Down Cemetery Road [SPOILERS]

[LushLemonTart]

Is there a thread yet?

Just finished watching the second episode. Wow it's good. I always love the leads anyway and yes it was a bit predictable but am hooked.

It's helped fill the Slow horses hole. Absolutely loved that. Tense ending but so clever.

POSSIBLE KINDA SPOILER ALERT OF FINALE
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Do I spy a Peter-Jacksonesque appearance by Mick Herron in this? If anyone knows which scene I’m referring to then I’m going to take that as yes, it was him!
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Think I saw him!

Very glad that’s all over - I skim-watched this episode too.

Oh dragging to the end of Ep 6. How very disappointing. 2 episodes too long. Pretty poor, just too unbelievable to invest in.

I thought this was great. The chase pieces on the train, the sparky dialogue….but the sleeper train saying the next stop Glasgow, and then it emergency stops and they are suddenly apparently near Skye. What happened to Glasgow? And a hidden island near Canna ‘not on the maps’- do they think it’s the 18th century?!

Low stakes and some poor casting resulted in a very disappointing experience. I wonder if Apple will renew it.

I have to agree with the disappointment - it didn’t live up to Slow Horses at all, but funnily enough I also wasn’t too crazed over the Zoë Boehm books either. Guess I expected I’d enjoy the tv adaption a lot more, it coming from Apple and with such actors! DP, who hasn’t read any of Herron’s books but is obsessed with Oldman-as-Jackson-Lamb, dropped out around episode 4 of this.

Meh. Not fussed about second series. Was a bit daft tbh.

Just finished it. I thought it was great. Both leading women were fabulous. I’ve read all the Slough House books and will now have to read these. I hope there’s another series. And LOVE Emma Thompson’s look.

Yeah it all got a bit nonsensical quite how many times they could just sneak past crazed trained assassins. And after flooding the village with police searching for Emma Thompson as suspect in a double murder, no-one noticed the bus theft, church explosion or was checking the sleeper train back to London...

I was watching with Scottish DH and he scoffed at the church and said there was no way that was a Scottish church at all! Tbh once we learned that the seaside village was filmed in Polperrro (having thought that didn't look scottish either) I got fed up.

The book was written in 2003 so possibly that’s part of the problem- I remember going to a panel at a literary festival about how introducing a smartphone to a plot creates a tonne of plot holes. Which begs the question why didn’t they just set it in 2003 but I guess that makes the set costs much more expensive.

I thought this was a bit mixed - entertaining and I enjoyed the performances, but I agree there were lots of distracting plot holes. The one thing that actually really surprises me is how many people have compared it unfavourably to DeptQ, which I also enjoyed but found completely preposterous by the end!

Maybe better editing would have improved this? 1 hour of irritating tracking, chasing hiding etc.could be taken out without losing the story. There's a lot of filler in it to make the required number of episodes. It's a shame and a waste of talent and money. Given the expensive casting we, and they I would imagine, expect better.

I enjoyed it more than most on this thread but agree some better editing would have helped and I’m not comparing it to the Slough House series because its a very different set up.

I think it has potential make a good second series but they need to stop selling it as “from the author of Slough House” as it sets the viewer up with the wrong expectations. They would need to tweak the books more - as pp say, they are 20+ years old and need to be tweaked to reflect that or to be explicitly set in their time. A huge amount has changed technology wise since the early ‘00s.

I've watched 5 & have enjoyed but I'm about at my limit!

3 more is at least 2 too many!

It was enjoyable tosh, mainly due to the excellent cast… but shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as Slow Horses, which is standout.

I've watched 5 as well and it's really dragging. I think I'm done

Great cast though

https://www.ismyshowcancelled.com/article/2025-12-12/apple-tv-renews-down-cemetery-road/

Series 2 is confirmed, I hope this time they don’t badge it as “from the Slough House writer” and let it live on its own terms as a story of the Noir style PI. (Plus better editing and either setting in its time or updating to fit).

If a TV show provokes me, a peaceful old girl who's not keen on violence, to shout "Oh just shoot him and get it over with", then it's definitely too long.

I spotted Mick Herron at the station also.

Overall I thought it was good. Bit slow getting going. Loved the fact that Sarah's clothes were mainly nicked from tacky shops but she still looked great.
Liked the ending. That was well done. None of this saccharine shit.

Oh totally. So many times I was muttering the same. It could easily have been four episodes and lost nothing. At least it proves how watchable Ruth Wilson and Emma Thompson are.

Just read that Series 2 is on its way. Must work harder.

The one where they set up a two female detective agency ...? 😬

I am glad they have renewed it for a second series . I particularly loved Emma Thompson in it . Can’t believe she is 66 , she looks great and very natural . So glad she hasn’t succumbed to the obvious fillers / over Botox.
I normally find Ruth Wilson quite annoying , but even I think she was good in this .
Agree it was too long , could have been a pacier 6 parter . Great actors / characters .

Yes was a bit verging on the silly at times ( ok lots of times …). I was also annoyed that Ruth Wilson cycled everywhere without a helmet at home .
Also thought it was a bit silly in the final 2 episodes when they knew she was “wanted “ that it was Ruth Wilson rather than Emma Thompson who wore the hat . ET’s hair was very distinctive .
Will look out for the next season when it comes out . ET was on Graham Norton on Friday and was very funny , but the show seemed to be dominated by Timothy Chalamet .

I haven't read this thread (sorry) but just finished watching this as a binge watch.

What a disappointment.

It could have been a really good political thriller, but was undermined but "aren't we clever" scripts writers putting in knowing jokes, and quite honestly a lot of carboard cliched characters.

What a waste of a good cast. Ruth Wilson is one the best actresses around and Emma Thompson is in danger of being type cast.

At one point they even tried to echo Thelma and Louise.

Its a shame tv programme makers seem more interested in showing off to each other, rather than creating an interesting story and devoloping it and the characters.

More than a hint that they were pandering to american stereotypes of Brits to make it palatable to a US audience.