In a sentenceEmma Thompson treats a government conspiracy as one more thing that should have been dealt with yesterday
Private investigator Zoë Boehm (Emma Thompson) and Sarah Trafford (Ruth Wilson) are at the centre of a mystery involving a government conspiracy in Oxford. Their investigation brings together two contrasting personalities, with questions of trust running through a story that mixes crime and odd-couple humour. Adapted from Mick Herron’s novel, Down Cemetery Road follows the women through the eight episodes of its first series. The cast also includes Adeel Akhtar as Hamza Malik, Darren Boyd as C, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Downey and Fehinti Balogun as Amos Crane.
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Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson make Down Cemetery Road worth the occasional wait. This conspiracy thriller is sharpest when its two leads are irritating each other, though the plotting sometimes dawdles.
Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson make Down Cemetery Road a rewarding conspiracy thriller, despite some slow stretches. Thompson plays private investigator Zoë Boehm, with Wilson as Sarah Trafford, in an Oxford-set mystery adapted from Mick Herron’s novel. The series makes room for impatience, irritation and jokes alongside the business of finding out what powerful people are doing. That can be an excuse for treating danger lightly; here, the humour helps us care about the people caught up in it.
Thompson’s no-nonsense manner is the most immediate pleasure, but Wilson prevents the pairing from becoming a one-woman performance with someone available to listen. Their friction gives the exchanges an awkwardness that neatly delivered jokes would lose. We laughed at Thompson’s bluntness, then found ourselves watching Wilson for the response. It is the mutual irritation that makes this enjoyable: both women have enough force to resist becoming the other’s comic assistant.
Morwenna Banks shares the writing credits with Emily Marcuson, Rose Heiney, Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil, and the dialogue earns its prominence. The dark humour makes exasperation part of the investigation, so that the characters can be funny without appearing immune to what is happening around them. There is enough moral uncertainty to keep their reactions worth watching. The conspiracy matters because it troubles people whose company we have come to enjoy, and the writing generally remembers that.
Directors Natalie Bailey, Börkur Sigthorsson and Sam Donovan handle the move into action with confidence, allowing the thriller to become forceful without losing its dry humour. Once the plot gathers speed, the suspense is persuasive. Getting there can take longer than it should. The first series runs for eight episodes, and there are stretches in which we are ready for the next development before the programme is. The delay is noticeable because the performances stay alert even when the story is making slower progress.
Paul Cross’s production design gives the Oxford setting a lived-in feel, keeping the investigation close to recognisable surroundings. It is a useful choice for a story in which the scale of the threat could easily swamp the people involved. Laura Karpman’s music supports the unease without competing too hard with the dialogue. The comic rhythm belongs to the performers, and the series works best when it leaves enough room for their responses.
There is an understandable resemblance to Slow Horses in the combination of conspiracy and sour humour. That comparison need not become a test this series has to pass. Thompson and Wilson make the odd-couple relationship substantial enough to sustain a thriller around it, and their company remains appealing through the slower passages. Anyone drawn to mysteries chiefly for the people asking the questions should get on well with this one.
Most critics agree that Down Cemetery Road combines a confident conspiracy thriller with dry, often pitch-black British humour. Praise centres on Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson, whose performances and chemistry give the mystery a human grounding while making its odd-couple comedy work. The reviews also welcome the surprising plot turns and the balance of wit and suspense, with several finding shared strengths with Slow Horses. Variety singles out the Oxford setting and finds the action gripping once the plot heats up.
Reservations are limited rather than widely shared: Collider notes occasional pacing drags within an otherwise assured slow-burning mystery. All seven reviews are positive, and scores cluster closely apart from The Guardian’s more enthusiastic assessment, which finds no wasted moments or words. There is no dissenting review here; the difference is chiefly how strongly critics praise the execution.
The critic praises the series as great stuff with no wasted moments or words, highlighting Emma Thompson's magnificent performance as the no-nonsense private investigator Zoë Boehm alongside Ruth Wilson.
Read the full review →The critic calls it another thoroughbred from the Slow Horses stable, praising the confident thriller with brilliant central performances from Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson and strong British wit.
Read the full review →The critic highlights Emma Thompson's superb performance as a private investigator in this adaptation of Mick Herron's novel, noting its jet-black humour and ties to the Slow Horses world alongside Ruth Wilson's fine work.
Read the full review →The critic finds the series shares positive qualities with Slow Horses, including mordant wit and riveting action once the plot heats up, and praises the distinct Oxford setting along with strong turns from Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson.
Read the full review →The series hits a sweet spot of thrills and odd-couple comedy as an adaptation of Mick Herron's novel. It stands out for its surprising twists, strong casting including Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson, and mix of humor with suspenseful government conspiracy elements.
Read the full review →The critic praises the series as a confident, twisted, slow-burning mystery with strong performances from Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson, highlighting its dry wit and moral ambiguity. They single out the leads' chemistry and the grounded, human approach to the conspiracy plot for praise, while noting occasional pacing drags.
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2003 · Another investigation where sharp character writing makes the political machinery worth following
1938 · For conspiracy, mismatched allies and jokes that survive the mounting danger
2006 · A more anxious mystery, with personal loyalties tangled in a widening investigation
2017 · Patient investigative drama that makes official corruption feel both ordinary and dangerous
2023 · Two incompatible investigators, abrasive humour and a mystery that rewards paying attention
