Killing Eve season 3: Return of assassin thriller starring Jodie Comer divides critics

First-look reviews of the new series, written by Suzanne Heathcote, are mixed

The third season of Killing Eve has divided reviewers, with some hailing it as “hilarious” and “gripping”, while others have deemed it “stale and predictable”.

Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh return as Villanelle and Eve in the new series of the assassin thriller, which also sees Harriet Walter and Steve Pemberton join the cast.

The show’s release was brought forward two weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic, meaning fans can watch it on iPlayer from 13 April.

Unlike previous seasons, the third series will not immediately be put online in its entirety.

In a two star review in The Independent, Ed Cumming suggested Killing Eve is being released early because the BBC knows the show is “a bit iffy these days, and wants to get it out while the entire Western world is under house arrest, glued to their TV”.

While he praised Comer’s performance, he said that since Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s departure as lead writer, the humour in the series has become “weary”.

Anita Singh of The Telegraph, who gave the show three stars, said “the novelty has worn off” and Killing Eve is “no longer TV’s must-watch”.

“Where can the story go now, and does anyone care about the show as much as they used to?” she asked. “The killings in Killing Eve used to be inventive – remember the poison perfume – but the one featured in this episode was pretty dull.”

TV Guide’s Kaitlin Thomas added it “now feels like a copy of its former self” and Flora Carr of the Radio Times believes it “suffers in comparison to the heights of season one”.

Metro’s Tilly Pearce, however, called the episodes “as hilarious, gripping and extra as ever”. The Mirror’s Sara Wallis said the show is “heart-stoppingly brilliant with plenty of shocking deaths”.

Den of Geek’s Delia Harrington added that its “eerie, off-kilter humour remains in place”.

A fourth series of Killing Eve has already been commissioned, with Sex Education’s Laura Neal taking over from Suzanne Heathcote as lead writer.