The Tower (2021–2023) User Reviews

Stick with it.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 24 December 2021]

A policeman and a teenage girl fall to their death of a tower block, but how did the pair die?

If you only saw the first episode, I could understand you not enjoying it, and not sticking with it, but if you can get past that, parts 2 and 3 are actually really very good.

It is an intriguing watch, very much a story about human nature, you think you understand events, and the characters, but the ending surprises.

Very well acted, Jimmy Akingbola impressed here, as did Scanlan and Whelan.

Enough here for a second series? I think so, we certainly still have some unanswered questions.

Stick with it, 7/10.

Gripping British Mystery

[Vancouver77 · 8/10 · 2 December 2021]

My favourite shows to watch are British or Nordic mystery series. And this 3 episode mini-series did not disappoint. Excellent acting, good story-line, well written, believable. The show is about a crime that seems straight-forward to begin with, but then more and more details are unearthed that show it to be something else all together. I binge watched all 3 episodes. I hope there will be a season 2! Note: I almost didn't watch this mini-series courtesy of the poor reviews on here. I recommend you watch the series and make your own judgements. I expect that true fans of British mysteries will LOVE this series.

One word for this show: Surprise!!

[chinandchin · 7/10 · 6 December 2022]

I don't know why I have to write 600 characters. So please read my 1st hundred characters and skip the other 500.

This show has no gun fight, no sex, no CGI, no pretty hot chicks, no violence, no nothing but only a solid story, I wasn't expecting anything but had to finish the whole series in one time, the script is superb and all the actors are outstanding.

People would easily skip this show bc of no big star and relatively low budget, but if you are reading this, please give it a try, I think this is what "drama" actually is all about. Marvel's shows with no story suck compared with this, seriously.

Ended how I hoped it wouldn't

[kestrel4 · 6/10 · 11 November 2021]

Maybe I didn't get it but how did former interpreter for British troops turn into an ASBO who keys his neighbour's car; and his upright, trusting daughter into a suicidal kidnapper? I hope we were not expected to accept that this is a natural consequence of what they had been through, without some further explanation. In the end, it seemed more a case study for social workers than a crime drama.

Second season better than the first one

[zorica-stamenkovska-534-990224 · 6/10 · 21 August 2023]

"The Tower" British TV show presents an engaging story with a fantastic crew. The second season surpasses the first, but it lacks the suspense and depth desired. I initially gave it 5 stars but the second season is much better than the first one. There is a structure in it and a better storyline.

I really like their dramas and crime shows but tgis one does not keep you curious and engaged as you would expect from a thriller.

Despite the improvements, "The Tower" still falls short in delivering the desired levels of suspense and depth that would truly elevate it to great heights. As we continue to follow the characters' journeys, one can't help but hope for a stronger foundation of tension and complexity in the upcoming seasons.

Pretty dull

[triciahouston · 6/10 · 10 November 2021]

Not the best, and the Irish police officer was unbearably annoying to watch. I presume there will be second series the way it's been left? They need to up their game in Series 2..

Far better than the reviews would suggest

[jeffpsy · 8/10 · 6 December 2021]

I found The Tower to be a well-paced and extremely well-acted series. As an American, I applaud the British penchant for choosing actors who look like real people, rather than fashion models. Gemma Whelan was excellent as the lead character, but the entire cast was quite good.

I believe that the reason for the lukewarm ratings on IMDB is that the show doesn't reach a sunny resolution at the end where all the bad guys get their due. In that regard I thought it was hyper-realistic; real policing often operates in this gray area, with good cops and morally questionable cops all working together.

The ending left a lot of room for development in a second and third season. I hope those are in the offing.

Whelan good, otherwise mediocre

[CrazyArty · 6/10 · 20 November 2021]

Police drama starring Gemma Whelan. A police officer and teenager fall from a tower block and a Detective (Whelan) is brought in to investigate what happened.

The story deals with Police ethics and racism. Whelan is excellent.

Overall, nothing special here, it's okay from a plot and drama perspective but there is better. Not a recommend.

IMD seems to be attracting a lot of negative critics

[dizzylou818 · 9/10 · 14 July 2023]

I love to look on IMD to get a perspective on a show or movie I want to watch. But, in the last year it seems like so many people are just being overly critical. Yes, there are bad shows/movies out there but it seems like some are just being needlessly criticized. Just like this show. It was a really good police procedural with several actors I really enjoyed. Yes, there were flaws but it was still very entertaining and I watched both seasons in one day. Maybe, people didn't like it because they prefer white, straight male cops. I don't know. Times have changed immensely in the police force and the public eye for that matter. We may not be crazy about the way certain things are but it's reality. Accepting people has come a long way and hopefully will only get better. I'm a 71 year old white woman married for 50 years. I pray the world starts learning to be kinder to each other.

A shame

[wisewebwoman · 6/10 · 6 December 2021]

With a good and believable story line this would have been great as the cast were excellent - Whelan particularly.

But there is far too much eyebrow raising for it to be enjoyed.

(1) Too few police and nobody senior at the actual accident involving a dead police officer.

(2) The child was a witness but social services were not called to enable an interview as to what happened? Seriously?

(3) Constant irrelevant shots of the tower like a penny dreadful horror movie.

(4) Subsequent meetings arranged on top of the tower. LOL

(5) A brilliant young cop running away? For what?

(6) Her boss meeting her in a field in the middle of nowhere?

(7) Why did the Libyan man key the car? That made no sense

(8)All the cops siding with the boss to protect one of their own, a dead racist.

(9)Why was the child taken to the tower?

(10) Wasn't the blood under the cop's fingernails like a Huge Clue as to what actually happened? Paging forensics? Hello?

(11) The ending.

(12) All the woke boxes ticked - do they think their audience stupid?

All stars are for the cast who did their very, very best.

6/10.

Above average police procedural

[phippysma · 8/10 · 11 November 2021]

Definitely a better than usual police drama. Some good acting and the time shifts could be confusing but it kept your interest throughout. Particularly liked the realism of the ending.

Very average

[Vindelander · 6/10 · 10 November 2021]

It's a rather uninspiring watch I'm afraid. Gemma Whelan miscast in her role and doesn't inspire and the rest of the cast much the same.

Story is ok but lacks pace and direction. I wouldn't watch it again.

Ends on a whimper

[demaym · 4/10 · 24 November 2021]

What a disappointing mini-series.

It started off very generic - a typical British police crime drama, with all the usual ingredients: dead bodies, a mystery and a police lead trying to solve the case. It picked up mid-series (episode two) and left me wanting to see the obvious liars within the force held to account and exposed.

Major spoiler alert - in one of the worst and most frustrating endings I've ever seen, they all get away with it. The evidence remains hidden, the bent coppers manage to cover their tracks through lies (all supported by each other at every rank) - they also try to justify their behaviour and the writers obviously want you, the viewer, to have your own beliefs and morals challenged and possibly sympathise with them too. The ending stinks - it wasn't satisfying, it didn't provide the closure expected or needed - you never actually find out what really happened on that tower (only a liars version) and never will, as this was a standalone mini-series. A waste of time. 4/10.

Unconvincing

[Marlburian · 6/10 · 11 November 2021]

Previous reviewers have mentioned most of my reservations about the series, though I'm surprised that none has mentioned the mumbling that's been criticised elsewhere. It was difficult to understand much of DI Shaw's dialogue and there were occasional problems with that of DS Collins. Which is one reason I had difficulty with following all of the plot.

Others have also mentioned the ticking of diversity boxes, one of which might well have related to the two seriously overweight officers. I don't think that PC Matthews would have passed a fitness test.

As with quite a few first series, there were enough loose ends left for a second one to tidy up, and one of these suggests that DI Shaw's marriage would be big trouble. If he does feature, then I hope his speech becomes more distinct.

Acceptable. S01 not very intriguing, but not dragged out.

[connorundrumme · 6/10 · 4 June 2023]

This was just OK. One of the weaker parts was the lack of logic in the premise and circumstances of one specific individual who went to the perilous edge of The Tower. They really didn't manage to justify her actions. It was low-motive and underwritten.

Also, an opportunity to interrogate further Why a cop with a mouth would have such a dichotomy in treatment of individuals of different race to himself was lost in this. Reinforcing the strong 'blue line' narrative, and its a baseline set of characters with protectionist morals, then putting a female gendered detective up as almost an internal affairs hound, attacking her own in the name of justice has actually been done a whole, whole lot in UK series alone. Not only is it kind of trite, but funnily enough, it practically never happens IRL.

People on here complaining about the wardrobe in a cop procedural/drama just because they recognize an actress from a more popular series? Who cares? (It was professional casual dress, except for the young female constable getting bedded by her boss. She got the butt shots in yoga tights treatment more than once when out of uniform.) Are they complaining because they can't see everyone's bits hanging out? Go watch GoT again!

Dully written, heavy-handed moralism and unfinished feeling.

[msghall · 6/10 · 2 December 2021]

This has many of your typical British cop ingredients - corrupt but well-meaning coppers, women led to do bad things for love, lots of yelling and contentious arguments, overweight, corrupt cops and a dash of diversity. Too bad for Gemma Whelan, who despite putting on a fine show and making her character one of the few sympathetic ones in this show of bad people, fights a unwinnable battle.

The final episode made me feel as if the world is upside down where lawless, weak men and women in uniform win while the honest ones struggle. The hidden piece of evidence revealed near the end of episode three could indicate that this series was meant for more episodes but was cancelled before it ran its course, leaving an unfinished feeling.

Perhaps this show is true to the reality of policing but not what I want to watch to be entertained and inspired. Instead I was left with a feeling of needing to take a shower, especially after the appalling immorality of the final scene.

Series 2 is somehow even better

[canbefoundnow-35-443979 · 10/10 · 17 June 2023]

If you made it through the first one, then give the second one a try. They've taken it to a whole other level. With the return of the series 1 cast, and addition of just a few more characters, they've really rounded out the ensemble nicely.

Fair warning: it's darker and unsettling in places, but still brilliantly written and acted. While the story isn't perfect, the characters and writing manage to somehow lift it above itself.

Not for the faint at heart. Much of the content concerns rape, child rape, domestic violence leading to murder, animal cruelty, childhood trauma, and there is some bloodshed and gore.

BUT, Sarah does give romance a try again, so there's some light shining through. And of course she gets her suspect in the end.

It's getting tougher to find great Brit police dramas...

[canuckteach · 7/10 · 10 December 2021]

Mixed reviews on this one. On the bright side, I like the ' 3 episodes' format--that would save a lot of long-winded series from dying a slow death.

Part of the problem with the lead actress, Gemma Whelan, is her wardrobe. She dresses like an old maid clerk in a flower shop, mousy hair cut and all--not a DSI. If it's hard for US to take her seriously, how can the other characters? Compare her with VERA. She is bit doughty for a reason, and she is older.

It does not fit here.

Another character, a witness to 2 people falling from THE TOWER, hardly speaks. That's a pain.

Despite the above, I think the story is watchable & merits a 7.

... inane reviews harming-well-made-shows to-be-ignored

[bjarias · 9/10 · 7 January 2023]

... when productions get reviewed by average viewers spewing-forth poor to deliberately unfounded criticisms... remaining objective goes completely out the window

... this is a very good show, well acted and produced, and the story-script well-developed-written... no reason for exceptionally poor reviews except to harshly-unduly-sandbag a good series.. as an example, one reviewer commented that they immediately stopped watching due to "stupid-writing" after the one officer left the scene without being interviewed... numerous negative reviewers had problems with all evidence of "police-corruption," which obviously the show is really not at all about

... there are enough poorly written-acted-produced works... fortunately 'The Tower' is not one of those productions... Gemma Whelan best known as Yara Greyjoy in HBO's Game of Thrones; here is DS Sarah Collins, her first primetime lead character, and she proves-herself handling the role admirably... evidencing she has the talent-ability for being a 'lead-actor'... this series easily left enough material on the story-board for another season to happen, and it's truly hoped ITV sees its way to having S2 come-about

... S2 now having aired, was-is as good as initial episodes, if not better... these are characters you want to continue to follow along with their many-intersecting-stories-lives... hopefully there is to be an S3 of this very-well done-drama-crime-series.

AN IMPROVEMENT

[pnpete9 · 6/10 · 12 November 2021]

After watching seemingly endless ITV crime dramas which have been nothing short of utter rubbish at last a drama that has merit. The acting was above the standard I was becoming accustomed to. Sadly the story was weak and implausible. Maybe this slight improvement be the start of a much needed raising of the bar.

Predictable

[clairedoobie · 10/10 · 27 December 2021]

Yeah, predictable. Not the show itself, the IMDb reviews, at least the ones posted so far. I read a 4/5 review in the paper so decided to give it a go. Intriguing story, well acted as far as I can tell (I'm no drama expert but I know what I like). Just one point, given that there was a fatal incident involving the tower block, why was free access still available to anyone who happens to be passing by? Yes, there's certainly some mistakes made by the police. Does that not happen, ever? I think we know the answer to that.

It's predictable that if the lead in a tv show is not a straight white man, there'll be complaints. It's as if the past 100 years or more of film making and how many (60?) of tv shows featuring almost exclusively straight white men with perhaps a minor role for a woman as someone's wife or the secretary, was not enough. Even today, there is no shortage of tv shows with straight white men in the lead.

Some people are women, some are gay, some are not white. Get over it. Or switch off. It's Not compulsory to watch any particular show. No it is NOT always a gay woman in the lead. Try Lewis. It's got that Laurence Fox in it, I expect he'd meet the approval of one of the reviewers here. Or try Guilt, Shetland or Time.

NB I'm a straight white middle aged woman. I don't care if the lead isn't a straight white man. In fact I rejoice that some of my friends can see someone like themselves on tv occasionally.

Anyone missing Line of Duty will probably enjoy this.

Lazy writing

[johnlett · 6/10 · 11 November 2021]

First off it was watchable but not intenaely so. Probably because anyone with half a brain would have solved this ' mystery' by the end of epuside 1. At least this one only lasted 3 episodes , but still you cant get that time back.

Far fetched police thriller that was too contrived

[JRB-NorthernSoul · 5/10 · 8 November 2021]

Unconvincing opening. I'm not a policeman but a cop witnesses two people including her colleague fall to their deaths from a tower block roof and no-one asks her what happened? She just goes home for a nap, come on...

The plot had too many improbabilities to mention - why didn't they chase Lucy at the end of episode one, etc. The timeline of the investigation was ridiculous, significant leads and information just kept helpfully popping up out of nowhere.

Middling cast, Gemma Whelan was OK but Emmett Scanlon as the dishy but fishy Irish DI was desperately OTT and some of the minor characters were weak. Police side of the story was way off and full of holes.

Overall - disappointing all round with a weak plot that didn't deliver and wasn't satisfyingly resolved. Very surprised it got another series.

Ended with a whimper

[Jimmyriddled · 6/10 · 18 November 2021]

This started off with some promise. As in most reviews the box ticking for this drama is almost so bad it is laughable. I don't think there was a box that wasn't ticked.

The final interview scene was so oppressive it wouldn't have been admissible anyway. Repeatedly shouting at her and not actually asking many questions.

Shame as I enjoyed the first 2 episodes, no actual answers were gained, probably purposely to 'allow the viewer to make their own assumptions'. Just tell us what happens.

One last thing, didn't ever explain why on earth the girl kidnapped a young boy or why the Asian male was doing what he doing to create the whole story line.

Wastes its potential

[nissebror · 6/10 · 6 April 2023]

"The Tower" opens with a young girl and a senior police officer having been killed after falling off the Portland Tower. The blame is quickly laid on the girl, but DS Collins (Gemma Whelan) doesn't buy it. What really led to the tragic death of two people?

On paper, this is an interesting premise. It brings us into the action immediately, and tempts us with a plethora of fascinating characters. As the series progresses however, a lot of this potential is squandered.

The series is overly convoluted, illogical, and whatever twists and turns along the way are predictable and anti-climatic. It's definitely well acted, but the actors can't sell the messy storyline convincingly. It's somewhat worth watching given that it only lasts three episodes, but you're not missing much if you skip it.