BBC Three's teen-horror series Red Rose has been warmly received by critics after premiering earlier this week.
Set in Bolton, the action centres on a group of school pals as their phones are gradually taken over by a rogue app threatening them with sinister consequences should they not meet its demands. The cast includes The Last Kingdom's Amelia Clarkson, Metal Lords' Isis Hainsworth and Doctor Who's Samuel Anderson.
Created by The Haunting of Bly Manor's Michael and Paul Clarkson, Red Rose is directed by Élite's Ramon Salazar and produced by Eleven, the company behind Sex Education. Reviews have made big-name comparisons, name-dropping shows such as techno-thriller anthology Black Mirror and acclaimed Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls.
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Here's a round-up of what the critics thought:
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"Combining the British Teen Grittiness™ of Skins with the eerily disobedient tech of Black Mirror, Red Rose is the latest offbeat YA offering from BBC Three.
"Drawing on a host of up-to-the-minute topics, Red Rose's first episode was both highly entertaining and startlingly thought-provoking. Great performances from the core cast (particularly Isis Hainsworth) elevated Red Rose beyond the usual fare without sacrificing any watchability – but beware, you'll never look at your phone the same way again."
"The creators, Michael and Paul Clarkson, have previous with horror hokum (they produced The Haunting of Bly Manor), but here they make something more engaging. The two leads, Rochelle (Hainsworth) and Wren (Amelia Clarkson), are up to their necks in plausible teenage vexation, already featuring poverty, childcare, broken homes and our old friend wastrel dads."
"Social media is bad and scary, young women are frequently horrible to each other and everyone spends too much time on their phones is actually NOT the main take away from the first three episodes of this sort-of-YA sort-of-horror series new to BBC Three.
"It's actually a lot more nuanced than that in a series that initially plays like a mash up of 2010s horror, 1990s teen drama and Derry Girls' potty-mouth rough-and-ready sense of humour. Weird combo though that may sound, in Red Rose it works, picking the best of the tropes, populating the show with likeable and believable characters and sprinkling modern social realism into the mix."
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"In many ways, this series nails the complexities of teenage life – jealousy, angst, and the dread of "missing out" feels relatable and familiar. Its talented young cast gives life to the dialogue, making the characters feel grounded in both their playful banter and their understandable fears.
"Yet, Red Rose suffers from a clash of big ideas, all vying for our attention at any one time: virtual reality, ghosts, exorcisms, mental health struggles and poverty. The show seems as if it's uncertain of what it wants to be, and in its attempt to cover all bases of the thriller genre, the story becomes fuzzy."
"I wasn't sure that modern teenagers would turn to the church to fight the app's supernatural powers, as they do in Red Rose. Surely they'd have tried digital hacks before holy water? But then it's fun to see them pit old magic against new in this engaging clash of Ken Loach/Stephen King worlds."
Red Rose airs on BBC Three and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
