistry makes the familiar story worthwhile
- Left
- The Independent calls the chemistry electric. The Guardian says the leads are far too good for the material, which remains hardly worth the effort.
- Centre
- Radio Times calls the drama middling and says it has little that is meatier than a standard soapland showdown.
-
Adultery follows a familiar, well-worn template for TV affair dramas.
Supported- Supports 3
- The Guardian, The Independent, Radio Times
-
The supporting characters in Adultery are rounded, believable people.
Mixed- Supports 1
- The Independent
- Disputes 1
- The Guardian
- Earlier 1
- Radio Times
Adultery (ITV series) other
Reviewers present the series as a familiar affair drama; the Independent sees it as nuanced and well cast, Radio Times as middling, and the Guardian as clichéd.
“more sophisticated and nuanced than many that have gone before it” — The Independent
“a clattering bag of cliches” — The Guardian
Romola Garai person
Garai is praised in all three reviews, though the Guardian thinks the material is beneath her and the Independent is warmest about her chemistry with Cooper.
“far too good for this by-the-numbers effort from Danny Brocklehurst” — The Guardian
“I would happily watch Garai do just about anything” — The Independent
Left2 articles
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The IndependentLC · · Opinion
Adultery review – The chemistry in this steamy ITV drama is electric
Celebratory Warm review that lets the leads' chemistry and humane writing outweigh the genre's familiarity.
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The GuardianLC · · Opinion
Adultery review – a risible tale of middle-aged car sex, rat poo and rickety furniture
Critical Comic, mocking takedown of clichés and implausible details, while praising the cast.
Centre1 article
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Radio TimesN · · Opinion
Adultery review: Romola Garai and Dominic Cooper lead middling midlife relationship drama
Mixed A measured review calling the drama middling and formulaic while crediting Beth's emotional weight and its lack of crime-drama clichés.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 25 Oct 22:00 First Radio TimesN Adultery review: Romola Garai and Dominic Cooper lead middling midlife relationship drama Opinion
- 25 Oct 22:05 +4m The IndependentLC Adultery review – The chemistry in this steamy ITV drama is electric Opinion
- 25 Oct 22:05 +4m The GuardianLC Adultery review – a risible tale of middle-aged car sex, rat poo and rickety furniture Opinion
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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