Critical Condition: The Halcyon

The Halcyon (Prime, 8.30 Thursday)

➢ “They should have had the balls to call it Downton Hotel. C’mon, we’re all grown-ups here! But ITV has been coy and called their replacement for the late, lamented (especially by all the monkeys who typed the scripts) Downton Abbey The Halcyon instead. It is set – sensibly, given the title – in the Halcyon hotel. This is a hotel in London. During the war. It is produced by the people behind The Crown, so it looks gorgeous. There are lots of characters, even more plot and everything so far is immensely enjoyable, especially if you finish off any prosecco left over from New Year’s Eve as you go.” — The Guardian.

➢ “Using a London hotel as a haunt for politicians, spies and journalists during the Blitz — the glitziest air-raid shelter in town — is an intriguing premise, and Olivia Williams is always a class act, even if her ladyship had little to do so far but fume stoically.” — The Times.

➢ “It came out all guns blazing with a rollicking jazz band, a massive explosion and a selection of tawdry storylines about the upstairs-downstairs shenanigans at an upmarket hotel in wartime London. But while the opening episode was eventful, it was also more than a little confused.” — The Telegraph.

➢ “As well getting the classical references right, it also clearly ticks a lot of boxes on the Downton Abbey replacement checklist. It has posh people, including the titled Hamilton family, who not only own a chunk of land somewhere but also, rather less probably for mid-20th century aristocrats, own the hotel.” — Daily Express.

➢ “Hotels are bustling, frantic places. Wartime is chaotic and unpredictable. So why does The Halcyon seem so rigid? The characters act as though they have been teleported from the 21st century, and are horrified at the cultural attitudes of the Olden Days.” — Daily Mail.