--- title: "This Country: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/this-country/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/tv/this-country" critics_score: 89 critics_reviews: 7 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # This Country (2017): what the critics said Critics' score 89 from 7 reviews: 7 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are uniformly positive, and unusually so for a comedy that started life as a low-key mockumentary. Most critics praise the writing first: the boredom and small humiliations of village life are observed closely and, they agree, with affection rather than contempt. The Coopers’ performances as the cousins Kerry and Kurtan are singled out repeatedly, both for the deadpan idiocy and for the tenderness underneath it, particularly Kerry’s longing to be close to her father. Several reviewers admit to crying. The spread is narrow. What reservations there are amount to footnotes: The Times notes an obvious debt to The Office and a streak of sentimentality, and the Evening Standard, the coolest of the seven, values it mainly as a comedy of the silent squirm. The Independent reads the second series as an allegory for Brexit Britain, a political weight the others do not put on it. ## The i Paper — Sarah Carson Rating ★★★★★. 10 October 2018. The review calls the special superb, poetic, hysterically funny and almost too tender to bear, singling out its ability to reference disparate topics yet still make the viewer cry through reckoning with loss. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/this-country-the-aftermath-review-bbc-three-kerry-kurtan-207467) ## The Telegraph — Anita Singh Rating 5/5. 10 October 2018. The review praises the special as a quietly powerful, deadpan comic masterpiece with genuine heart, singling out its warm affection for characters and touching on rural poverty and mental health. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2018/10/10/country-aftermath-review-solovingly-crafted-wont-regret-joining/) ## Radio Times — Alison Graham Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 March 2017. The critic loves this faux fly-on-the-wall mockumentary about bored, self-pitying cousins Kerry and Kurtan in a Cotswolds village, calling it a gem that is silly, funny, poignant and warm-hearted. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/this-country-bbc3s-offbeat-mockumentary-about-rural-living-is-a-gem/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 22 February 2017. The critic calls the series a terrific achievement and perfectly observed comedy of desperation that rings true in a horrifying way for anyone who grew up in a small village or town. They single out its accurate portrayal of boredom, oddballs, and rural disenfranchisement, drawn with affection rather than nastiness. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/feb/22/this-country-bbc-perfect-horrifying-tv-for-anyone-who-grew-up-in-a-village) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 March 2018. The review calls the second series a deserved return and a painfully brilliant allegory for Brexit Britain, singling out the dollops of bathos, poignancy and profanity that made it the comedy hit of the previous year. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/tv-review-comedy-this-country-brexit-britain-cotswolds-a8236741.html) ## The Times — Hugo Rifkind Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 March 2018. The review finds the series sweet and edgy, with obvious debt to The Office but a streak of sentimentality, singling out the heartbreaking desire of Kerry to be close to her father and Kurtan's protectiveness. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/tv-review-hugo-rifkind-on-this-country-humanity-and-pilgrimage-06jm2tkqh) ## Evening Standard — Alastair McKay Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 12 October 2018. The review describes the special as a clever mockumentary about modern manners that is unbeatable as a comedy of the silent squirm, singling out the Coopers' skill at acting like idiots in the Laurel and Hardy vein. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/this-country-the-aftermath-village-idiots-the-reality-show-a-clever-mockumentary-about-modern-manners-a3960771.html) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/tv/this-country.md