Defending the Guilty (2018–2019) User Reviews (24)

It works on many levels.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 11 December 2019]

The story of Will, who's looking to hit the big time in law, he needs to stand above three other hopefuls, all the time aided and abetted by a slightly crazy, jaded Mentor.

The acting is superb, Parkinson and Bonnar in particular shine in every scene. Will is a hugely likeable character, he's great.

It doesn't have the belly laugh factor, but it is amusing, and the scenarios are funny, it's comedy along the lines of Don't forget the Driver from earlier in the year.

I'm delighted to see a second series is in the works, it really is a show I've loved and miss. 8/10

Good comedy drama.

[robert-thomas63 · 8/10 · 31 October 2019]

This is not a sitcom.( There are few laugh out loud moments). It is a very good comedy drama.With Interesting, likeable characters, well written and with an extremely good soundtrack

SHOWS REAL PROMISE

[wgsxxx · 8/10 · 24 September 2019]

So refreshing to see a sharp and witty piece of British comedy. The casting is exceptional, and all characters are played consummately .

One line by Liam to the amourous Will, intended as banter, was........ 'It's summon the jury not.......on the jury' purposely fell flat, but the comedy timing was bang on.

The whole package works very well , making it eminently watchable.

Give piece a chance

[elliotwilson-24826 · 6/10 · 24 September 2018]

I hope this show is given a run later this year, it's got potential and a strong cast. I love satire, especially when the target is the legal system. This episode introduces the principal characters, Katherine Henderson is her usual driven self, and steers the plot well, the villain delightfully guilty, the idiocy of the justice system beautifully and humorously portrayed. Good start to a promising run.

Exactly what the Bbc needs to be doing

[jdlanders · 10/10 · 1 October 2018]

Funny, thought-provoking, and it casts light on something that we should all be talking about more right now - just how messed up the legal system is for working within it / subject to it. Can't get enough of Will Sharpe and Katherine Parkinson ("mummy!") - such a funny duo.

Finally

[OGarcez · 10/10 · 25 September 2018]

I had entirely given up on new television in 2008, giving up on new film in 2012. I recently came back to new film, finding most as awful as they ever were but with the occasional okay one. I had peeked at new TV shows in recent times and seen nothing worth even mentioning. However, with Defending the Guilty there seems to finally be a show that speaks powerfully about this terrible society we have made, with a serious wit, and finely judged aesthetics.

Disconcerting in a good way

[EcoMayes · 9/10 · 1 October 2018]

I like watching TV series about lawyers and usually I enjoy how vapid they are, with lawyers pulling tricks out of the bag in totally implausible yet satisfying ways and unexpectedly winning all the time. But it is actually better and incredibly refreshing to see a legal show done another way. Critical, murky and funny.

A Brilliant Script Perfectly Presented, A Triumph!

[martimusross · 10/10 · 27 September 2019]

Defending The Guilty

This was brilliant script writing, perfectly cast and tightly acted from start to finish. It was a cross between the humour of This Life (1996) and the legal acuity of Silk (2011).

It was remarkable as it displayed nearly every form of humour from deadpan to farce.

Will Sharpe really has the full range of acting skills, with self deprecation, diffidence and irony brought out at the same moment. Whilst he doesn't possess the typical or expected traits of a hero he comes across as endearing, charming and totally engaging. Without being to effusive the skies the limit with this mans talent, he is the entire package.

The entire cast was just brilliant with his jaded supervisor played by Katherine Parkinson pre-eminent for praise.

I just can't wait for Series 2

Problems with the sound

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 16 October 2019]

As a retired solicitor i was looking forward to this comedy taking the Mickey out of barristers.What I can hear of this it seems funny.However that is a problem.Even with my hearing aid in i find it quite difficult to hear what the actors are saying..There are undoubtedly some geninly funny moments.

Hope for justice?

[ordy · 10/10 · 29 September 2019]

A highly justified ten, well written with a smart and very funny cast. The crime maybe not seeing a second series!

A breath of fresh air

[via-helena · 9/10 · 21 September 2019]

Well scripted, well cast, well acted with a good theme and good episode storylines. Some talented young actors getting their first breaks in this. I really hope this goes beyond 6 episodes.

clever, funny, fast paced, superb actors - in a word:brilliant

[steve-greensleaves · 9/10 · 2 October 2019]

Very witty and enjoyable - couldn't recommend it more highly

Ignore the sniffy reactionary reviews!

[lurchjones · 10/10 · 5 October 2019]

Great show! Witty, sharp script with excellent characters. Not sure why people are sneering at this show. Fleabag comparisons are moronic! I loved Fleabag and love this show!

Great provided you turn on subtitles

[countryman69 · 3/10 · 6 October 2019]

For the dialogue is mostly unintelligible as nearly all of the actors mumble their words. Katherine Robinson is the worst by a mile. One begins to think that her teeth have been Super-Glued together.

Hands down the best show in recent years

[nicolasthorel · 10/10 · 20 January 2020]

Simply could not recommend this show enough. The characters are clearly imperfect yet remarkably likeable, and the relationships they form are convincing in chemistry and rewarding with wit. Will Sharpe is simply excellent, suiting his role to perfection. The script is smart and funny, often making light in darker situations. The scenes chosen and filming positions involve the viewer intimately. Perhaps the greatest aspect of this show are the scene transitions, involving an appropriately excellent soundtrack to let an episode flow smoothly from beginning to end. Critics could perhaps push for greater character development other than Caroline or Will's, and perhaps more recurring characters than the current 8/9 in play. With a second season on the way, it is yet to be seen if these points are addressed.

TL;DR magnificent show, piece of art. Well worth the watch.

Well written, good performances all round

[jsassociatesuk · 9/10 · 30 September 2019]

Irrervant, humourus insight into this side of law. Well done BBC, who seem to sanitised and p.c to comission this type of prog any more.

Not enough!

[rchrdcorteel1 · 9/10 · 13 April 2023]

This is the first and so far last series: apparently the second season was cancelled by COVID? That is a great shame. If you watch all the episodes, it really meshes as a series: good characters and good story lines, good acting (but occasionally dialogue is a little difficult to understand). Hopefully somebody will resurrect this series.

As an aside, IMDB's requirement of 600 characters is becoming problematic: sometimes a short review is as good as a long rambling one. Nothing is gained by adding superfluous comments. IMDB please reconsider your 600 character requirement: it probably prevents a lot of people from posting.

LOVE IT

[chevyfreese · 10/10 · 16 February 2019]

Great show I do hope they letnit run and see where it takes us!

We are lost as a nation!

[khunkrumark · 1/10 · 20 September 2018]

The decline of our great British nation over the last forty years can be measured by comparing an episode of 'Rumpole Of The Bailey' with this infantile abomination!

If there are parents out there who have kids who seem to be drifting onto the wrong side of the law, a single episode of this puerile drek should quickly set them on the path to righteousness. The very notion of having defense council as inept and as child-like as this gathering of clowns will put anyone off a life of crime.

From what I can ascertain, this alleged comedy is about some teenagers and grownups acting like teenagers playing 'dress-up' in robes and wigs, parading around courthouses pretending to be a part of the British judicial system.

I have given up looking for any kind of logical thought process as to how the BBC commissions it's 'entertainment' programming. It seems they'll chuck money at pretty much anything that has a sprinkling of minorities in it!

This foul and alarmingly disgraceful level of output should be of great concern to anyone who pays for a TV licence. It's like the BBC are happy to take the public money and then urinate on every single honest citizen who decides to pay for this rip-off service.

'Defending The Guilty' is an absolute and entirely offensive abomination to the senses.

I just LOVE Katherine Parkinson's acting

[ShreyamReviews · 10/10 · 26 February 2021]

I wish it had more punches from Katherine Parkinson(Caroline) I watched The IT Crowd and fell in love with her acting... she is so cute ... I am still waiting for season 2

Excellent series that needs to continue

[Rob-O-Cop · 9/10 · 22 December 2023]

The BBC are making a habit of funding fantastically written, acted and made comedies and dropping them without much fanfare or effort after 6 short episodes.

Almost everything is right about this series and Will Sharpe caps it all off with a perfectly formed flawed, relatable and very likeable character. It's unfortunate that covid intervened in the timeline of this show and then Will Sharpe goes and gets gobbled up by the hollywood machine making a series 2 very very unlikely.

We need series like this much more than america needs to gobble up and spit out British talent.

The writing and thought provoking social insight of the show made it shine.

Shallow, trendy, dramady

[quicksmartmcoy · 1/10 · 30 September 2018]

Between the trendy music choices that underscore nothing, the cool shots of our protagonist commuting that add nothing to the tone or story, the drama that fails to ever by really compelling or dramatic and the comedy that fails to ever be funny, Defending the Guilty cannot even be said to be unique in its own awfulness, trendy vacuous dramadies have come and gone before, what irks me is this is getting a full series off the back of a very poor pilot episode, and to all those singing this bland crap's praises, you are I am afraid merely defending the guilty.

Fleabag the Rumpole

[PurpleProseOfCairo · 1/10 · 26 September 2019]

OK, so every new TV comedy (until the next moneyspinning trend comes along) is going to feature smart, foulmouthed female characters constantly emasculating vapid, soy-boy male characters? Count me out then. I didn't even know this existed until it popped up on the iPlayer (thank you streaming, freedom of choice and being liberated from the terrestrial listings magazines). How do we show how quirky, funny and strong our female lead is? I love pastry" in her first scene and we depict her casually sitting on the floor of the courthouse corridor in full barrister regalia in her second. GOT IT?? She's a strong female role model!! Full of the tropes, quirks and cadences that infest every recent TV comedy - just try talking the way these trainees do and see how far you get in chambers - this show couldn't be more annoying if it jabbed you in the ribs while doing the Whassssuuupppp ad in your ear. Try to find episodes of the old lunchtime drama Crown Court - it was far more entertaining than this right-on garbage.

Too slick and parodic

[frukuk · 2/10 · 1 October 2019]

Three episodes in (of the six episodes in the first season) and this feels far too slick and verging on parody. Perhaps it's because the drama is pushed to the background in order to foreground the (formulaic) comedy? Shame really, as I quite enjoyed the first episode when it was originally shown as a one-off/pilot.