This Is England '86

I suspect this will be the dramatic peak of the England saga; this travels some wrenching subject matter with a good degree of taste and authenticity (Episode 3 has one of the most uncomfortably blood-boiling assault scenes in recent memory). Beautifully performed by all with Hanson’s stoic counterpoint to an uncertain Turgoose particularly good, though it’s McClure who steals it and forms the beautifully tragic and poignant dramatic back-bone, especially in the extraordinary confrontation s - Full Review

Even though Meadows succeed making these unsophisticated people likeable, it becomes too rough and coarse that I will spend time on watching the whole series, since I don't enjoy watching it, especially not when things turn from being fun in the beginning into rather harsh stuff.

Excellent.

True to form, Meadows' usual, good-natured humanism is on full display, as well as his seemingly obligatory concessions to notions of "harsh, gritty" social realism (which for Meadows essentially means lots of yelling and multiple sexual assaults). The balance here doesn't work quite as well as in his features, and the early episodes end up feeling fun and goofy and the latter two get sort of heavy-handedly dark. This problem only exacerbates in the latter seasons, unfortunately.

This Is England '86 for me personally is the pinnacle of Shane Meadows' This Is England story to date. This TV spin-off of the 2006 feature film definitely benefits from being split into four episodes. And in true Shane Meadows form, it all starts off incredibly fun and comedic but the story swiftly turns dark and unsettling. Once again the performances are meticulous and the characters are explored further. But Vicky McClure is the standout and Stephen Graham returns in dramatic fashion.