Matt Thomas

My initial review got me a google take-down notice. Flagged as spam. 3 stars. It would get a four star out if me if the writing wasn’t so juvenile. Cliché after cliché with a barrel full of stereotypes. Turns an otherwise interesting show into a bit of a dud.

An embarrassing smear upon the original. Falls short in every regard. Cringeworthy. It’s like it’s been dreamt up (misunderstood) by a bunch of bean bag ideation room writers, non of whom were likely alive before the original classic had its finale. Even worse than the US attempt st Kath & Kim that made it just two or three eps in. Maggie would be rolling in her grave.

This is amongst the best of the best. Contenders on screens dating back 25 years would be rare. The series is powerful, and confronting. A harrowing warts and all drama that pulls few punches. At times shocking. The characters lives are destroyed in slow motion. You feel and endure their pain, and the deeper the series goes the more you you find a bizarre form of addiction yourself, to this heartfelt and often sad view of the fallout of OxyContin. The cast will spin an award or two for this one. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see yet another raising of the bar in Michael Keaton’s career with another gong. Throw everything aside and watch this series. It will grip you until the end at Episode 5, and from there the surprise that the story is not yet done as things slowly derail even further over the next three and final eps, each one more powerful than the last. Groundbreaking stuff. Gripping.