Overview
- All four episodes will stream on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Sunday, 8 February, with BBC One airing the series weekly from 9pm that night, and it will stream on Stan in Australia the same day.
- Jack Thorne structures the drama as four chronological episodes, each centered on a different boy, a relay-style approach he says aims to understand the male condition rather than reduce characters to simple archetypes.
- Critics commend Marc Munden’s direction, saturated island cinematography filmed in Malaysia, and an unsettling score by Juan Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, while noting occasional pacing and length issues.
- Reviews single out the largely new young cast, with praise for David McKenna, Lox Pratt, Winston Sawyers and Ike Talbut in the principal roles.
- Multiple outlets caution that the series is intense and disturbing in tone and imagery, stressing it is not suitable for children.