Critic Reviews

A Very British Scandal, with its lean, mean script and its refusal to reinvent the duchess as an icon of the movement, is the very best and fairest tribute that could be given her.

Claire Foy and Paul Bettany play the warring spouses. They are both exceptional, and while the case has fewer moving parts than the Thorpe affair, less political machination, the result is just as compelling. ... We have a candidate for the most stylish drama of the year. One of the saddest, too.

A Very British Scandal is a sophisticated piece of television that delivers in every department. Phelps' exquisite turn of phrase is flexed to full capacity throughout as she seamlessly straddles both high drama and comedy.

A Very British Scandal is a luscious, slow-paced and often funny treat and a fine showcase of Foy and Bettany’s exquisite acting.

Ms. Foy keeps one entranced and is abetted by the work of the series’ makeup artists (the designer was Catherine Scoble; the supervisor was Suzi Long) and costume designer Ian Fulcher. ... Mr. Bettany, who’s a little young for the term “beloved,” is an extremely likable actor, but he’s also good at being morally dubious. He makes the allegedly high-born Ian convincingly dissolute, insouciant and seedy.

A Very British Scandal benefits from fine performances and a scandalous story that touches both on early feminism and salacious scandal.

An entertaining, beautifully filmed, and dynamically acted portrait.

Scandal ultimately rushes through the true scandal of the union's ugly dissolution, in which Margaret was essentially put on trial for being a woman who enjoyed sex. ... Still, Foy and Bettany make for a brilliantly broken couple, so let this Scandal deliver your Brit fix before The Crown returns this fall.

Over the three-episode trajectory, Foy and Bettany are at the top of their games with emotional performances that will undoubtedly garner attention come awards season. Their driving takes, along with the beautiful cinematography and world-building that went into the period piece are indeed the main reasons to watch. ... However, if the point is to remind viewers of the people and motives at the heart of this story, there’s a failed opportunity to expand the characters beyond previously spilled ink.

While [A Very English Scandal] was an effervescent, almost feelgood trot through Thorpe's Old Bailey trial, this feels bleaker and sadder. ... [A] series which gets better with each episode.