User reviews

The first couple of episodes aren't so great, but if you stick with it, the story will pull you in. I liked the diverse cast and the unexpected twists. Yes, some parts of the plot were pretty unbelievable and the budget must have been low because you really only see the four police officers in what's supposed to be a police station, but for all that, I enjoyed the series. Season 2 was much better than Season 1, so stick with it. If you like taught, fast moving police procedurals, you'll like London Kills.

London Kills struggled to get into its stride during season one, despite a solid underlying premise. The main characters on the team are introduced as is the story arc regarding the disappearance of DI Bradford's wife, Sarah. The problem lies in the weakness of the episodic cases, mostly riddled with holes and magic leaps, whilst the missing wife story plays second fiddle.

Season two is a complete turnaround rising from mediocre to quite good. The stories are generally coherent and a much greater emphasis is placed on the Sarah plotline making each individual episode and the season as a whole feel more consistent and engaging.

A decent cast performed well, despite poorly written dialogue in season one. Season two made the relationships more believable with both Sharon Small and Hugo Speer benefitting from their characters' being more relatable with less random caricature disagreements.

The improvement in season two bodes well for three which I am gleefully anticipating.

While I did enjoy watching London Kills, and watched all 4 series, if I stop and think about it there are all kinds of questions, curios and downright weirdness.

Obviously low budget, as in the first 3 series we never see anyone in the police station but the main 4 or 5 on this murder squad. Once we get to series 4 extras dressed as cops walk up and down the halls in a rebuttal of many reviewers' comments that there appear to be no other employees in this station. But we see the same shots of the same cops walking down the hall over and over again.

I could not believe that in nearly every episode of the first 3 series the same bus #15 was seen from behind and the same white van turned left in the same exterior establishing shot - again and again and again. Came to pass that I found myself waiting for bus #15 and its accompanying white van each episode and I was not let down. Same for the green bridge with "Flash" graffitied across it in white paint. It became a very familiar sight. "Ah! There it is!" I'd say each time the same view of it appeared, like I was keeping score. And other similar exterior shots reused again and again.

Acorn TV is an American company owned by AMC, so no doubt it is making sure their US audience gets plenty of notice that this is a British show, although the name should be enough of a clue. I'm not complaining; I'm an Anglophile in Canada and happy to see Tower Bridge, boats on the Thames and various tourist attractions around the city continuously, one after the other, again and again.

Do suspects in the UK not ask for a solicitor when being questioned? Are police interviews never recorded? They appear to be in every other Brit copy show (and I've watched many). Do London police always arrest everyone even remotely close to a crime and ask questions later? Are all UK cops psychic and know things they could not possibly know (had it not been written in the script?)

There were some nice twists in some of the episodes, things that kept me watching, but some head-scratchers too, like how the heck could they possibly know that?

People who weren't guilty seemed to be forever confessing to the crime to cover up for someone else, while the guilty party was often, of course, the one you would least expect. I don't know if these cops were driving their own cars or what, but does the police service provide Mercedes and Audis? I don't know, if I ask too many questions I might hurt myself. There are many. However, I liked it enough to watch all 4 series (20 episodes in total) so it wasn't all bad.

When BBC's daytime soap opera does off air it is replaced by some good dramas. Shakespeare and Hathaway have been great in the last year. This summer we have been given London Kills. A detective drama focused on Hugo Speer's droll murder detective whose wife has been missing for 3 months. The first thing to say is that the acting is good. It's a solid script and the main cast work well together. The issues start to arise with the repetitive nature. Murder happens, wiring person confesses, right person is caught and it starts again. Always sitting in the background is the missing wife storyline. It's hinted at but not really explained. The main issue though is the ludicrously low budget. The main office has no one else working in it, the cafes and pubs are empty and the streets are equally empty which all takes away the realism. It is a shame because actually it is not a bad series. It just doesn't flow that well and feels a tad clunky at times. That said the writers have done a decent job and there have been much worse programmes and will be worse.

The show has secured a season so may well grow but for now its a case of not bad but low budget does soil certain aspects of the snow.

My pet peeve though is that anyone ever interviewed NEVER has a, solicitor present That is very unrealistic.

What are some of these reviewers talking about ? I just watched this show i think its brilliant like other Brit shows like Line Of Duty .There are some really good quality shows coming out of the uk right now this is definetly one of them.

Great story lines, but every time there is an office scene phones are ringing in the background... I understand they want to make it realistic but it's just a bit tooooooooo much.. can you get an extra actor to answer these calls?

Does not one suspect ask to have a lawyer present when they are being questioned? And unlike just about every other British police show, they do not appear to be taping the interviews.

Also, what exactly .was Sharon Small thinking with that hair-do?

It's watchable. Considering the base material, the acting is OK. But the plot is full of holes, the dialogue is corny and predictable, and the intrigue and character psychology are below soap-standard mushy. Oh, and it's directed like a soap, too. The UK have a strong tradition of producing quality police procedurals, usually with strong plots and characters: Prime suspect, GBH, Luther, LIne of Duty, Bodyguard, and the list goes on... Unfortunately, this is not one of these. I guess, aside from the expensive cars (a DI drives an executive merc that is usually marketed to successful senior executives and entrepreneurs!) they didn't have much money to shoot this one and it shows a bit as well. So this sums it all up: not much script, not much money, not much talent, yielding very average entertainment. They should save resources and not make a second series: no one will lose any sleep not knowing who killed the DI's wife. Just saw the end of series 2: it's even worse than I originally thought. I hope they don't make series 3.

This had loads of potential but just misses the mark!

The ongoing storyline keeps it moving but each episode just lacks tension.

The locations seem to be all filmed in the same place, London has so many great little hidden places ideal for a gritty drama shame they weren't used.

Some very bad continuity issues, (cctv/npr footage we are told was taken at 22:35 but it's full daylight)

The cast by and large do a good job apart from the fake worried looks and gritting of teeth to add tension!

If your looking for a factual well researched drama then look elsewhere.

Sorry to be the barer of bad news but this doesn't "kill"

The Acorn TV Channel (available on Amazon Prime Video) specializes in European crime series and movies. Accompanying the current trend, there is a lot of movies from Nordic countries.

LONDON KILLS is an original Acorn TV series made in England chronicling the crimes investigated by an elite group of detectives from the London Police.

Although each episode tells a specific story, the backdrop involves the mysterious disappearance of the Chief of Police's wife.

In addition to showing beautiful landscapes in London, LONDON KILLS has a very different feature from the other series of the genre: it assumes a documentary tone, almost as if it were one of the programs on real crimes.

British actor Hugo Speer (from NINFOMANIAC 1, THE FULL MONTY and THE INTERPRETER) interprets DI (Detective Inspector) David Bradford, who resumes his post after the trauma of his wife's disappearance, still under investigation by another unity. The Scottish Sharon Small (of ABOUT A BOY) makes DS (Detective Sergeant) Vivienne Cole, candidate to boss if the former leader did not return so soon of his absence. And the desglamurized Bailey Patrick and Tori Allen Martin make the team as DC (Detective Constable) Rob Brady and TDC (Trainee Detective Constable) Billy Fitzgerald.

The tense relations of the working group always submitted to a gigantic pressure is another very interesting subject focused in each case.

LONDON KILLS is not only very good at watching, but it incorporates the most modern trends to be seen in the next few years in the TV series about cops.

Vivienne Is played by a ridiculous actress, as far as the character of Sgt. Mophead goes. (Holy bad hair, Batman. And, what is with those shiny black therapeutic lifts she's wearing?) Whenever she thinks she's sniffing out a lie she becomes insufferably, visibly skeptical and snarky. Its like an instant transformation into a 13 yr old mean girl. Ugh, the revolting, off-base 'gotcha' faces she pulls! Meanwhile, she's a common liar, herself. Also, she's controlling, acting as though she knows best at all times, and is the only one able to place appropriate guardrails in front of the actions of others.

Unfortunately, novice DC Billy that every so often pairs with her, leans into this childishness too hard, and so she comes off as a bit of a petty fool, here and there. Mostly, she just seems acquiescent, is smiley and accepting, with a generally pleasant demeanor and slightly dumpy clothes you could go chop wood in.

Detective Rob is just walking while sullen, constantly. What an angry bore! And, I'll never understand a painted-on looking comic book/cartoon-cutout hairline. He gets targeted at times in S03 and S04, but maybe it's all those waist-belted leisure jackets he wears that get people prejudiced against him?

I know nothing about the average fitness level of a detective in London, but these people largely cannot chase down suspects effectively. When they run, they seem... heavy, like they're slogging through thick treacle.

Sometimes they figuratively pat each other on the back for piecing together practically nothing, playing like they're making sly, intuitive moves instead of putting together basic facts.

Their boss is often ignorable, although frequently petulant and rude, and he gets to dress with a modicum of wrinkly flash. He plays fast and loose with power and rules, Mr. Edgy does, and with touches of privilege, alcoholism, and sexism laced in.

I didn't mind the double-decker bus shots so much in watching S03, it was the dozens of times the metal box exterior of their office building appearing, and too much footage of them getting in and out of cars, and seeing the exact same 'uniformed officer footage' walking the hallways that did get annoying over the last two seasons.

This show is so far removed from the reality of policing it is incredulous. Disappointed that the BBC would allow such rubbish to be aired. Could have been better if it had been routed in at least some reality. Not a single uniformed officer responds to a dropped 9s call and not a weapon in sight when there is clear and present danger. Suspects openly questioned without legal representation. Confrontation between senior officers and rampant bullying. There is no way officers who repeatedly conducted themselves so unprofessionally would be allowed to continue their careers without involvement of IOPC.

All in all, considering its ongoing story line, the character development of this production doesn't make up for its slow-moving lack of action. I was expecting much more from this very, very low-key series mainly because of Sharon Small's presence. The previous performances I've seen from her have been involving and engaging. Unfortunately she is unable to lift it much, and her Scottish accent in this grates a bit. Hugo Speer, I find, doesn't have the charisma for the lead role, and the fact that he always speaks as if he's had a terminal punch to the larynx doesn't help. Tori Allen-Martin does a good job of portraying a hopeless social worker who puts in 9-5 as a cop instead.

Why the hell not make this show exactly the way Acorn TV have made London Kills? It's a little creaky to start and they need an edit on some of the dialogue but it's still a great opener and the next eps get better and better. Especially today's charmingly named Sex Games.. It's British, it's London, it's gripping with a great cast and if you want NCIS then watch it instead. You can't compare US cop shows with shows made on a British budget. But this stands up anyway.

Unchallenging daytime soap if you have time to kill and thre's nothing else on.

Solid stories, fine acting in a show that has backgrounds of modern London's architecture, my wife and I enjoyed the first season and look forward to a season two.

Nothing to get excited about. Story is confusing and too drawn out. Acting a bit hammy. All in all something of a disappointment and I wouldn't watch it again.

In what world can police solve a murder in a day, receive DNA results in hrs, and move across London as if they have been teleported. This is laughable. The assumptions, lack of warrants are just a couple of many basic misses, just like this show should be. I never review, and yet felt compelled to warn all others.

Fast paced,bare bones,top notch actors ... what's not to love That being said am kinda missing the sarcastic forensic doctor;)

What is the fixation with London Transport buses? EVERY street scene used to connect plot changes has several buses passing through. We get that this is London. Not necessary to have buses passing by time and time and time again. Also, how about a different view of the police building and the CCTV sign? The technique of having actors exchange knowing glances is tedious as is the out of focus shots inside the police station. Why does Vivienne always show up after the two constables at each opening murder scene. Not much imagination. It could be better. Aside than all those negative comments we watched and enjoyed the series.

This must be the only thing I've ever attempted to watch where the phone in the empty police station keeps ringing and ringing and ringing. Maybe they should've employed more extras to make the police station look like people worked there to answer the dam thing and not have us listening to it ringing on and on in the background. The murder squad consisting of 5 main characters are the only people occupying the whole police station. Shaky camera pans and just irritating to watch. Bad police drama all round