--- title: "Years and Years: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/years-and-years/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/tv/years-and-years" critics_score: 69 critics_reviews: 13 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." --- # Years and Years (2019): what the critics said Critics' score 69 from 13 reviews: 8 positive, 3 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Years and Years, with praise centred on Russell T Davies’ writing and the family relationships that make its political and technological fears feel personal. The favourable reviews find humour, compassion and energy in the domestic scenes, and an unsettling plausibility in the near-future upheavals. Performances also earn praise, with The Independent singling out Emma Thompson’s portrayal of populist politician Vivienne Rook as particularly effective. The spread is wide, however, and the central disagreement concerns whether the Lyons family remain convincing people amid so many topical crises. Even some admirers find their involvement in events contrived, while mixed reviews question the dramatic substance beneath the ambition and describe the storytelling as chaotic. The harsher responses find caricatures and an excess of issues; IndieWire sees a workable black comedy about comfortable, detached people, but little substance in the cautionary drama. ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 May 2019. The critic hails Russell T Davies’ thrilling new show following one Manchester family through a realistically imagined near-future from 2019 to 2034. It singles out the writer’s trademark humour, compassion and kinetic energy for praise. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/14/years-and-years-review-a-glorious-near-future-drama-from-russell-t-davies) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Tim Goodman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 June 2019. An ambitious, magnificent series that turns current political and technological anxieties into compelling, human drama centered on an extended British family. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/years-and-years-1220415/) ## Variety — Daniel D'Addario Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 22 June 2019. The series is among the most emotionally involving and best of the year, centering on an ordinary family enduring rapid societal and technological upheaval through resilient personal bonds. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2019/tv/reviews/years-and-years-review-emma-thompson-hbo-1203243714/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2019. The review calls the near-future drama plausible and intriguing, praising how domestic detail and global trends are skilfully blended. It singles out Emma Thompson’s brilliant performance as the terrifying populist politician Vivienne Rook. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/years-and-years-emma-thompson-russell-t-davies-doctor-who-rory-kinnear-a8911686.html) ## The Telegraph Rating 4/5. 14 May 2019. The review describes Davies brewing an anxious concoction of big issues and future fears in the first episode. It praises the creation of fleshy drama with a beating heart that thinks big urgent thoughts. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2019/05/14/years-years-episode-1-review-russell-t-davies-brews-anxious/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 21 June 2019. It is a gripping account of a society’s existential crisis that remains compelling by focusing on one family, though it gets a bit ludicrous shoehorning everyone into current events. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2019/06/years-and-years-review-hbo-emma-thompson.html) ## The i Paper — Adam Sweeting Rating ★★★. 14 May 2019. The ambitious series about the Lyons family leaping through a turbulent future offers plenty to think about but the critic is not yet convinced it qualifies as great drama. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/years-and-years-bbc1-review-291232) ## The AV Club — Erik Adams Rating C. 24 June 2019. It nails the masochistic impulse to consume news but treats the Lyons family as caricatures and feels like it is sadistically frying ants under a magnifying glass. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/hbo-s-summer-of-drama-bummers-continues-for-years-and-y-1835821203) ## IndieWire — Ben Travers Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 24 June 2019. The critic finds the series only really works as a black comedy lampooning the well-off and out-of-touch, but is hollow as a cautionary drama overall. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/years-and-years-hbo-review-emma-thompson-1202152443/) ## The Times — Chris Bennion Rating ★★☆☆☆. 15 May 2019. The critic finds sharp satire buried under an avalanche of issues in the overstuffed state-of-the-nation drama. It notes the writer’s skill but complains the drama is bursting at the seams. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/years-and-years-review-sharp-satire-buried-under-an-avalanche-of-issues-5hcjxwxwt) ## Paste — Shane Ryan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 3 July 2019. The critic finds the series a riveting vehicle for pure dystopian dread, praising its step-by-step portrayal of societal decay and the unsettling realism that implicates comfortable viewers. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/years-and-years/years-and-years-review-hbo) ## Den of Geek — Louisa Mellor Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 May 2019. Russell T Davies’ energetic new drama holds a mirror up to modern times and gets off to an audacious start full of chutzpah, but everything is underscored by bleakness. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/years-and-years-episode-1-review-an-exuberant-but-bleak-family-saga/) ## Digital Spy — Morgan Jeffery Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 14 May 2019. It is wild and ambitious, a show about everything all at once that is stunning but rather dizzying and chaotic, with terrific performances but some elements feeling lightweight. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a27464814/years-and-years-bbc-one-review-russell-t-davies/) --- © 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/years-and-years.md