Small Town, Big Story

Small Town, Big Story is a slow burner that never quite finds its spark, at least not early on. I found myself wishing that episode three had been the pilot because it felt like the show was dawdling through its own setup. The premise of a Hollywood producer returning to her small Irish hometown has its charm but the execution is, frankly, a bit muddled. The narrative meanders and takes its time getting to the heart of the story, leaving you wondering if the tension is ever really meant to build up.

The characters are meant to be quirky and full of local charm but they simply do not stick in the mind. Christina Hendricks and Paddy Considine have moments where their past chemistry shows promise yet the overall characterisation feels flat and underdeveloped. It is as if the show is trying to juggle too many ideas at once and, in doing so, loses the thread that might have tied it all together. In the end, if you like a slow-paced tale with a subtle hint of mystery, you might find a few redeeming qualities here. For me, however, it just did not quite hit the mark.

What a great show with brilliant Irish humour, really made me laugh. With a super cast. I Really want to see another series please Chris O'Dowd.

Christina Hendricks & Paddy Consadine lead a wonderful all star cast and Chris O'Dowd is also just brilliant and hilarious.

It's a really unusual story line but it really works and the humour and one liners throughout are perfect and the characters who make up the town are just wonderful.

It was refreshing to watch something really different for a change.

I would certainly recommend this and would be delighted to see another series to see how it all develops.

Top marks from me x.

This has been advertised as a "comedy" but 2 episodes in I've yet to even smile. If it was advertised as a drama that would make it a bit better. I suspect all the "funny" bits are in the trailer.

So I've watched 2 episodes and nothing makes any sense. What programme is the Irish born/American producer making? Why are the townspeople so keen on having it made there? What are they actually auditioning for?

I really like Chris O'Dowd but enough to make me watch more episodes? I really, really don't know when there are so many better programmes to watch instead. I might try episode 3 reluctantly.

I hadn't read anything about this show and had no idea where it was going but as the show developed the characters of the town come more to life and getting to know the characters may slow the pace at the beginning but you really need to understand their motivations. Six episodes was not enough as I was just starting to get into it, questions were being answered but there are still more questions. You should give this show a chance and I would say it's much better binge watched in order to keep pace going. I really hope there is a season 2 of this as there is so much potential now that we know the town, there is more room for the story to evolve.

Christina Hendricks and Paddy Considine are great in this, along with Susan Lynch and other cast members, but the script flatlines and the comedy doesn't quite get there.

O'Dowd's direction and script make it a bit wooden and clunky. You are always waiting for the killer laughs, the key character moments, the unique Irish craic, but it never arrives.

It's watchable, but it will leave you with a sense of unfulfilled potential. Key relationships just take too long to establish, some great character potential is lost because the moment of spark is missing in the script. The actors are forced to act on, dragging out the awkwardness that's not necessarily good for the character, and leaving the viewer frustrated at the missed opportunity to take them further into the storyline.

The cast saved whatever elements of this that made it watchable but they clearly struggled with O'Dowd's flat script.

There just wasn't that link between comedy, plot and irishness that often makes these types of series work.

I think there's an age old lesson that O'Dowd has forgotten here, don't try and do everything yourself. Sometimes you need a critical friend (or two) on the project and this felt that it was the result of nobody being able to say "try that again" to the the ubiquitous O'Dowd.

Maybe a fresh director and a good script adaptation would revive it.

I hope so, there was something in there that O'Dowd just couldn't tease out.