Apple TV’s latest drama series, Down Cemetery Road, premiered last week surrounded by a fair amount of buzz regarding its credentials. A new mystery thriller from the creator of the streamer’s acclaimed and popular Slow Horses, starring two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson… surely, this must be a can’t-lose proposition? Regrettably, the show turns out to be completely ridiculous, almost shocking in how absurd it is.

Judging by the two premiere episodes, I have a hard time understanding what anyone was thinking when they made this series. Even more so, I’m baffled by some of the early positive reviews it’s gotten.

Title:	Down Cemetery Road
Season:	1
Episodes:	1.01 – Almost True 1.02 – A Kind of Grief
Release Date:	October 29, 2025
Watched On:	Apple TV (formerly Apple TV+)

Based on a 2003 novel by author and Executive Producer Mick Herron, Down Cemetery Road is mainly centered around Sarah Trafford (Ruth Wilson), a free-spirited university art restoration specialist whose life is upended after an explosion occurs in her neighborhood, officially credited as being caused by a gas main leak. The incident has one survivor, a young girl Sarah believes she once randomly crossed paths with.

After the girl is taken away by ambulance, Sarah (who, again, doesn’t actually know her) grows overwhelmingly obsessed with finding the child, under the pretense of delivering a “Get Well Soon” card drawn by another neighbor’s kid. When the hospital, and later the police – understandably, in my view – refuse to give out personal information to a total stranger with no connection to the victim, Sarah absolutely loses her shit about it and becomes all-consumed with meeting the girl.

Sarah’s first step is to hire Joe Silvermann (Adam Godley), a small-time private investigator who usually specializes in marital infidelity, runaway teens, and lost pets. “No job too small,” he reassures her. Despite their marriage having fallen apart, Joe continues to work with his sharp-tongued wife, Zoë Boehm (Emma Thompson), who is immediately dismissive of Sarah’s case. However, that changes quickly when, of course, it turns out that a wide-ranging conspiracy is afoot to prevent Sarah from finding the missing girl and to murder anyone who so much as asks a question about the widely-publicized disaster that blew up an entire city block in the middle of London. Not to spoil too much, but obviously the character played by the show’s most famous cast member will need to step up and take over the investigation.

Although the actress is obviously taking the role very seriously, Ruth Wilson’s Sarah is a difficult character to sympathize with, given how irrationally she behaves and how unrealistic her expectations are. Meanwhile, almost all the other characters are drawn as broad, cartoonish caricatures. Despite being in her 40s, Sarah’s best friend, a hippie-dippy white woman named Wigwam (Sinead Matthews) acts like she just came back from Woodstock. Sarah’s husband is a clueless and unsympathetic investment banker douchebag who spends all his time trying to woo an impossibly dickish client (Tom Goodman-Hill) that I swear must have been written to be played by William Zabka circa 1986.

In fact, a major part of the plot hinges on the rich prick being at Sarah’s house on the night of the explosion. Is inviting a potential business client to your home for dinner really a thing anyone does in the modern age? That feels like a storyline out of some 1950s or ’60s sitcom. Even if that were plausible, why would this guy, who’d clearly never do business with an entry-level financial advisor like Sarah’s husband. ever agree to go?

Down Cemetery Road is the type of silly thriller in which just about everyone on the planet except the main characters will turn out to be part of the grand conspiracy, even close friends Sarah has known for decades. The whole thing, the point of which is still unknown, is orchestrated by a Snidely Whipslash-style villain (Darren Boyd) who barely stops short of twirling his mustache while constantly berating and belittling his incompetent henchman (Adeel Akhtar).

Emma Thompson is pretty much the only reason to watch Down Cemetery Road. Her character is fairly fun and the actress seems to be having a good time. In other respects, unfortunately, the series has a ludicrous story, enacted by a cast given conflicting instructions on whether to take the material seriously or play it as a parody of self-important prestige dramas. The show didn’t work for me at all, and I have no plans to finish the season just to see if it gets better.

Video Streaming

Down Cemetery Road premiered on Apple TV this past Wednesday, October 29, 2025. The season is scheduled for eight episodes in all. The series streams in 4K HDR at an aspect ratio of 2.00:1. Like most original productions for the streamer, the show has nice production values with a sharp picture and a requisite (if mostly pointless in this case) Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Beyond that, I’ll be honest, I didn’t find much notable about it on the technical side, either for good or ill.