The Jetty branded 'cliche' by critics but still worth watching

Critics have declared new BBC series The Jetty to be a "cliche" crime drama but still worth tuning in for.

Jenna Coleman stars as the lead detective in the four-part series set in a quiet Lancashire town. Detective Ember Manning is a widowed mother to a teenage daughter whose investigation into a fire takes a dark turn when it starts to look like it may be connected to sexual abuse and an unsolved cold case.

Reviews have called The Jetty "clumsy" and "heavy handed" but also a "compelling" and "engaging" drama that is much needed after several weeks of football and tennis dominating the TV schedules.

What did the critics say about The Jetty?

Critics have awarded the show a mixture of three and four star reviews. While some are unimpressed with the dialogue, most agree the plot centered on the sexual exploitation of young girls by predatory men and misogyny and victim blaming inherent in the police force is both relevant and gripping.

The Independent's Nick Hilton observed: "The Jetty doesn’t reinvent the crime drama. In fact, it borrows widely from the BBC’s vast back catalogue. But the restrained and self-contained nature of the narrative, and its likeable protagonist, offsets most of that triteness. The result is a compulsive mystery that wears its politics confidently and opaquely."

Ed Power of the The Irish Times is less complimentary, accusing The Jetty of being creaky and fumbling. He critiqued: "Coleman does her best to locate a trace of charisma in the unappealing Ember. Sadly, she is up against a plot that barely gets going in its first two hours, and dialogue so creaking you can almost hear it shudder like a tree line in a gale.

"There’s enormous potential for a serial killer drama that explores the gaslighting and victimisation of vulnerable teenagers. Alas, The Jetty fumbles a great idea and condemns itself – and the viewer – to wandering about in the gloom."

Emily Baker of The i is far more complimentary. She enthused: "The Jetty is heavy-handed. Its theme – of rampant misogyny leading to outright violence against women and girls – is a bit of a frying pan to the head rather than a creeping realisation....

"Amid the tennis and the football and Glastonbury taking up the schedules recently, TV has been crying out for a series like The Jetty – one the entire nation can really get stuck into and chat about at work the next day."

Lucy Mangan of The Guardian compared the series to award-winning crime drama Happy Valley. She said: "The Jetty starts badly.... But after this unpromising start, The Jetty becomes not only a very good thriller, but an unexpectedly attentive meditation on what it means to move as a woman through a world that is suffused with male violence in all its myriad forms... The Jetty isn’t Happy Valley, but it is much, much closer to it than you might have expected."

Abby Robinson said in the Radio Times: "While there's much to appreciate about The Jetty, there are some elements that don't quite work... The setting and some of the people we're introduced to also feel like they belong in any one of a number of other British crime dramas... But that doesn't detract from what is an engaging and important watch that is likely to stir up vital conversation."

Vicky Jessop of the Evening Standard said: "It’s a welcome breath of fresh air in a series that spotlights and celebrates women – as well as pointing out the dangers of being a young girl in a world where men lurk in the shadows. It’s a message that feels all too relevant today; the show doesn’t offer any easy answers, but the end result is electric."

The Jetty screenwriter Cat Jones is delighted with the reviews. She wrote on social media platform X: "I know I’m supposed to pretend that I’m too cool to care but I’m not and I do! #TheJetty is my first original show and it means a huge amount that people have recognised what we were trying to do!" She shared her four stars from The Guardian, The Times, The Evening Standard and The I.

How did viewers react to the first episode?

Viewers who tuned in to watch the first episode of the Lancashire-set series claimed they were struggling to understand the accents. The Jetty was criticised by some viewers who said they had to switch on subtitles because of the "mumbling". Many posted messages on social media saying they were struggling to hear the dialogue — and some even said it had made them turn it off altogether.

The Jetty continues on BBC One on Sunday at 9pm and all episodes are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Read more: The Jetty

• The Jetty on BBC One: What it's about, episodes, full cast and where you've seen them before (Manchester Evening News, 3 min read)

• The Jetty viewers hail new drama 'brilliant' as 'all-time favourite detective' introduced (Lancs Live, 3 min read)

• BBC viewers react to The Jetty as 'all-time favourite detective' introduced (Wales Online, 3 min read)