Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Stephen Graham, Netflix, TV and Film
Anish Vij
New Netflix series Bodies is already looking like a smash hit after being dubbed as 'deliberately confusing'.
The Stephen Graham-led show is an eight-part sci-fi/murder series which follows the story of a suspicious dead body that mysteriously appears in the exact same spot across different points in time.
"When a dead body appears in the streets of London, it seems like business as usual for the detective working the case," the synopsis reads.
"Unbeknownst to her, that same victim shows up in the same spot across three other points in time: in 1890, during the Victorian era; 1941, some of Britain’s darkest days of World War II; and 30 years in the future.
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"As the investigations converge, they reveal a sinister conspiracy that threatens London."
Bodies is set across four time periods - 1890, 1941, 2023 and 2053 - and is based on a graphic novel from DC Vertigo of the same name.
Graham, who plays evil dictator Mannix, said: “When I heard that [directors] Marco Kreuzpaintner and Haolu Wang were combining to do the series, that sold it for me.
“Writers Paul Tomalin and Danusia Samal did an amazing job of keeping it fresh and exciting.”
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Right now, Bodies has a solid 79 percent Rotten Tomatoes score but some viewers have warned that the show is indeed a slow burner and 'you have to be in the right frame of mind' to watch it.
"It will reward you, as the tangle of threads is gradually woven into a compelling tale that at its heart is about our shared humanity," one viewer shared.
"No matter who we are, when we are born, or what our makeup, we all need love.
"That sounds soppy but I promise you in this story, it's not."
Another added: "The first couple of episodes seem deliberately confusing in order to draw interest and this does succeed.
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"As the story progresses it manages to incorporate four individual points in time and characters into a plot that all are very much linked, although separated by 160 years or so, but staying coherent and relevant to each time line."
"Wow, what a show that was, not perfect but enjoyable enough to overlook a few niggles," a third wrote.
"Pay attention or you will lose the thread. Great characters, a new twisty variation on time travel, cause and effect etc.
"Stephen Graham let the accent slip now and again but still great and one of our most entertaining actors."
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Alongside Graham, the murder mystery also stars Shira Haas from Unorthodox as investigator DC Iris Maplewood living in 2053; Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen's Gambit) as Detective Sergeant Charles Whiteman during the 1941 investigation; Amaka Okafor (Greatest Days) as Shahara Hasan, the present day detective sergeant; and Poldark star Kyle Soller as 1890s detective inspector Alfred Hillinghead.
Bodies is available to watch on Netflix now.