Critical Condition: The Cry

The Cry | TVNZ 1, 8.30 Sunday

☆☆☆☆ “Jenna Coleman has arrived on our screens to tell us a story of struggling first-time mother Joanna, who travels from Glasgow to Melbourne with husband Alistair (Ewen Leslie) and son Noah – only for her baby boy to disappear. They were visiting Australia to seek custody of Alistair’s teenage daughter from his ex, but now they are trapped in a nightmare as their lives disintegrate around them … Bring on episode two – if you’re in the mood for some depressing Sunday evening drama.” — Radio Times.

☆☆☆☆ “We’re experiencing a boon in quality, at the moment, when it comes to the portrayal of motherhood on TV. Particularly the dark, unsatisfying aspects of it – which until recently were something of a taboo … It is thanks to [Coleman] that The Cry is such bruising, engaging viewing.” — Independent.

☆☆☆☆ “The Cry looks set to be a convincing psychological thriller … There is promise in the examination of the media circus clearly about to gather around the family, the cult of motherhood and the pressure to join it, and the splintering of relationships under pressure. I’m in.” — The Guardian.

☆☆☆☆ “The first episode spent much agonising time exploring the taboo idea that it’s not all golden smiles and Instagram heart emojis for mothers of newborn babies … Whether the rest of the drama, adapted by Jacquelin Perske from the 2013 crime novel by Helen FitzGerald, quite matches up to the intensity of this provocative proposition is moot.” — The Telegraph.

☆☆☆☆ “Keeping us so determinedly in the dark is a high-risk strategy for any thriller … Nonetheless, this was a highly accomplished and tantalising opener. Certainly I can’t think of many series where I’ve been so keen to find out what happens next, without really knowing what’s happening now.” — The Spectator.