The new thriller from Slow Horses creator Will Smith, based on Mick Herron’s debut novel, hits like a bang literally and figuratively.
With the first three episodes now streaming on Apple TV+, I’m already hooked. It’s fast, witty, and full of surprises. Emma Thompson, who usually graces the big screen rather than television, is on sharp form here quick-witted, dry, and impossible not to watch.
The story kicks off with art restorer Sarah Tucker (Ruth Wilson) and her husband Mark (Tom Riley), an investment banker, hosting what can only be described as a dinner-party-from-hell. They’re trying to win over one of Mark’s potential clients, Gerard Inchon (Tom Goodman-Hill) a smug, self-satisfied rich prick while entertaining Sarah’s eccentric friend Wagwan, a free-spirited mother of four, and her new partner Rufus. The awkward evening takes a shocking turn when a neighbour’s house explodes, killing two adults and injuring a young girl named Dinah.
When Sarah visits Dinah in hospital, she’s met with strange hostility from the staff, who refuse to let her in. Later, she sees those same staff members being whisked away in a car and her curiosity quickly turns into obsession. There are hints of Sarah’s own mental health struggles, which make her determination feel both personal and unsettling.
Her search brings her into contact with a quirky pair of private investigators, Zoë Boehm (Emma Thompson) and her well-meaning but bumbling husband, Joe (Adam Godley). One line from the trailer perfectly captures the show’s sharp writing: when Zoë meets Sarah, she quips, “Let me guess you have a husband, and he has a secretary. Am I warm?” It’s clever, loaded with foreshadowing, and exactly the kind of dialogue that keeps the show feeling razor-sharp.
Meanwhile, over at the Ministry of Defence, a parallel storyline unfolds. Nervous handler Hamza Malik (Adeel Akhtar) faces the wrath of his formidable boss, C (Darren Boyd, cast brilliantly against type). Akhtar, who’s often typecast in detective or procedural roles, brings his usual nervous energy and quiet intensity here but it works perfectly for the part. What was thought to be a gas explosion turns out to be the work of a rogue agent nicknamed “Wreck-It Ralph” or “the Twisted Firestarter.” C scrambles to contain the chaos, cover up the disaster, and bury the secrets it threatens to expose.
Ruth Wilson absolutely owns this series. I first saw her in Saving Mr. Banks, but here she’s on another level tough, magnetic, and completely commanding. Emma Thompson matches her beat for beat, and together they make a formidable duo.
The writing is full of twists and turns even by episode two, the surprises come thick and fast. It’s clever, unpredictable, and keeps you on your toes the whole way through and that cast not just Emma and Ruth, but the entire ensemble is outstanding.
Down Cemetery Road is smart, tense, and darkly funny. If the rest of the series keeps up this pace, Apple TV+ might just have its next big hit.