Murdertown (2018– ) User Reviews

Is this a hair commercial?

[beth-18821 · 7/10 · 24 August 2020]

I am not sure why we need to see the presenter walking in slow motion with her hair bobbing? I'm also concerned at why we need to see her driving in her car and taking her eyes off the road for her two lines.

The content is okay though. That's why I gave it 7.

Interesting show for any true crime buff.

[gxyzhxzv · 6/10 · 1 December 2021]

A very interesting show, the stories and accounts keep you gripped throughout. However.. it's a shame that there is a cringe factor courtesy of Katherine Kelly. It seems very unnecessary that much of the show is taken up with us having to watch her 'drive'. She could have just done the voice over..

Overlooks police incompetence

[jamesdeberesford-1 · 8/10 · 24 November 2021]

I watch a lot of UK crime television and a lot of Murder Town because, bizarrely, it's nice escapism. I'm mostly impressed by the dedication of the police. However, what also becomes clear on watching this sort of thing is that human error is often at play in the search for a murderer and usually glossed over.

As I watch these programmes I usually begin trying to solve the disappearance/murder in my own mind. As soon as I started watching this I thought, 'Well she can't have gone far if the prime suspect was on shift and no witnesses saw them together.' In other words, make sure you check the bushes behind Tesco properly, boys.

Yes, it's all too easy to say with hindsight -given that they didn't even know if they had a murder on their hands- but so often in murder and disappearance cases early thoroughness is key before evidence slips away.

The security guard is dodgy with and he was on shift, she was never seen after she left Tesco...What springs to mind? To my mind, the logistics of the matter immediately suggest a guilty security guard and a murder most likely in close proximity. It's a hunch that could be wrong but you surely cross your most probable theory off the list first.

Of course, the police did check the undergrowth, but not extensively. If you can explain what the point in checking undergrowth in a half-hearted manner is, let me know. If your missing person is in the undergrowth then you're already (correctly) assuming she may be have been murdered. Ergo, she may be well concealed and you have to search thoroughly.

What the police try to do in the episode is save face by saying they always suspected the security guard and they 'shocked' him into a confession, which, to their credit they did. But I think they know they ballsed this one up.

Wonderfully produced, demands attention through the show

[bethcombs · 10/10 · 16 November 2020]

I love this show! Great chosen witnesses and law enforcement, I love the sights and sounds of the town. After each episode I feel that I know the town a little better. As well as the people who love there. One of the beet shows of its kind. First Class narration /Hosting. Music is perfect as well.

S-L-O-W-E-R than S-L-O-W!

[gorbals406 · 20 November 2021]

If this show went any more slowly, it would be going backwards. I finally gave up after REALLY trying to stick it out for eight episodes of Season 1. The slow-motion walking by the main characters gets old before the end of even the first episode. The close-up of the extremely blurry facial shots of the victims adds a whole new dimension to repetitious. The aerial shots of the various towns leaves the viewer with the inevitable question of WHY. And don't get me started on the constant views of Ms Kelly pretending to drive. Who thought that in-vehicle shots of the narrator was a good idea?

In my opinion, all in all, each of these episodes would have been much better as, at most, 10-minute descriptions of horrendous crimes.

Katherine Kelly is a fantastic narrator

[ninedogsandme · 10/10 · 29 March 2023]

I really love this series, it's a great if scary concept. It went a little down hill after Katherine Kelly left unfortunately but it's still worth a watch. Some episodes are a bit waffly at times, obviously trying to make it long enough if there haven't been as many murders in an area (I know that sounds awful). If you find true crime and criminal psychology intriguing this series really brings it close to home how often you can potentially come in to contact with a would be murderer. It's very British in the way it's hosted, there's no over Hollywood over dramatisation which I personally hate.

Wooden presenter

[alrv63 · 5/10 · 4 October 2021]

Katherine Kelly might be a good actress (I don't know) but she's pretty awful at presenting this. Her "driving" couldn't be more fake looking if it was in a go cart. She always looks like she's pretty much reading everything she's saying. I suppose someone said "I know" if she's driving a car we can tow her on a trailer snd stick her lines on the windscreen. Oh, and she mustn't move her hands on the wheel or "look" at the road - that might look too real.

The stories are depressing but interesting for all the usual slightly guilty reasons that true crime appeals. The cops, journalists and in some cases victims do a fair job of telling their stories.

I Thought this was a spoof programme it's so bad

[Amelia-Bannock · 1/10 · 15 July 2020]

Why is the person in the car not driving but apparently on a trailer. The slow motion footage of police officers is pointless and ridiculous and the aerial shots meaningless. Wooden and slow depending too much on the misery of the victims relatives. Could eliminate the useless presenter and pick up the pace with factual footage and no self indulgent camera work.

Editing is distracting

[kendallbrinker · 5/10 · 11 January 2022]

It reminds me of a college kid using PowerPoint for the first time... using transitions for every graphic and unnecessary slo mo videos. Like chill out and focus on the story.

Katherine Kelly is totally wrong for this.

[stewinjinscki · 2/10 · 13 October 2021]

The other negative reviews have hit the nail on the head regarding Katherine kelly presenting this series. Speaks far to quietly and her voice over is so flat. Also her driving the car is so fake looking. No real reconstructions of the events that took place happen and just constant Ariel shots of different towns. For these types of programmes to be a success a decent presenter is needed. Anita Rani was miles better and I felt I was a lot more interested when she was on.

Katherine Kelly is HORRIBLE!

[mistermjs · 5/10 · 15 June 2022]

I didn't find the show itself all that bad but the presenter, Katherine Kelly is absolutely AWFUL! They have her "driving" around different towns giving commentary that she's clearly reading off a prompter and doing a TERRIBLE job at that! I thought actors were capable of memorizing a paragraph of lines for God's sake! She's worse than Joe Biden TRYING to read his personal opinion that's been written for him off a prompter, and I honestly didn't think that was possible.

God-awful production and editing.

[annevogel-13785 · 1/10 · 2 June 2022]

SSSSLLLLOOOOWWWW. And repetitive. Replays the same clips, repeats information, and is obsessed with its own title, repeating it ad nauseum...and really, it's the dumbest conceit. Kelly at the towed wheel is a total joke...as if she's driving the storytelling? Omg STUPID. Would have been so much better to lose her, cut run time in half, tell the story ONE time, never repeat clips, be concise and lose the terrible overhead shots and fuzzy close-ups of people and weapons. Stop haranguing on how FEARFUL each community is. Duh. We get it. This is painful to watch, for all the wrong reasons. But it offers a gazillion options to turn watching it into a drinking game, if you are so inclined. This series should be used as a cautionary tale in any TV production class. Just horrible. How in the world does it have a 7.1 rating? I guess people are desperate for real crime stories, and willing to overlook the crimes committed by this show against the audience.

Lacks atmosphere and direction

[ourhomesales · 4/10 · 25 September 2020]

Katherine Kelly is a fine actress but totally wrong for this series. Firstly, the credits state....starring.......it's a documentary for crikes sake. Needs a much stronger voice over to help the flow. Good title but the overall production is clumsy and lacks a real ouch.

Why? Just why?

[geoff-178 · 1/10 · 12 March 2022]

According to the description 'Katherine Kelly travels the UK to examine crimes...' No she doesn't. She makes token appearances, fake-driving a black SUV against a simulated, out-of-focus background, spouting irrelevant, unneccessary and inane cliches, which contribute nothing to the show.

That aside, it's a reasonably passable crime reconstruction series that could potentially liven up day-time schedules in between the panel games, quiz shows and how-much-is-it-worth pap aimed at elderly people.

Disappointed

[AndreTheFan · 4/10 · 17 July 2022]

Having an actress as a host results in acting. Acting like she's driving. The steering wheel is locked, and the ignition obviously off. The wheel never moves a millimetre.

She never looks at the road, and she is too far from the steering wheel. Her arms are usually stretched out, which would make it hard to steer - if the wheel wasn't locked that is.

Also, I've watched 7 episodes now, and she's wearing the exact same clothes in every episode. Also wearing the same clothes in the slow motion opening scenes. Obviously, her scenes were filmed for the entire season all in one go.

They need to lose the slow motion scenes. They're silly. And stop With the drone shots. They're overdone. There's almost no useful video in this show, other than when the police or witnesses talk. The host offers very little useful input to the show.

Also, they mix in text on the screen for some facts, which can be missed if you look away. And the silly keyboard sounds are, well, silly.

If you press pause when the outside of the Land Rover is shown driving, you can see it's a man with large hands driving.

If they cut out all the fluff, slow motion scenes, and drone scenes, they could get the show down to 10 minutes.

There's really very little point pretending she's driving around these villages, and even if she actually was, why?