Mayflies
Acorn TV | BBC One | Release Date: October 30, 2023
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 8 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Observer (UK)Barbara EllenSep 10, 2024
Season 1 Review: Mayflies emerges as a fearlessly expressive poem about life, death and love, at once heartbreaking and uplifting. What a powerful drama to see out the old year. Read full review
100
The TimesCarol MidgleyOct 16, 2023
Season 1 Review: It was lyrical and profound, a two-hour meditation on male friendship and childhood bonds, which can sometimes prove as grand a passion as romantic love. It was also a study of what constitutes a "good" death and the importance of dignity in the midst of suffering. Read full review
80
DeciderJoel KellerOct 31, 2023
Season 1 Review: Mayflies is an affecting story of a friendship tested by end-of-life issues, with some fantastic performances from Compston, Curran and Jensen. Read full review
80
The TelegraphJasper ReesOct 16, 2023
Season 1 Review: This story of departures – from home, from life – couldn’t cast too gloomy a pall. It was also a warm, sentimental hymn to friendship with all its rites and reference points (De Niro, Dalglish, Aztec Camera). Read full review
80
The GuardianStuart JeffriesOct 16, 2023
Season 1 Review: Anyone who has witnessed a loved one’s struggle for dignity and control amid the general rout of death, or been at a wedding where one of the couple is dying, will find the drama resonates. Read full review
80
iEd PowerOct 16, 2023
Season 1 Review: Anchored by Compston's thoughtful and big-hearted performance opposite Tony Curran, it was a beautifully raw portrait of male friendship and the struggle, which kicks in from middle age onwards, to come to terms with mortality. Read full review
80
The IndependentNick HiltonOct 16, 2023
Season 1 Review: Tender, to a fault, Mayflies poignantly captures life's terminal evanescence. Read full review
60
Radio TimesJames HibbsOct 16, 2023
Season 1 Review: When a story is as slight as this, and particularly when it's so emotionally distressing, character is everything, and these characters needed more time to be thoroughly explored. However, in the end it must be noted that emotionally the denouement simply works. Read full review
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