In a sentenceNabhaan Rizwan deserves our attention; the plot occasionally demands a notebook
East London is the setting for a crime drama centred on Raza Shar (Nabhaan Rizwan), alongside Gabe Waters (Paddy Considine), Holly Morten (Bel Powley) and Dadir Hassan (Roger Nsengiyumva). Politically aware, Raza is part of a story involving terrorism and a wider cast that includes Emily Waters (Jessica Raine), Nasir Shar (Reiss Jeram) and Sadia Shar (Sunetra Sarker). Across six episodes, the series tells its story in fragments, making the connections between its characters and events part of what the audience has to work out.
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Informer is an absorbing East London crime series led by Nabhaan Rizwan and Paddy Considine. Its characters repay close attention, even when the tangled plotting asks for more patience than it deserves.
Informer is an absorbing crime series whose people are more convincing than some of the situations they are put in. Created and written by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, it gives a terrorism thriller the patience to develop characters beyond their immediate usefulness to the story. Across six episodes, that attention pays off, particularly in Nabhaan Rizwan’s Raza Shar. The plotting occasionally works too hard to keep us guessing, but the performances make it worth staying with.
Raza’s political awareness is a substantial part of his appeal, and Nabhaan Rizwan makes it feel like something belonging to a person with a life outside this plot. We warmed to him more than we expected. The writing allows him enough individuality that his opinions do not seem to have been assigned merely to get a debate going. That matters when the subject is terrorism, which can so easily reduce characters to convenient representatives of opposing views.
Paddy Considine gives Gabe Waters enough substance to keep the series steady when its narrative becomes awkward. Roger Nsengiyumva is similarly valuable as Dadir Hassan, and the strength of the supporting performances prevents the programme becoming a waiting game between appearances by its leads. We remain interested in the people around Raza. That breadth is important: a thriller needs someone to worry about once it has finished arranging its next surprise.
Jonny Campbell’s direction gives East London a presence that helps the drama. The cross-processed images make the city look heightened, yet there is enough local detail to stop it becoming a collection of fashionable thriller locations. The visual treatment can feel insistent, but it is preferable to a crime programme that could be taking place anywhere. Ilan Eshkeri supplies the music; it is the faces and the sense of a particular place that stay with us.
The broken-up storytelling is less consistently effective. It requires close attention, and for much of the series the effort is repaid by characters who become more interesting as we learn about them. Then the plotting adds another complication, and the work of keeping track begins to intrude on the pleasure of watching. Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani sometimes ask us to accept too much, leaving questions about credibility that brisk pacing cannot quite answer.
Some dialogue is a smaller irritation. Familiar thriller phrasing sits awkwardly beside the care spent on Raza, and the performers occasionally have to make a stock line sound like something a particular person might say. They usually manage it, but those passages briefly expose how much the writing is relying on them. The series is better when it lets its imperfect characters hold our interest without having to keep announcing that this is dangerous business.
Against the habits of terrorism drama, the attention to individual character gives Informer a useful advantage. Its suspense has people worth worrying about, and that carries it through the less persuasive turns. This is good television with a conspicuous weakness for complication. Choose it for the cast, and allow for a few objections along the way.
The reviews are uniformly positive about Informer, with praise centred on its performances, layered characters and detailed portrayal of East London. Nabhaan Rizwan and Paddy Considine draw particular approval, while the supporting cast also receives credit for keeping the thriller engaging. Most critics find the series compelling even when its plotting demands patience. Empire is the most enthusiastic, singling out Raza as a politically aware, carefully drawn character and praising the drama’s fresh, authentic tone.
The reservations concern how the story is told rather than a lack of interest in its characters. The reviews identify disjointed structure, excessive complication, plot holes and occasional thriller clichés, though none treats these as fatal. Variety questions the plotting and credibility but finds the series rewarding. Den of Geek’s positive assessment concerns the opening episode rather than the whole series. The spread is fairly narrow, with differences chiefly in how readily critics accept the narrative complications.
Hilton calls the series another BBC drama triumph, praising its fresh, authentic tone. He especially singles out Raza as a beautifully drawn, politically aware character.
Read the full review →McKay finds Informer a compelling, beautifully made thriller with more complexity than comparable terrorism dramas. He especially praises the cross-processed London imagery and the nuanced, imperfect central characters.
Read the full review →Dowling finds the series gripping and engaging, despite a deliberately disjointed structure that requires close attention. He particularly praises the strong performances, especially those in the supporting cast.
Read the full review →The critic finds the series compelling and ultimately rewarding despite overcomplicated plotting and uneven credibility. They praise its vivid portrayal of East London and the performances of Nabhaan Rizwan and Paddy Considine.
Read the full review →The critic recommends the series as ambitious, tightly paced, and more believable than Bodyguard, despite some plot holes. They particularly praise the magnetic performances of Nabhaan Rizwan, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, and Paddy Considine.
Read the full review →The critic calls the episode a strong start, despite some reservations. They praise its layered characterisation and lively, detailed portrayal of East London, while faulting some dialogue for sounding like thriller clichés.
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