Bookish

:

Season 1
  • Network: PBS
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 11, 2026
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8

Critic Reviews

  1. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: John Anderson
    Jan 8, 2026
    80
    Very entertaining mystery. .... The actor [Mark Gatiss] is so keenly aware of the limits of his character’s charm. And that in itself is charming.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    Jan 8, 2026
    80
    Like the best, by which I mean my favorite such series, it’s humorous and fun, while also being human and sad.
  3. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Lucy Mangan
    Jul 16, 2025
    80
    Overall Bookish is a fine piece of entertainment – meticulously worked, beautifully paced and decidedly moreish. (It was commissioned for a second series before the first began.) It has enough spikiness to stop it being formulaic but enough love for the genre to keep it comforting. A joy.
  5. i
    Reviewed by: Gerard Gilbert
    Jul 16, 2025
    80
    While Bookish enjoys many of the trappings of cosy crime, then the titular detective’s domestic arrangements give the drama an extra dimension.
  6. The Times
    Reviewed by: Carol Midgley
    Jul 16, 2025
    80
    Bookish appears to be a simple, quintessentially English drama with beats of Agatha Christie (strychnine and prussic acid feature) but it is deceptively multifaceted and modern. Gatiss’s special power is in taking something we thought was established (eg Sherlock and Dracula) and giving it new wings. This is no exception.
  7. Radio Times
    Reviewed by: James Hibbs
    Jul 16, 2025
    80
    Bookish is supremely watchable and provides us with a brilliant new TV detective, some craftily constructed puzzles and a fascinating look at post-war London. In fact, it really is saying something that the biggest problem with this first season is that some elements and characters end up feeling underutilised.
  8. The Telegraph
    Reviewed by: Benji Wilson
    Jul 16, 2025
    80
    This is an overwhelmingly fun-filled drama that happens to be about multiple murders. It helps that it looks superb, given what must have been a low budget, and its cast – featuring names as grand as Elliot Levey, Joely Richardson and Paul McGann – adds extra lustre.
  9. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Lisa Weidenfeld
    Jan 7, 2026
    60
    On the whole across the first season, it seems like the show is still finding its footing. The spotty clues about who Jack is to Book and Trottie are handled with less grace than the murder mysteries, but are inherently more compelling, which can make it frustrating that the show takes so long to prioritize them.