---
title: "Trigger Point"
year: 2022
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/trigger-point"
fi1m_id: "trigger-point"
imdb_id: "tt11958610"
tmdb_id: 127716
wikidata_id: "Q111165361"
fi1m_score: 60
critics_score: 68
critics_reviews: 8
published: "2026-09-23T14:12:35.717315+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-23T14:12:48.979467+00:00"
region: "BR"
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."
---

# Trigger Point (2022)

Created by Daniel Brierley · ClassInd 16 · Crime, Drama

## Identity

Trigger Point

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/trigger-point
- **Type:** Series
- **Fi1m ID:** trigger-point
- **IMDb ID:** tt11958610
- **TMDB ID:** 127716
- **Wikidata ID:** Q111165361
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11958610/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/127716, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q111165361

**Fi1m score: 60** · Critics 68 from 8 reviews

*In a sentence:* Vicky McClure has never looked more competent, and nobody standing near her has ever looked less

> Daniel Brierley’s bomb squad series does one thing superbly: it puts Vicky McClure in front of a device and makes us hold our breath. The plot that joins those scenes together is daft in the first hour and dafter by the last.

## Synopsis

London, the present day. Lana Washington (Vicky McClure) is an explosives officer with the Metropolitan Police, a former soldier who now spends her working life kneeling in front of devices other people have built. Her boss, Inspector Lee Robins (Cal MacAninch), runs the bomb squad; DI Thom Youngblood (Mark Stanley) runs the counter-terrorism investigation that starts to circle it. The first episode sends Lana to a flat on a housing estate where a suspected bomb-maker has left something behind, and a man inside is wired to it. She wants to cut the right wire and go home. What stands in the way is a device, a hostage, a crowd of onlookers and a growing sense that whoever built it knows how the squad works. Each of the six hours brings a new device and a new part of the city.

## Review

Daniel Brierley’s series puts Vicky McClure in the London bomb squad and gives her, roughly, one device an hour for six hours. She plays Lana Washington, an explosives officer with the Metropolitan Police, and the show arrives with the [*Line of Duty*](https://film.one/tv/line-of-duty) connection attached, both through McClure herself and through the team behind it. The pitch is plain: a procedural about the people who walk towards the thing everyone else is running from. When *Trigger Point* is doing that, it is as tense as anything on British television. When it is doing anything else, it is nonsense, and it does a great deal else.

The defusals are the point and they are properly built. Nick Gillespie and Alfie Biddle shoot them close and low, mostly at the height of a kneeling woman, so that a car boot or a stairwell fills the frame and the rest of London disappears. The editors, David I’Anson and Peggy Koretzky, are disciplined enough to hold on a hand and a pair of pliers for longer than most television would dare, and to cut away only when something changes. Anna Pritchard designs the devices as ugly, homemade things, tape and nails and a phone, which is far more frightening than anything with a blinking countdown. The first episode’s opening half-hour had us sitting forward, tense and slightly cross with ourselves for it, because we knew exactly what was being done to us and it worked anyway.

McClure is the reason it works. She plays Lana as someone who has done this so often that the fear has gone somewhere behind her eyes, and the performance is almost entirely in stillness: a breath held, a jaw set, a glance at a wire and back again. Cal MacAninch’s Robins gives her a boss who trusts her and worries about her in roughly equal measure and says little about either. Mark Stanley’s Youngblood is the detective who has to make the wider plot happen, and Stanley does what he can with a man whose function is to walk into rooms and demand updates. Manjinder Virk’s DI Samira Desai has the sharpest lines of the supporting cast and is given the least to do with them.

The trouble is everything between the bombs. Brierley writes the investigation as a chain of suspects, and the series has a habit of pointing at each one in turn as if the camera were a finger. A character will say something faintly odd, the score will note it, and three episodes later the oddness will be explained at length by another character to a third. We laughed, more than once, at scenes in which police officers told each other things they both already knew, and by the fifth hour we were laughing at moments that were meant to be grave. The first episode ends with a turn we will not describe, and most critics rightly admired its nerve; nothing afterwards is as bold, and the final hour tries to tie up its clues in a way that made us check whether we had missed an episode. We had not.

The directors, five of them across six hours including Gilles Bannier and Jennie Darnell, keep the look consistent, which is no small thing on a series made this way. Rosalind Ebbutt’s costumes do quiet work too: Lana in the same heavy kit and hi-vis for scene after scene, the detectives in suits that have been sat in too long. The city itself, estates and A-roads and car parks, is shot without glamour, and that plainness suits the show far better than the plot does.

*Line of Duty* earned its silliness by making the interviews as gripping as the shootouts; here the equivalent scenes are the ones you talk over. The consensus among critics is warmer than we are, and we understand why, because most of the reviews were written after the first episode, which is the best one. Watched to the end, the shape is clearer: a set of first-rate set pieces hung on a story that would not survive a second viewing. It carries a 15 certificate, runs to six episodes, and three further series have followed, which tells you the set pieces were enough for a great many people. Watch the first hour with the lights off and decide for yourself whether the rest is worth the shouting.

*Fi1m score 60, published 23 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics lean positive on the opening episodes, and the praise clusters in two places: the bomb disposal set pieces, which several reviews find properly stressful, and Vicky McClure, whose composed, tough-but-sensitive lead is credited with holding the show together even where the writing does not. Reviews of the premiere call it tense, slick and diverting, and more than one admits it is preposterous while conceding it is good fun. The Line of Duty connection is mentioned throughout, usually as a promise the series is expected to keep.

The reservations gather around the script and the ending. Early reviews already note predictability and a slow first half. The two finale reviews, from The i Paper and The Telegraph, are the coolest, finding the resolution rushed and implausible, with The Telegraph judging that the series lapses into self-parody after a strong start. The spread is wide, from warm to disappointed, and it tracks closely with when each review was written.

## Straight answers

**Is Trigger Point worth watching?**

*Trigger Point* is worth watching for the defusal scenes alone, and we scored it 60. Vicky McClure is superb kneeling in front of a homemade device, and the first episode is as tense as anything on British television. The investigation joining those scenes together is daft, and grows dafter, so it suits viewers who want set pieces more than a story.

**How long is Trigger Point, and what is it rated?**

*Trigger Point* is rated 16 by the ClassInd in Brazil. It is a crime and drama series.

**Where can I watch Trigger Point in Brazil?**

*Trigger Point* is not on any streaming or rental service in Brazil at the moment. It is available in 7 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is Trigger Point, and is it suitable for children?**

*Trigger Point* carries a 15 certificate in the UK and is too tense and too adult for children. The threat is sustained rather than gory: ugly homemade bombs, hostages wired to them, long silent minutes with a pair of pliers. Older teenagers who can take that kind of dread will manage; the squeamish or anxious may find the defusals hard going.

**How does Trigger Point compare to The Hurt Locker?**

*Trigger Point* and [*The Hurt Locker*](https://film.one/film/the-hurt-locker) both put bomb disposal close enough to see the wire, but Kathryn Bigelow's film is the better work by a clear margin. The film holds together as a story; the series is six hours of first-rate defusals hung on an investigation that would not survive a second viewing. Choose the series for McClure and the London procedural, the film for something that stays gripping between the bombs.

**What should I watch after Trigger Point?**

After *Trigger Point*, try [*The Hurt Locker*](https://film.one/film/the-hurt-locker) (2008, Fi1m 86): Bomb disposal in Iraq, shot so close you can smell the wire cutters. Then [*The Wages of Fear*](https://film.one/film/the-wages-of-fear) (1953, Fi1m 90): Two lorries of nitroglycerine, one mountain road, and no music to help you.

### Reviews we read (8)

- **Radio Times**, David Craig (81/100, inferred): The critic praises the suspense-laden first episode and the bold decision to kill off a main character early, noting it fundamentally changes the series dynamic. It delivers on expectations from a Jed Mercurio-produced show. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/trigger-point-episode-1-review/)
- **The Guardian** (76/100, inferred): The critic finds the series utterly preposterous but great fun as slick entertainment, likening it to CSI: Peckham or Line of Bomb Duty. They single out the escalating bomb disposal sequences and banter between leads Vicky McClure and Adrian Lester for keeping viewers engaged despite the implausibility. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jan/23/trigger-point-review-utterly-preposterous-but-what-a-blast)
- **The Times**, Carol Midgley (★★★☆☆): The opening episode review notes it was a drama of two halves, boring at first but improving, with enough to keep watching thanks to Vicky McClure. The critic singles out McClure's central performance and the show's position as from the makers of Line of Duty as reasons it might hold attention despite predictability. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/trigger-point-review-vicky-mcclure-fmj293gvd)
- **Evening Standard** (70/100, inferred): The first-episode review finds it a stress-inducing bomb squad thriller with evisceratingly tense moments and forensic bomb disposal sequences. The critic singles out the gripping, high-stakes set pieces and strong lead performance by Vicky McClure as raw material for a solid hit, while noting a need for more intrigue beyond the opener. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/trigger-point-review-itv-vicky-mcclure-jed-mercurio-adrian-lester-b977381.html)
- **The Independent** (70/100, inferred): The review describes the series as derivative narrative junk food that is tasty and watchable while it lasts, thanks to tense bomb disposal scenes. The critic singles out Vicky McClure's strong screen presence in a tough-yet-sensitive professional role and the gripping jeopardy of the set pieces. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/trigger-point-vicky-mcclure-itv-b1997917.html)
- **The i Paper**, Rachael Sigee (62/100, inferred): The critic finds the finale stressful yet silly, with an implausible resolution to the clues and rushed mechanics around the villain's plot. McClure's performance elevates the clunky script and tense action set-pieces. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/trigger-point-finale-review-itv-ending-explained-1485050)
- **The Telegraph**, Michael Hogan (2/5): The finale review calls the series disappointing overall, with an over-written and under-explained script that lapsed into self-parody after a strong start. The critic singles out the rushed resolution and plot holes in the finale, noting it fizzled rather than delivering on early promise. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/trigger-point-finale-review-knew-defusing-bombs-could-boring/)
- **Den of Geek**, Louisa Mellor (78/100, inferred): The critic finds the premiere an enjoyably tense and diverting thriller with strong performances, particularly Vicky McClure as the composed lead, and effective set pieces involving bomb disposal procedures. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/trigger-point-episode-1-review-bomb-disposal-thriller-is-no-damp-squib/)

## Details

- **Created by:** Daniel Brierley
- **Creator:** Daniel Brierley
- **Director:** Gilles Bannier, Audrey Cooke, Nirpal Bhogal, Jamie Donoughue, Jennie Darnell
- **Writer:** Daniel Brierley
- **Cinematography:** Nick Gillespie, Alfie Biddle
- **Editor:** Peggy Koretzky, David I'Anson
- **Production design:** Anna Pritchard
- **Costume design:** Rosalind Ebbutt
- **Producer:** Mat Chaplin, Julia Stannard
- **Cast:** Vicky McClure as Lana Washington; Cal MacAninch as Inspector Lee Robins; Mark Stanley as DI Thom Youngblood; Manjinder Virk as DI Samira Desai; Tom Stokes as Pete; Gwynfor Jones as PS Brown; Gavin Sibson as PS Costa; Eric Shango as Danny Markham
- **Certificate (ClassInd):** 16
- **Release (Brazil):** 23 January 2022
- **Genres:** Crime, Drama
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5UW95E_vJI

## Where to watch in Brazil

Not streaming, renting or buying in Brazil at the last check.

Also available in: AT, AU, DE, GB, IN, PT, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Line of Duty* (2012): McClure’s other police series, where the interview rooms are as tense as the streets
- *The Hurt Locker* (2008), Fi1m 86: Bomb disposal in Iraq, shot so close you can smell the wire cutters — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-hurt-locker.md)
- *Danger UXB* (1979): Wartime London, unexploded bombs, and a patience modern television has largely lost
- *Juggernaut* (1974): Richard Harris defuses bombs on a liner; Richard Lester keeps the humour dry
- *The Wages of Fear* (1953), Fi1m 90: Two lorries of nitroglycerine, one mountain road, and no music to help you — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-wages-of-fear.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/trigger-point