User reviews

I really enjoyed this series. A pity it was only four episodes long, as I felt the narrative could have been developed further (or is that waiting for series two?). A very well observed drama about life in a busy, fine dining kitchen, and all the crap that the overworked, underpaid staff have to deal with on a daily basis, as they struggle with the demands of work whilst trying to reconcile that with a personal life. Not a very good advert for anyone considering a career in fine dining, but all the better for that. Well written, well acted, and convincing portrayal of life behind the scenes in the financially driven modern world of the fine dining experience.

Boiling Point has history, having started as a short film which became a Netflix feature and has now become a four part TV series. There's no need to view either before coming to this (which is very much the best version) but you might want to look them up afterwards as the cast & crew are largely the same across all three.

Like many viewers I've worked in this environment albeit many years ago and I can attest to its accuracy in perfectly portraying the tensions of a busy kitchen and the conflicts that occasionally erupt spectacularly. I could literally feel my blood pressure rising just watching it.

There's a great cast across the board, its well-directed, beautifully written by James Cummings and has a fab score - its one of those productions where everyone involved is on top form and it all comes together seemlessly - I can't recommend it highly enough.

Congrats to all involved in making this one, hope there'll be more.

Absolutely love that they brought a series after the film! Anyone who works in hospitality knows how accurate this series is. Just binged all 4 episodes.

I particularly liked how it dived into the individual characters showing a bit about their backgrounds.

It might not be for everyone and that's ok, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but for me personally I've always wanted to see a series about the hospitality trade and Boiling Point ticks all the boxes.

Very similar every day situations to what it's really like. It's not just about cooking, waiting on tables or pouring pints! Long may it continue. Great job!

This had me gripped from the very first scene. Fast moving, sometimes at a manic pace, this was partly shot on a hand held camera which gave a feel of the insane pace this drama moved along at.

There were some outstanding performances from a stellar cast, with the star of them all, Stephen Graham, making brief appearances as he is slowly introduced into the series after his dramatic exit in the prequel movie, which this series is based on.

I found no fault in this production. It is a masterpiece of film making and acting at its best. The good thing is there are more episodes to follow and I look forward to watching them all.

Like, A LOT. Trust me when I say, this is the best thing on UK TV at the moment. It is stressful just watching it, but that's only because of how engaging it is. The pace and camera work make you feel like you are there in the kitchen, being pulled back and forth between tasks. It reminded me greatly of my own work experiences.

The cast are incredible and their characters interesting.

It is not important to watch the short or movie versions that predate this series, as it stands perfectly well on its own. However I would highly recommend doing so as they too are incredible, and would help you avoid writing reviews stating that this has copied a show the original concept predates by 3.5 years.

My only complaint, wanted more episodes!

I write a lot of reviews as I love TV, especially dramas and the BBC have done it again, made a brilliant one. I read all the reviews and wonder what some of the 'haters' have been watching.

It's a hard hitting series and I really liked all the characters as individuals. The directing is clever as filming includes the food and it's delivery, this makes the series a bit different than other kitchen drama shows - I quite liked that aspect.

Andy (Stephen Graham) is as always, an outstanding actor and I really think that Carly (Vinette Robinson) and Emily (Hannah Walters) are two of the very best actors in their roles and they really made series believable for me.

The series is fast paced and in some scenes quite upsetting so be prepared....it's a high pressure environment and it is the boiling point!

Well done.....great series and well worth watching.

I read some reviews from people stating that they have worked in this industry. Where? Episode 1: When/if you were serving plates that look as pretty as that, in this supposed teeny tiny kitchen allow a new employee, who hasn't been trained or vetted, for that matter, take on tasks like that?

So unrealistic, it stifles me who these supposed "I've worked in this industry and it is so spot on"?

I have actually worked in kitchens and as a server and bartender for over 20 years and none of this jives.

Sorry to the people who are enjoying the show. I could not help but wait for the failure of the new guy, bc I guess we are supposed to feel sorry for him? If this was my restaurant, he would not have stepped in the second he walked in way too late. What? For an actual training?

I love the fact that you are trying to make people who dine out understand how much effort is involved. Clearly the writers don't actually know.

Finding that the experimental film Boiling Point had been made into a spin off tv series, for once I was happy to see this move. The One Take format of the parent movie was though unlikely to be possible for tv, but what we have still is the realistic drama in a kichen at the brink.

Stephen Graham returns as Andy Jones but mostly in a bit part role, the series instead centres round his understudy (Carly brilliantly played by Vinette Robinson) who is now managing her own venue in what feels like an ill fated attempt to make it a success. Lots of returnees from the original but also some new faces, and their lives and working relationships are all as dysfunctional as you'd come to expect in such a drama.

Does it match up to its successful parent film? The answer from me is mostly yes, as good as you should expect, albeit four episodes was a tad too short. This deserved a longer run so I expect there will be a second season, and will allow the story to expand. I appreciate that there's been other restaurant drama TV series around recently but I've not seen any of them.

The direction and acting is top notch in this claustrophobic kitchen. The storylines are mostly nihilistic and grim, but my only gripe is that it can all be a little too obvious too. That doesn't thankfully detract from the show though, and I still enjoyed it.

So for a bit of well directed TV drama, I'd recommend this, but would also recommend watching the parent film first for some greater context.

Other reviewers are claiming this is a 'BTEC' version of 'The Bear' are absolutely clueless. I'm wondering if they even watched the film prior to this.

Boiling Point is a masterpiece. From start to finish you're drawn in and unable to turn it off. Some of the best British actors of the 21st century put on the performance of a lifetime. Stephen Graham is his usual brilliant self, terrific acting and constantly bringing the scenes down to a desperate reality. Hannah Walters is absolutely outstanding, reprising her role of the head pastry chef, adding so much more to her story than what we saw in the film.

The storyline meanders brilliantly through and keeps you gripped constantly, you can't expect more from British Drama, this sets the bar very high.

Loved the film, as a chef it was an amalgamation of some of the worst nights you'll ever have all rolled into one. This left me excited for a tv series, foolishly thinking it'd be on a par with 'The Bear', while it's half decent Sunday night tv it gets so many of the finer details wrong during a service and spends to much time outside of service with pointless subplots focusing on poorly written minor characters who've not had enough time to grow in the series meaning any storyline is bereft of drama or empathy, I laughed about the pooing the pants, but did I care for the reason, no, the character had to lines of dialogue up to that point. If there is a series two, it needs tightening up and be kept in the kitchen, and please, no pointless virtue signalling, the badge scene was cringe, the character barely registering up to that point thus leaving us no reason to care. Stephen Graham needs to get back in the chaos, spar with the new sous, (one of the more interesting, uncomfortable characters) and create a recipe for real drama next time.

This is quite simply the best thing the BBC have ever done. This is all they should do now. They should leave the news well alone. An absolute masterclass of acting and directing. This really is next level stuff, it draws you in and just doesn't let you go. No spoilers but half way through episode 2 I suddenly realised I wasn't breathing. Just stunning in every department. It's not confirmed yet, but there will be a second series, it's too good for that not to happen. Yeah 'The Bear' is good, but this makes it looks like a very poor mans copy. British drama used to be the envy of the world, keep this up and it will be again. SUPERB!!!

Gimme more!!

Utterly brilliant, wonderful, emotional and tense. There is room for more! The comparisons to The Bear whilst sort of fair are unnecessary.

The way it's filmed is similar which makes you feel like you're in the kitchen. I would like to state that Boiling Point came first followed by The Bear.

The storylines and character arcs in these four episodes just scratch the surface of potential for additional series. I really hope we get a series 2.

Beautifully acted by all, actually made me miss being in the hospo world.

Hard hitting, at times difficult to watch but breathtaking. Kudos to all involved.

This was a welcome relief to my fruitless search for decent drama on Netflix. So thanks to the BBC for serving up a tasty dish. Fast moving, and sometimes difficult to watch much of the time, thanks to the predictability of the story lines. I don't agree with those who have given a low rating based on the predictable story lines. That doesn't stop it being a strong drama.

Similarly I don't have a huge problem with the fact that all the main characters have their own demons. This is fiction and a drama so we can't expect them to be boringly perfect.

I hope there is a new series and I hope the budge extends to more episodes.

This series is pretty faultless. After watching the film, and thoroughly enjoying it, I was intrigued to see where this series would go. I thought it would be a bit of a spin off and slightly over indulgent of the film. Well I admit I was wrong !

It hits the mark on every occurrence. Directing, acting, script, music, every detail did not go unnoticed. It was a work of art !!! Every actor involved and I mean it when I say every actor was incredible. Just the flow of the series was perfect, and so realistic. Every story I could relate to, it never reached that irritating over dramatisation like in Hollywood, its gut wrenching then just moves on and you feel you have to move with the pace. The series felt like a dinner service, hard to put in words.... Let's say I would recommend this series.

Well nobody can get engaged in a drama of only four episodes and with the stories of so many people. We don't even remember all of their names. The dishes seemed really gross, I would never touch any of those even if they gifted them to me. Everyone there needs a therapist and nobody has one. And the worst and most annoying thing of all; Stephen Graham appeared no more than 10 minutes total and he barely had interactions with people at all. Way to use his name to promote a serie. Anyway, if they make a second season of at least ten episodes, I'll be back to watch. If not, well, such a waste of time.

A great series, months after Andy's departure. The characters are varied and build their story throughout. Fast-paced but not uncomfortably so, like the movie. Some very heart wrenching and thought-provoking storylines gives the show gravitas and all the cast are fantastic in their respective roles. The acting can sometimes appear effortless as if the restaurant is real and the characters are actually "working". Presumably there's a lot of ad-libbing which makes it feel natural, that'll be the Stephen Graham touch. In my opinion, he can do absolutely no wrong and when he does have a scene with Emily (his real life wife) there's such wonderful chemistry.

This, (like the movie before it) is absolutely brilliant!. The acting, the story, the characters, in fact everything about this is perfect. I only wish there was more!. Please make a second series.

Like others have said, The BBC need to concentrate on spending our money on this kind of drama. Not all these ridiculous re-runs etc.

My partner has just watched the original movie (after be banging on about it for well over a year!) She absolutely loved it and can't wait to catch me up on the series as I have decided to leave the last two episodes so we can watch them together. I was so hard not to just binge them in one sitting!.

For some reason they have made each character a mental case or a substance abuser so it resembles not a posh, high-end restaurant but rather a kitchen in a psychiatric ward. I guess that's modern drama for you. The team of cooks which usually works like a well-oiled clock mechanism in such restaurants just wouldn't survive a day with such crazy company. Original film was so much better and not only for its technical bravery. Stephen Graham is barely present here and his substitutes just don't have his charisma and depth so it's hard to pay attention to their trivial problems at work and especially in their private lives.

Its by far one of the better tv shows about chef and hospitality i have watched in some time. And as chef can relate to a lot of what goes on in tv show and behind the screens more eps 2 and acting and directing is great.

I would rate this higher then "whites" mainly since whites is more comedy and bit stupid haha. This takes more serious take of how difficult and hard it is on people who work in the hospitality and how it impacts day to day life.

Those who have worked in this industry will know exactly what i mean. But well worth the watch.

No spoiler . But Eps 2 can relate to how hard things get in kitchen and how stress can impact.

I enjoyed watching this series, A really good follow up from the film. Amazing representation and insights that follow Hospitality working backgrounds. The writing deserves credit as each individual actor have storylines that keep you gripped throughout! Sensitive subjects related to each actor's work/personal life are carried so well, experiences that most audiences can relate with.

The casting is the best thing about this series, really diverse and it just WORKS. You will be locked in immediately. I have not heard or seen confirmation for a second series however, This series has so much potential to stay on our screens. Great watch!