Mike Herron (novels) & Morwenna Banks (Showrunner)

CAST
Emma Thompson
Ruth Wilson
Adeel Akhtar
Darren Boyd
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
Adam Godley

Review

I went into Down Cemetery Road almost completely blind. I saw the trailer but never read the premise until I started writing this review. Honestly? That made the experience even better. What starts like your average British mystery about a missing child slowly morphs into something twistier, darkly funny, and weirder than I expected.

The two-episode premiere sets up the tone perfectly: it’s equal parts cozy suburban mystery and offbeat conspiracy thriller.

From the jump, the show leans into a kind of tongue-in-cheek Britishness that feels self-aware. Most of the characters are introduced in ways that border on stereotypes, but it feels intentional. There’s a sense that the show knows what it’s doing, poking fun while sketching out the suburban world we’re about to burn down.

And then there’s Emma Thompson. Her Zoë Boehm is pure chaos, but she still feels competent. She’s a private investigator who gives zero damns about decorum. The “whore bath” in the office sink (yes, you read that right because that wasn’t a bird bath!) is a bizarre but perfect character moment that kind of cements who she is (at least for me). Paired with Ruth Wilson’s earnest but impulsive Sarah Tucker, you get an odd duo that works. Their chemistry is just the right mix of awkward and electric.

The show’s central mystery, a missing child after a house explosion, starts with something almost laughably small: Sarah delivering the neighbor’s kid’s drawing to the surviving child of the house explosion. But that one kind act slowly unravels a sprawling web of lies, cover-ups, and military secrets.

That’s what I love about this adaptation so far: it builds suspense through pretty mundane things. There’s no dramatic exposition dump or over-the-top twist. Just small, odd moments that start feeling more suspicious by the minute.

The tone is fascinating. It’s a thriller, yes, but it wears the cardigan of a cozy mystery. You’ve got your charming British suburb, your eccentric neighbors, and slow-burning intrigue. But underneath it all, there’s this creeping sense that something big and ugly is waiting just out of sight.

Even when Sarah does something questionable (that alarm trick had me raising an eyebrow), the show keeps you on her side. She’s just a regular person stumbling into something far beyond her.

And then that cliffhanger that I didn’t see coming.

Down Cemetery Road isn’t flashy or fast-paced, but it’s quietly gripping. The humor, tone, and unexpected mix of coziness and danger make it quite unique.

I’m in.

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