Bodyguard - 22nd October 2018

[rwc]

Originally Posted by Freemind62

Cool. I've heard good things about this show, and it'll be good to check out. Though I could watch it on iPlayer for free...

It says it's being released by ITV DVD. Do they regularly release BBC shows, or is this a collaboration?

According to the BBC:
“The show has been sold to Netflix by ITV Studios.
That's because the drama was made by production company World Productions, which was bought by ITV's programme-making and distribution subsidiary ITV Studios last year.
World Productions has also made Line Of Duty for the BBC, The Bletchley Circle for ITV and Save Me for Sky Atlantic.
And ITV Studios makes one of the BBC's other biggest hits in Poldark through another of the production companies it has snapped up, Mammoth Screen.”

Full disclosure: I binge-watched this recently in one night, when I was planning to watch it two episodes at a time. I’ve NEVER done this before, so that’s testament to how suspenseful and fast-paced it is.
That said it is absolutely overrated - every so often social media and traditional media converge to ‘lose it’ over a cultural phenomenon so as to feel a collective thrill, and this is a small example. Personally I believe all the ‘loose threads’, ‘open questions’ etc. at the end of the season are in fact less deliberate than directly due to (slightly) sloppy writing. Ironically these have given wind to the idea of multiple future seasons.
Nevertheless a top quality BBC drama - good script, cast and production value - that felt like a cross between The Night Manager and London Spy. Perhaps Homeland. Worth watching for the acting alone.
I would absolutely watch it on iPlayer/Netflix while you can. Definitely not worth a blind buy on Blu-Ray unless at deep discount. I could watch it again in several years as the subject is right up my street, so might buy it in a year if it’s under £12.