The Listeners

English teacher Claire starts to hear a humming noise, a sound that nobody else can hear. The hum starts to affect her life, she finds some comfort when a student, Kyle, also hears the same noise, the pair explore the noise, and are drawn to a group.

I've heaped praise on the drama output of both ITV and The BBC during 2024, both organisations have put out some wonderful content. This however, this is the low point, a total dud.

Excruciatingly slow to start, it should have been half the running time, the only time the series offers anything, is in the third episode, which I enjoyed. Episode four is truly one of the most painfully, terrible things I've ever watched, there are no words for how awful it is.

We get such a feeble explanation, we don't even get to glimpse the sound, we should have been given the hum very early on, it made it impossible to empathise with Claire. There's weird, and then there's plain old incomprehensible, and this I'm afraid is that, it leaves the viewer cold.

It's diversity on steroids, as you'd expect, The BBC's world view on things continues to patronise.

Some decent performances however, Amr Waked stands out, the guy has some real presence.

Avoid.

4/10.

I have a keen eye for drama. Usually in the first 15 minutes I can work out the quality. This one took me all of 5 minutes. Rebecca Hall is getting far too many duds to be now considered a reliable actress.

As soon as the woke-ness, over-acting and general typical suburbia came to the fore I knew there is only one way this is gonna go, and I wasn't wrong.

Unbelievably predictable the drama offers nothing. BBC has lost its way. Commissioning far too many of these humdrum, no-one will watch dramas which sink without trace.

Where is the grittiness, the pushing of the tension boundaries, the realism in delivery? All is absent. Nothing to see here. Move on.

This show is an extremely well observed, nuanced portrayal of someone who feels lost and is seeking a different way of life. Suffocated by her choices, Claire (played by the exceptionally talented Rebecca Hall) begins hearing a sound she can't escape while living a life defined by her role as a teacher and mother.

The 'hum' leads her down a dark path, away from those she loves to find connection elsewhere, amongst other lost people struggling to cope in mainstream society. All in all I found this a very poignant study that brings up questions around mental illness, reality, convention and the drive that makes someone abandon those they love.

While there's nothing particularly deep here, there are some strong and very measured performances. It did make me think about things as I was watching it and it certainly wasn't predictable. The conclusion was also reasonably satisfying.

Rebecca Hall was very believable as Claire. I also particularly liked the performance of Amr Waked as Omar.

Without giving any spoilers, I think it is possible to say this is "about" people who are suffering (hearing the "hum" that most cannot) and trying to find someone who can help them. It strikes me it is also "about" the way the brain can construct both helpful and unhelpful explanations.

Well worth a watch, so long as you're not looking for anything deep and meaningful. (I enjoyed this enough to binge watch it last night.)

Some lovely outfits. Everything is a close up to magnify the main actresses' beauty. Can't say much more really.i wanted to like it but found the acting irritating let alone the characters. Puts you off yoga, humous, flat white's and vintage dresses. I'm on the last episode now and writing this review with one eye on the telly and one on my phone, just goes to show how some dramas can be spellbinding and then there's this one which concentrates neurotic people. I've started watching The Long Shadow. I'm really enjoying it and it ticks all of my boxes. This drama is mainly about crying and hyperventilating x.