The Party, ITV's five-part Elizabeth Day adaptation, gets broadly positive reviews
ITV's five-part thriller The Party, adapted by Sarah Solemani from Elizabeth Day's 2017 novel, starts with reviews that call it entertaining. They differ on how deeply it explores its characters.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2The Party is a five-part ITV thriller adapted by Sarah Solemani from Elizabeth Day's 2017 novel, with Luke Evans and Tom Cullen in the lead roles. Radio TimesN “Luke Evans and Tom Cullen lead this five-part adaptation of Elizabeth Day's novel” Read at Radio Times ↗ The IndependentLC “adapted by Sarah Solemani from Elizabeth Day’s 2017 novel” Read at The Independent ↗ Mixed · 2It opens with political journalist Martin Gilmour (Evans) bloodstained and being questioned by police after trouble at a lavish country-house party for his friend Ben Fitzmaurice (Cullen), a Tory politician. The GuardianLC “being interviewed in a bloodstained shirt by the police” Read at The Guardian ↗ Radio TimesN “has ended in violence, with blood arcing across the face and crisp white shirt” Read at Radio Times ↗ Left · 2Flashbacks trace the pair's friendship from a public school, where Martin was a scholarship pupil, to the present day, when the party leader's resignation sets off a leadership scramble. The IndependentLC “was sent on a scholarship to an elite public school” Read at The Independent ↗ The GuardianLC “The leader of the Tory party resigns.” Read at The Guardian ↗
Mixed · 2Reviewers describe Martin as repeatedly bending to Ben's wishes, and Radio Times says Martin is exploited. The GuardianLC “Martin dutifully going off to do Ben’s bidding is, we will learn, very much the pattern of their relationship.” Read at The Guardian ↗ Radio TimesN “the realisation has slowly dawned that he’s been exploited” Read at Radio Times ↗ Left · 1The Guardian's Lucy Mangan calls it "enormous fun: pacey, moreish, perfectly cast", singling out Lindsay Duncan. The GuardianLC “The Party is enormous fun: pacey, moreish, perfectly cast.” Read at The Guardian ↗ Left · 1The Independent's Phil Harrison says it "sails along very entertainingly" but is held back by thinly explored characters and underused supporting actors, and he finds Evans's performance initially wooden. The IndependentLC “it sails along very entertainingly”“too much of their internality goes unexamined”“Evans’s performance feels slightly wooden” Read at The Independent ↗
Centre · 1Radio Times' David Brown calls it "seductive" and focuses on themes of class, privilege and Martin's path to freeing himself, though he notes that the actors playing the younger characters look too old. Radio TimesN “So begins a seductive five-part ITV adaptation”“the younger incarnations of the main characters all look like the oldest teenagers” Read at Radio Times ↗ Centre · 1The series continues on ITV1 at 9pm on Monday 12 October and is available on ITVX. Radio TimesN “The Party is available to watch on ITVX and continues on ITV1 at 9pm on Monday 12 October.” Read at Radio Times ↗
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
- Reviews that enjoy the show as a pacey, gossipy thriller about awful rich people. The Independent adds reservations about depth.
- Emphasis
- Satire of Tory society, ensemble cast, mystery hooks and pace.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither discusses Martin's arc to the finale or the gay-repression theme in depth, as Radio Times does.
- Charged language
- “gloriously hateful characters”“miserable rich people”
- For example
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“The Party is enormous fun: pacey, moreish, perfectly cast.” — The Guardian
“it could have gone harder in terms of examining its themes” — The Independent
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- A preview-style review that leads with politics, privilege and class and follows Martin's exploitation and possible escape.
- Emphasis
- Themes, literary comparisons (Brideshead, Saltburn, Ripley) and viewing details.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Says little about the satire of the Tory party or the supporting cast.
- Charged language
- “seductive”
- For example
-
“So begins a seductive five-part ITV adaptation of Elizabeth Day's 2017 novel of class anxiety” — Radio Times
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- The Party is a five-part ITV adaptation of Elizabeth Day's 2017 novel.
- It opens with Martin Gilmour bloodstained and being questioned by police.
- All three reviews call it entertaining.
Where accounts differ
-
How well the series explores its characters
- Left
- The Independent says too much of the two men's inner lives goes unexamined and the supporting cast is underused. The Guardian enjoys the unanswered mysteries ("Don't know, don't care, but just desperately want to know").
- Centre
- Radio Times treats Martin's moral awakening and exploitation as the series' emotional core and does not fault its depth.
-
The Party opens with journalist Martin Gilmour, covered in blood, being questioned by police after a violent incident at Ben Fitzmaurice's birthday party.
Reported- Reports 3
- The Guardian, The Independent, Radio Times
-
The Party is an entertaining watch.
Supported- Supports 3
- The Guardian, The Independent, Radio Times
-
The series leaves the inner lives and motives of its central characters insufficiently explored.
Mixed- Supports 1
- The Independent
- Disputes 1
- Radio Times
- Reports 1
- The Guardian
The Party (TV series) other
Reviewers present the series as a class-and-power thriller built around a murky incident at a party, with strong casting.
“Politics, privilege and class collide” — Radio Times
“this pacey, perfectly cast thriller” — The Guardian
Luke Evans person
Evans plays Martin. The Independent finds his performance initially wooden but deliberate, while the Guardian says the cast is perfect.
“this awkwardness isn’t a bug but a feature” — The Independent
Left2 articles
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The IndependentLC · · Opinion
The Party on ITV review – A gathering you’ll observe with a shudder
Mixed Entertained but wishes the series interrogated its characters and themes more.
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The GuardianLC · · Opinion
The Party review – this pacey, perfectly cast thriller is enormous fun
Celebratory Playful, enthusiastic review praising pace, casting and mystery.
Centre1 article
-
Radio TimesN · · Opinion
The Party review: Politics, privilege and class collide in this seductive ITV drama
Sympathetic Thematic, admiring read of class, exploitation and Martin's escape.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 11 Oct 22:00 First The IndependentLC The Party on ITV review – A gathering you’ll observe with a shudder Opinion
- 11 Oct 22:00 First Radio TimesN The Party review: Politics, privilege and class collide in this seductive ITV drama Opinion
- 11 Oct 22:00 +1m The GuardianLC The Party review – this pacey, perfectly cast thriller is enormous fun Opinion
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.