Critical Condition: Deep Water

Deep Water | TVNZ OnDemand, from Thursday

☆☆☆☆ “Adapted from the novels of Paula Daly by Mrs Wilson’s Ann Symons, Deep Water’s observations on class insecurity and sex are acute and a pivotal dinner party is truly cringe-making, even as implausibilities mount up a little too conveniently … The performances, though, are up to snuff, and even at its silliest Deep Water has a keen sense of pulpy fun.” — The Telegraph.

☆☆☆☆ “This new ITV effort has the potential to be the Lake District’s answer to Big Little Lies. It follows the three well-to-do women harbouring dark secrets despite their seemingly perfect lives. Elegantly shot and just the right side of soapy, it stars Anna Friel, Rosalind Eleazar and Sinead Keenan.” — The Guardian.

☆☆☆☆ “A twisty, soapy women’s drama not hugely troubled by plausibility. The title Deep Water — so on the nose it barely qualifies as a metaphor — refers to its setting, Lake Windermere, and to the three ‘complex and vibrant’ women at its heart, each spiralling into troubled situations … As their lives collide at the school gate and beyond, it’s almost like Big Little Lies, had it been done by Kay Mellor. But Friel is excellent and its emotional hooks and plot turns look set to become compulsive.” — The Times.

☆☆☆☆ “Three women struggle to balance their lives in Windermere. They take care of their disruptive kids, remain disappointed by their useless husbands, and feel shattered by the number tasks that need to be fulfilled …  In the first episode, Deep Water sinks into deep boredom, but promises to swim to more absorbing territory as the series continues.” — Culture Whisper.

☆☆☆☆ “If you were going to transpose Big Little Lies to the Lake District, it would look a lot like Deep Water. The same tense car journeys through picturesque waterfront scenery, only less sunny. The same school-gate face-offs, only without the designer duds. Complex female alliances and rivalries, only fewer of them. Everything generally smaller in scale.” — Financial Times.