Myriam Nys (Review based on watching the whole of the first season.)A good adaptation of the books. It's clear that a lot of thought, care and money has been lavished on the various episodes. The adaptation is so faithful, in fact, that it owns the same strengths and weaknesses as the source material : on the one hand it's pretty entertaining, on the other hand there's a certain tonal unevenness. This second trait results from Rowling's attempt to marry picturesque charm to grim and gritty realism ; it's not always a happy marriage.A somewhat slower pace (and, as a result, a larger amount of episodes) might have been better. As it now stands, some of the episodes feel crowded and busy, with a variety of characters, back histories and plot developments competing for space. The acting is good, although the casting of Tom Burke as lead actor strikes me as unfortunate. Reading the novels I pictured Strike as a tough, hardened, shaggy grizzly bear of a man ; Mr. Burke may be a fine actor with a great deal of charm, but his general appearance is far from intimidating. It takes a pretty liberal imagination to picture him as a battle-scarred veteran or a streetwise private investigator : if he is a bear, it's a bear of the teddybear variety.Cormoran Strike is not the only one who was given the beauty treatment. For instance, his faithful secretary Robin has become what is known as "a total babe". It's symptomatic of a larger phenomenon. There are movie or television makers, in this world, who really, truly cannot bear the idea of creating a (main) character that looks ordinary, unappealing or ugly. As an author you can write : "Magda had a sharp wit and a lively imagination, but she was a plain woman who dressed like a nun" - but when the adaptation comes along, Magda is portrayed by Emma Watson in full glory. Or you can write : "Years of disease, privation and torture had disfigured Vandenberghe to the point where even his fellow pirates averted their eyes" - and hey presto, you get Russell Crowe looking all manly and rugged. It's a strange policy, especially when one takes into account the fact that the vast majority of Humankind does not fall into the Greek gods category with regard to allure or looks.I do hope that the series, if it reaches multiple seasons, will continue to be based on Rowling's work, as opposed to being cut loose from the source material (and, in a worse case scenario, continuing until the sun turns supernova, like "Midsomer Murders".)

Charles Herold (cherold) As a fan of the Cormoran Strike books, I looked forward to seeing them brought to life. But ultimately I felt like they were only half brought to life.It's hard to say what it is, exactly. I thought the leads were well cast. The first episode has a very stylish, intriguing intro. But the series just lacks personality. I watched all from the first book and found it nothing but watchable. The first book's strength was its more realistic portrayal of detective work as painstaking and detail oriented, but that is, unsurprisingly, flattened out in the adaptation. While the first series left me cold, I still watched the first episode of the second season, which comes from my favorite book in the series Once again, I just found it difficult to keep interested. I decided I would stop there.While perfectly watchable and fairly true to the series, it all just lacks something. I was never pulled into the characters lives or into the mysteries.

Paul Evans It feels like ages since we've had a Private Investigator series on mainstream TV, enter Cormoran Strike, from a series of books penned by J.K. Rowling. I have to admit my expectations were high, and after ten minutes of watching The Cuckoo's Calling I realised I wasn't to be let down. This series is absolutely incredible, of course the plots and production values are impeccable as would be inspected, but it's the performances and character play that are the key. Tom Burke, always a quality actor, has possibly found his star role as Strike, he is absolutely brilliant, as is Holliday Grainger, the pair work beautifully together.I can't decide if I preferred The Cuckoo's calling or the Silkworm, both are superb. Awesome guest performances from Sian Phillips, Monica Dolan, Tara Fitzgerald, Martin Shaw, Tim McInnerny, and a huge shout out to Leo Bill.Bring on Career of Evil. 10/10

reneedlittle Excellent cast, dynamic story line, unique cinematography all combine for an outstanding series. The nonexistence of over the top completely impossible special effects is refreshing. It's intelligent and sophisticated in it's execution. There is no quick fix to each case, yet the writers don't drag the story along simply to fill time and episodes, instead time is utilized efficiently and very effectively creating a great deal of intrigue and suspense which will keep you up at night to watch an episode instead of going to bed. A definite must watch series.