Critic Reviews

Sherwood is shaping up to be one of the most compelling dramas of 2022.

In the clarity of its storytelling, and the authenticity of its atmosphere, Sherwood split the bullseye: the best BBC drama of the year so far, and I’d hazard some time to come.

Sherwood builds slowly – layer by subtle, evocative layer – into a magisterial state-of-the-nation piece. Forty years of emotion and history have been transmuted, lovingly and painstakingly, into art. It’s the cleverest, most compelling and most moving thing I’ve seen in years. ... It is, simply put, wonderful.

Like the original, it’s stuffed to the gills with brilliant performances. The old guard – Manville, Morrissey, Ashbourne – remain immaculate. And the new introductions, from stalwarts like Harewood, Dolan and Dillane to relative newcomers like Huntingdon – who radiates a mixture of pain, need and dangerous fury that has you watching in horrified anticipation of the moment of combustion – join them seamlessly.

Wat made Sherwood so brilliant and painful is still here. .... And perhaps it is more of a standard crime drama than the first series. But what a crime drama – the final minutes of episode two will have your heart leaping out of your chest.

The new series of Sherwood (BBC1), is exceptional. It is very different to the first but Graham’s talent for understanding the human condition, for depicting the taste and texture of Nottingham — once nicknamed “Shottingham” after a wave of gun and drug crime — and for creating complex, believable characters is every bit as potent as last time.

Artfully combining a drama about the long tail of hurt from the colliery closures with a macabre whodunit (and increasingly, as the series progresses, blending the two) is no mean feat. ... Sherwood is altogether merrier than you might expect, with plenty to tuck into.

Sherwood season 2 has all the makings of what is already shaping up to be a stellar anthology series. Not that it necessarily needed it, but new characters, storylines and dynamics breathe new life into the series which is set in the present-day and hones deeper into some of the family rivalries that seek to tear this Nottinghamshire community apart.

Sherwood didn’t need a second series, but Graham makes a compelling case for its existence. His intricate plotting of multiple strands is masterful and mirrors the many-rooted complexities of a community that had been manipulated, divided and neglected. New director Clio Barnard (The Arbor), snakes nimbly around the many moving parts – her fabulous tension-building bodes well for the rest of the six–part series.

Sherwood might not feel quite as original and arresting this time around, but it’s still a magnificent thriller.