Marriage: BBC viewers divided over slow, realist Sean Bean drama

Is the new primetime series mind-numbingly dull or beautifully subtle?

Sean Bean’s new drama, Marriage, has divided viewers after premiering on BBC One last night (14 August).

The four-parter is an intimate portrait of Bean and Nicola Walker’s married couple, Ian and Emma, who have been together for 27 years.

Marriage is, to put it mildly, slow. At one point, there is a seven-minute sequence following the preparation of a sandwich.

It was too slow for some viewers, including our critic Nick Hilton, who wrote: “If I wanted to watch a man in his underpants drinking milk straight from the carton, I could provide myself with a live performance. And the subtext would be just as oblique and, possibly, non-existent.

“’It was a bit boring, maybe,’ Ian confesses, of another day passed in the haze of redundancy. ‘God, I’d love a chance to be bored,’ Emma replies. Well, boy, Emma, do I have the show for you.”

One Twitter user posted: “Something has gone horribly wrong when my mundane life is more exciting than a prime time BBC drama.”

Another added: “I need to report a robbery. BBC One just stole an hour of my time with their new drama-less drama Marriage.”

“How can a programme with both Sean Bean and Nicola Walker in be so dull and boring??? Waiting for something to actually happen,” said a third.

A fourth person argued the show is not relatable. “OMG I’ve not watched anything this boring in YEARS and as someone who is middle aged and 30years married this is NOT a true reflection of day to day life..... thank god!”

Many other viewers disagreed, praising Bean and Walker’s performances and the drama’s lightness of touch.

“Sorry but Marriage on the BBC is stellar. Some people were always going to moan but it’s sad to see such widespread dislike for a more contemplative pace that offers a real slice of realism. Stefan Golaszewski is a wonderful writer,” writer Lewis Knight said.

Nicola Walker and Sean Bean in ‘Marriage' (BBC)

Another posted: “Can’t understand people slating Marriage. It was full of simmering tension. Sean Bean is about to crack and that boyfriend is a psycho. Nicola Walker is just trying to be human glue holding it together with a displaced husband, selfish dad and creepy boss. Subtle and compelling.”

A third said: “Brilliant concept. Well cast. Reading been the lines and the inability to communicate. Lonely after losing his job, jealousy. Didn’t see it as boring at all.”

“Such a great cast and almost unbearably awkward to watch… but that’s the point. Brilliantly done,” tweeted a fourth.

Marriage continues on BBC One at 9pm tonight (15 August).