- Network: Apple TV+
- Series Premiere Date: May 13, 2022
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Critic Reviews
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Fortunately, The Essex Serpent delivers in just about every facet. From performances by Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes that are infused with a delicious note of inward yearning that slowly displays itself on the outside to the fog-blanketed marshes of the Essex village in which the bulk of the story is set, the resulting product is an atmospheric, Gothic romance that doesn't retreat from indulging in its overall foreboding while it ultimately looks toward the possibility of an optimistic ending.
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As historical fiction, as sleepy Gothic romance, as an understated showcase for its cast and crew's talents, it's impossible to escape The Essex Serpent's unexpected charms.
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For a series that wants to have its eel pie and eat it, too, The Essex Serpent balances folk horror and romantic threads reasonably well, and that’s down to fine scripts by Anna Symon, assured, cinematic direction by Clio Barnard, and a strong ensemble of players.
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It works beautifully as a drama about complicated characters tangled in relationships unable to be contained by the conventional boundaries of romance or friendship, and about the ways humans will try to impose order or sense where none can be found.
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An engrossing adaptation that does justice to an already fantastically sumptuous book.
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Apple TV+’s The Essex Serpent is that rare, mythical beast: an adaptation that feels just as compelling as its celebrated source material.
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Gorgeously shot, cleverly crafted, and brimming with intrigue, Clio Barnard’s latest reaffirms her status as one of Britain’s most important directors.
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With pacing that’s best described as assured—in the allure of its writing, cinematography, performances, etc.—“The Essex Serpent” takes a bolder chance in letting its characters stew. “The Essex Serpent” successfully creates a full world beyond its marsh, oftentimes treating the monster as a revealing conversation topic.
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While “The Essex Serpent” isn’t perfect, it manages to adequately capture the brooding tone of its source material and showcases a talented ensemble that makes it fully worth watching.
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Overripe at times, it leaves room for enough mystery and respect for the unknown to keep mind and soul working in tandem toward a heady exploration of faith and doubt. Claire Danes is radiant as Cora Seaborne.
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There’s a lot going on inside “The Essex Serpent,” not all of it successful, though the mini-series is generally handsome, literate and quite well acted.
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It’s a narrative with huge potential to bore, but Anna Symon’s adaptation of the Sarah Perry novel carefully layers it with more probing questions about love, loss, and faith. In its most distinctive moments, “The Essex Serpent” is far richer than skimming along its briny surface might otherwise suggest. In its weaker ones, it indulges a vein of melodrama that doesn’t quite suit it.
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“The Essex Serpent” tells a story where faith rarely manifests in ways other than preachers shouting about sin and love is rarely felt without being laid bare in plain terms. Regardless of what it is that Cora is destined to find out in the water, it’s hard not to want a little more from this show than what’s floating on the surface.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 1 out of 7
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Mixed: 1 out of 7
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Negative: 5 out of 7
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May 14, 2022As flat and dull as the landscape it is set in. Acting is also ridiculously bad.
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May 13, 2022a very slow and ordinary production with bad performances, Claire is the only good thing about the show