Cliff Notes – British mystery thriller starring Eastenders hardman soars up Netflix charts
- Viewer Paradox: Despite being widely panned for its poor production quality and acting, Blindspot has quickly become the fourth most-watched show on Netflix in the UK since its release.
- Ross Kemp’s Comeback: The series marks Ross Kemp’s return to acting after nearly two decades, following a successful career in documentary filmmaking and a brief stint in game show hosting.
- Mixed Reactions: Audience feedback highlights a fascination with the show’s shortcomings, with many viewers describing it as “horrendously bad” yet addictive, reminiscent of low-budget daytime dramas.
British mystery thriller starring EastEnders hardman soars up Netflix charts
A British mystery thriller is now one of the most-watched shows on Netflix (Picture: Channel 5)
Netflix viewers have been rushing to tune into a thriller starring Ross Kemp despite declaring it ‘horrendously bad’.
Originally airing in 2023 on Channel 5, Blindspot saw Kemp return to a dramatic role for the first time in almost two decades.
First rising to prominence playing Grant Mitchell in EastEnders, he made his debut in 1990, staying on for most of that decade until announcing his exit in 1999.
Before that he’d also played Graham Lodsworth in 32 episodes of Emmerdale across 1986 and 1987.
However, in 2004 he turned his attention to presenting documentaries, firstly with the Sky series Ross Kemp on Gangs, going on to focus on other subjects including the Afghanistan War, pirates and the Amazon.
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He also signed up as the host of game show Bridge of Lies in 2022.
He made his return to acting in the 2023 thriller Blindspot (Picture: Channel 5)
He rose to fame playing Grant MItchell on EastEnders in the 1990s (Picture: Nigel Wright/ Mirrorpix/ Getty Images)
But the following year he went back to his acting roots, starring as Tony in the four-parter Blindspot.
The synopsis for the series teased: ‘When a woman vanishes from the estate where she once saw a murder, a CCTV operator spots an eerie connection and digs into a case no-one will touch.
The show also starred Beth Alsbury, Crystal Clarke, Sue Vincent, Michelle Bonnard and Lewis Conway.
At the time of its release the show struggled to garner positive reviews, with many viewers not holding back in their assessments.
‘This is so horrendously bad – I’m addicted to it. If this was Ross Kemp doing a documentary on bad acting, I’d give it a 10/10,’ user mdjones2118 posted on IMDB.
Ross had previously presented documentaries for two decades (Picture: Mike Marsland/ WireImage)
‘Some of the worse TV you’re likely to see. Made of a budget of about 20 quid. Awful acting. Terrible writing and it honestly takes itself so seriously that it becomes a comedy. How this was ok to transmit to the public I don’t know,’ Liam shared.
‘Prepare yourself for a catastrophic collision of terrible storytelling, abysmal acting, and mind-numbingly poor production values. Blindspot is a prime example of how not to create compelling television.’
This week the show was added onto Netflix; however, it’s quickly become the fourth most-watched show on the streaming service in the UK.
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‘This Blindspot on Netflix is absolutely shocking, but I need to know what happens,’ viewer Jo posted on X.
‘Just watched Blindspot on Netflix. So so bad, but addictive. Like one of them daytime soaps my mum would watch in the 80s when we had 4 channels to choose from to pass the time,’ Danny shared.
‘Watching Blindspot on Netflix. I think 1 episode is enough. Not for me,’ Clare added.
Ahead of the show airing, Kemp spoke to Radio Times about being nervous to make his return to acting.
Earlier this year he also reprised his role on the BBC soap (Picture: BBC/ Jack Barnes/ Kieron McCarron)
‘The reason I probably haven’t acted is because people just think, “He’s a documentarian, that’s what he wants to do”.’
He went on to admit he was ‘nervous going on set’, adding: ‘You don’t know whether you can still do it.
‘I was genuinely nervous and worried about it. But I also hope that having not touched anything in nearly 20 years as an actor, and that’s ultimately what I trained to do, hopefully I haven’t gotten any worse, and maybe I’ve improved slightly with age.’
Since that show, he’s since gone on to present another documentary – Ross Kemp: Mafia and Britain, which was released last year.
Blindspot is streaming on Netflix.
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