User Reviews

Hard Cell was a brilliant series full of laugh-out-loud and subtle moments. Catherine Tate plays six hilarious characters who are incredibly entertaining to watch. Not only is the series funny, but it is also emotional and heart-warming at times. No spoilers but you should watch the mockumentary until the very end as it really does only get better and better!

This British import was created and stars Catherine Tate, who's a popular comedy star in England (and reminds me of a younger Tracey Ullman). She plays 5 of the main characters, including the head of a women's prison, where the action takes place. It's set up as a mockumentary that includes encounters with numerous inmates, plus lots of scenes with the boss and her surly assistant. The premise is that they're going to stage a musical to help the women improve their attitudes and grow as people. Some of the moments are truly hilarious, while many scenes are just silly or stupid. Other than her boss role, Tate's other character creations are rather obnoxious. There's def a British sensibility in the broadness of the humor, which may appeal to some. I'd suggest giving it one short episode to see how it appeals to your taste. (Six 30-minute episodes)

"Hard Cell" (S01, 6 eps, 25-min, Netflix) uses Catherine Tate as writer/producer/actress and sorry it's just too much for her. Someone at Netflix is like "hey, I love her as an actress, let's let her have her own show." Well, that backfired. "Hard Cell" is about a UK women's prison where Catherine is the prison "governor" and fancies producing "West Side Story" featuring the prisoners. Uh, no. Just more Covid-era trash they're throwing at us along with "Minx", "From", and "Russian Doll S02", all just total wastes of time and resources.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Its an average comedy with a lady playing several parts. The humour doesn't always hit home. Watchable, but if you have something else to watch, this can wait.