User Reviews

I have to say that I enjoyed this more than most reviews suggest I should have. Whilst it did seem slightly implausible that the mother could in any practical sense spend so much time away from home as the story required she had, the premise of a parallel life away from her domestic situation (and husband) was understandably appealing to her. The evolving relationship between the daughters was the main thread throughout, and although the 'spiky testiness becomes newly found reconciliation and affection' is a path well trodden, I felt it played out well. I rather enjoyed the performances of Suranne Jones and Eve Best as their relationship evolved over the three episodes. Whilst the dad was a bit of a cliche character for me, and the karaoke story brought nothing to the party, I enjoyed Maryland and watched all episodes back to back. I recommend.

This is an excellent 3 part series. It maybe hit home for me, in the fact of estranged siblings, a parent suffering and the beauty that can happen when truth is brought front and center. Suranne Jones and Eve Best are the 2 sisters at the forefront of this fantastically acted and really well written series. Becca and Roseline, respectively.

Jones, I have loved since Scott & Bailey and Best, since Nurse Jackie. Other standouts include Dean L Kelly as Jacob and Andrew Knott as Jim, Suzanne's husband.

This is a well thought out script that doesn't waiver and is quite believable when faced with the given back story that is revealed as the series progresses.

A quiet, contemplative, endearing little ITV drama - definitely a slow burn - effectively capturing the rawness of grief in the wake of someone's unexpected passing.

Eve Best & Suranne Jones deliver understated, powerhouse performances in the two lead roles, playing flawed sisters with an unhealthy sibling rivalry (who barely remain in contact under usual circumstances) & therefore, the fairly basic concept allows for the tension they harbour to organically manifest itself (with no cheap gimmicks or contrived plot twists; the writing focusing solely on the complexities of human interactions & conflict which may emerge from the various ways in which one may individually respond to certain stimuli), once they're thrust in to an intense situation & the dynamic of their fractious relationship is disturbed by this monumental event in their lives.

Yes, the execution is messy & not every issue raised throughout is satisfyingly resolved by the end, but that authentically mirrors the imperfection of reality & acts as a brilliant way to ground the narrative in something tangible & resonant - which we can all personally relate to.

Maryland looks at two estranged sisters drawn together by a family tragedy which exposes uncomfortable secrets they have to deal with.

Plus points were the sisters played by Suranne Jones and Eve Best who played the sibling rivals beautifully. Negatives for me were in the storyline which sometimes didn't quite add up for me.

Production values were fine and I enjoyed the beautiful Irish scenery (though it was set in the Isle of Man it was shot in Ireland). Personally the story didn't grab me and hold me, but if you like the principals give it a shot, its a quick watch with just three episodes.

Probably not one that will stay long in the memory but a fairly interesting family drama that examines grief and deception and what they can do to families.

The theme of this at times painstakingly slow drama is one of information withheld -- from viewers and between sisters. Thrown into the mix is a series of brief scenes with supporting characters forced to recite often mundane dialogue seemingly for no other reason than to plant bits of back story and nudge along plot points that, frustratingly, don't add up to a whole until the final episode.

The main characters, sisters Becca and Rosaline, have been withholding information about themselves - and about each other - for decades. It affected this viewer's understanding of the animosity between them, which didn't come clear until a scene at the very end of the series, when Becca and Rosaline's individual childhood traumas burst into the ether.

Going from episode one to the last episode (three), I couldn't quite grasp the reasons for the deep animosity between these two sisters. I got that they'd made different life choices, but siblings do this all the time, and it doesn't necessarily result in them detesting each other (as it appears Becca and Rosaline do).

Then there is the mysterious back story of Becca and Rosaline's mother, a story that is slowly teased out in between sisterly scowls, alarmingly insensitive commentary by Becca's husband, a side plot involving Becca's 16-year-old daughter entering the dating world, and other supporting character obfuscation.

It's a lot of plot points to juggle, with performances that bounce between nuanced and over-the-top. Strong performances by lead actors Eve Best and Suranne Jones lifted the script beyond its natural capabilities. And the scenery was something to behold.

But I'm still trying to figure out why this series was called Maryland. Was it a nod to the mother, named Mary, and the elusive "land"(scape) of her mind? I found the title confusing. Every time I saw it, it reminded me of the state of Maryland. It in no way suggested the Mary of the story, Becca and Rosaline's mother. But maybe that's just me.

This is clearly not going to be for everyone, you can easily figure that out by reading the reviews. I really enjoyed it. Two sisters coming up against every family fault line. It wasn't overly dramatic, but it didn't feel slow either. A bit of a mystery thrown in to spice things up. I thing dramas about women's lives seem inconsequential to some people, and they are still rare unfortunately. The sisters had very different lives, plus a lifetime of misconceptions. The situation brought it all up to the surface. There were aspects of this show that I worried might wander into soap opera, but it never did that. It was warm and true throughout.

I agree about the Stockard Channing thing. She was fine in her part, but why not use an English actress? There must be a story there.

Oh how disappointing.

This promised so much, and had what appeared to be a stellar cast...Eve Best, Hugh Quarshie, Stockard Channing (Stockard Channing!!!), but I found Suranne Jones so bland, weak and disappointing that I couldn't face watching the final episode.

Stockard Channing got an extra point from what I was going to give 5, but I found her accent fake which was hard to take.

I loved the all-female writing, creation and directing aspect, but overall I found the story limped along with two sisters who didn't live up to their roles, and quite frankly, I can understand why their mum chose a new life (unless something dramatic happens in episode 3 which I will never watch)

Distant sisters Becca and Rosaline receive the news that their mother Mary has died, found in The Isle of Man, not in Wales as she'd told Becca. The pair travel to The Isle of Man to learn why their mother was there, and how she died.

A great series, this really was something a little different, how nice to have a story like this, after a run of Detective dramas and procedurals. It's well paced and truly absorbing, it's so good I binge watched the three episodes all in one go.

Suranne Jones and Eve Best are both wonderful as the sisters, their journey is so fascinating, the sibling rivalry, the past jealousies and rivalries, their respective ways of dealing with grief.

What a jaw dropping location, such a beautiful place, the cameraman made great use of it.

A great supporting cast including Hugh Quarshie, Dean Lennox Kelly and Stockard Channing, all involved were excellent.

9/10.

After watching the three episodes of Maryland. It really felt that I had sat through a three hour play rather than a television drama. Co created and starring Suranne Jones this is a family drama set on the Isle of Man. A woman's body is found on the beach and her two daughters played by Jones and the excellent Eve Best discover there mother has been leading a double life. And this opens up some family wound's.

Unless I missed something at the start it's never explained why the mother is on the Isle of Man? As it seams her husband played superbly as always by George Costigan are still married.

To sum up not an awful lot happens but if you want to see two of Britains finest actors on top form then give Maryland a try. 6/10.

A reasonable idea, which the longer it went on the more daft and uninteresting it became. It was a poor ending which just got too sacarined for me. I'd love to know how much Stockard Channing cost to hire because it bears the question, Why? She was like a fish out of water, in this country we have some great actresses who would have been better suited. Otherwise, the acting was good, especially Eve Best. But for me the story didn't worked and as it progressed it just got sillier, I suppose like most people I watched it in case there was some fantastic twist at the end but it was so disappointing.

Nature or nature, we are all a product of our family and this carries through our whole life.

Maryland is the story, whilst mainly about the relationship between two sisters, about how the passage of time builds deep bonds and deep wounds among family members having pursued what life they wanted to or felt they needed to lead.

TV is full of programmes with a goodie and a baddie, or very stereotypical formats. McDonalds for your eyes.

Maryland is very different, it's written and acted with refreshing normality with a flawless sensitivity to the highly complex reality of family life and relationships.

I liked this drama about two estranged sisters slowly learning about their mother's life whilst coming to a greater understanding about each other.

I found the storyline believable. Both female leads did a good job in their roles as we learn of their relationship with each other, their families & their mother. I even shed some tears along the way.

Eve Best was great in her role. At first I thought she was Gemma Redgrave - they have similar features. Then I realised my mistake. She was in Nurse Jackie.

I am puzzled about the choice to cast Stockard Channing in this series. I could see many British actresses more suited to the role. Actresses with more expressive facial features (that wouldn't be hard) & untouched by plastic surgery, Botox or fillers - whichever path Stockard went down. Her face does not look natural. Such a shame.

Aw it's so bad honestly!

The writing is poor, the storyline is 'so what' and Suranne Jones has completely disappointed with taking the role of boring Becca!

Eve Best is amazing though ....She is the whole of the 5 stars for me. I'm gutted that Suranne and Eve have wasted 3 hours on this as they are both class actresses.. I wanted meaty, juicy scenes, powerhouse northern grit ... but it never happens.

Eve has a better accent than suranne who is the real northerner ... very strange as Roseline, is the one who escapes the north to the south and boring becca, remained uneducated and home but yet speaks posh ?!?

So this is an example of the constant irritants and the little details that just don't cut it.

There's no chemistry between Best and Jones which crates. The whole thing Frustratingly lacking depth and breath.

What a shame as the location is nice and lots of magical things could have come with a braver storyline.

5/10 Is fair ... more than fairrrrrr

It's a drag - watch it with a hangover on a Sunday- that's my recommendation cos you can nod off and wake back up and missed nothing interesting or important, like I said it's all 'so what!'

AND what a waste to have Rizzo, Dr O'Hara and Anne Lister together, on an Island, and produce this ?!?!?! Wow ladies come on... Suranne you had Rizzo! You had Rizzo!

Perfectly fine little family drama. I do have a handful of misgivings. Surranne was actually the weakest link in my opinion. Mugging, overacting "Oh dear, I'm nervous...". Frittering about... If anything this show was rather "play with the viewers emotions 101". Okay here's the sad scene with the violins. Cue the violins... literally. I'm a fan of Surranne already so it didn't take any prodding for me to watch this. All the other complaints sound rather searching for fault or grumpy reviewer syndrome. People complaining that Stockard Channing wasn't a good fit...like they are experts on what random people should be living in a costal village. Yikes. For the record Stockard Channing has such a cool name that I was happy just mentioning it. By the end I'd gotten over Suranne's acting complaints and even felt that the ending was satisfactory (which is amazing if you read half of the other reviews).

This is a wonderfully thoughtful and intense drama about family dynamics, sisterly bonds and the choices each woman is forced to make about the direction their lives take. The writing is beautiful and the characters are fully rounded allowing you to totally believe in them. Brilliant performances from the two lead actresses and stunning filming.

I loved the level of detail and humanity in the writing. At one point Suranne Jones' character despairs about her relationship with her mother and how little she really knew about her "The roast dinners! Trips to dunelm Mill!". Brilliant.

As the series unfolded you began to really understand the characters and the reasons for their behaviour. I thought the ending was perfect and really moving.

My god this was hard work. I really don't understand why Suranne Jones I held in such high esteem because it seems to me she is a very limited actress whose facial expressions reappear in character after character series after series. It now turns out she is a writer too as she wrote this dreary and uninspiring 3 part drama.

The casting is nearly as bizarre as the storyline (such as it is) Stockard Channing is an accomplished actress but it is beyond me what she is doing in this rubbish.

There is no logic to the story no atmosphere or chemistry between the cast and the only reason I give it 2 stars is because of the performance of Eve Best who turns in an excellent performance with the limited material available to her.

I've read some of the critics reviews and particularly the Gusrdian and I can only imagine they we're watching a different show than k was.

Awful.

Maryland delves into beautiful family dynamics . The two leading ladies Suranne Jones and Eve Best give outstanding performances. They have a very natural sibling chemistry on-screen. Especially Suranne Jones' character is very different from what she has been doing on TV for the past couple of years. Writing and directing on the show excellent and well executed. It is neatly packaged and infinitely watchable. It confounds your expectations and is all the better, all the more credible and all the more moving for it. If you want to watch anything with your family today, watch this to feel the importance of their presence in your life.

If you are struggling to sleep i highly recommend this "crime thriller" First of all the relationship between the two sister's doesn't seem well casted - one of the sister's looks well into her 60's (although I've no found out she isn't) so straight away i wasn't buying into it. I struggled to see what the purpose or the plot was for this 3hr programme. I kept thinking in a minute it will get interesting or there will be a plot twist but unfortunately i got to the end and astounded myself that I had wasted 3 hours on this nonsense that will not remain memorable at all. Please don't waste your time.

I love this short serie (3 episodes). I particularly loved the dynamic between the 2 sisters. It' s very well acted by Suranne Jones and Eve Best. It's raw, and credible. It's deep and makes you think about love and life. More specifically about stoping and thinking about your own happiness. Are you happy with your own life, happy with where you are, your relationship, your job. I felt perhaps the Mum's character and motives could have been explored a bit more deeper and the dad character doesn't have much depth. But despite this I have really enjoyed the serie. I also really enjoyed the Isle of white vibe and beautiful scenary.

I was looking forward to watching this, but it was honestly so boring and the story never goes anywhere or has any sort of ooomf... Suranne Jones comes across very 'try-hard' the whole time, whether that's to do with the fact she co wrote it and felt the need to perform out her skin, or whether she just brought her own hype, im not sure, but it made it feel very forced and most of the time she was over-acting. The other actress, I'm not familiar with, but did a much better job, and carried what little of a story there was. Stockard Channing has been horribly mis-cast, I can only think she knows one of the producers and was purely in this as a favour. Other than that there's really not much to say, apart from informing you that in the future, I will no longer see watching paint dry as being quite so dull and it's all thanks to this series. Thanks Suranne!

Excellent acting from this mainly Northern British cast.

Unfortunately, it seems the reviewers who left low marks either didn't watch all episodes - as some admitted - or just didn't understand what it was about.

It's about Family, death, grieving, secrets, but mostly how the human mind can be selfish, feels unloved or unwanted - where it is quite often the opposite Mostly it's about how different people brought up in similar circumstances can want different things, different lives and different outcomes and how some go for it and some stick with what they think is "right", even when they are not sure themselves.

It's about loneliness when you're have people around you as well as when you are on your own - and how some of us are happy with being in that situation and some are not This drama is much deeper than it first appears and needs watching again if you didn't get it first time!

The story line sounded interesting and it was. Suranne Jones and Eve Best play two rather estranged sisters who are brought together when their mother is found dead, in a place she has never mentioned, nor told them she was at. The way the story unfolds is realistic as they discover one new fact after another. I felt their reactions were true and the acting was top notch. There were no over the top soap opera moments. Stockard Channing was wonderful. It was a pleasant surprise to see her in this production. Well cast.

Also well cast was Hugh Quarshie, whom I only know mostly from Holby City. He is such a good elegant and suave type of character for these kind of rolls. Who would not be charmed by him?

The Isle of Man looked amazing, as always when they shoot shows there. I could see this show getting a 2nd season, thought it feels like a one of. I am interested in spending more time with these characters.

This mini series is supposed to be based in the Isle of Man. You can tell that because there's a Manx cat in several of the scenes. Mind you, the cat was the only truly convincing actor is this awful rubbish. Suranne Jones looks and acts much as she did in Coronation Street, where she could just about get away with it against the woodentop acting of other members of that cast.

I am totally gobsmacked that this got such good reviews in most of the UK papers. There must have been some good drinks in it for the reviewers. I watched the whole series to its inconclusive and pathetic ending, mainly because my partner wanted to see it. One more thing - I nearly choked on my wine at the playful corridor climbing antics of the two sisters, supposedly evoking childhood memories. Both sisters are far too old for this sort of business, even as their characters in the story. Suranne Jones scrubs up well, but can't carry off such juvenile antics, and the other sister looks about ready for her bus pass.

I would really try to avoid wasting your time on this one.

Just a wonderful family story with some thought provoking issues along the way about life, love and family. Loved the acting in this. Not sure why some reviews are awful as it is a fab storyline. A nice normal message to boot.

Binged in one day. Parts of the story aligned with my sister and I. Plus my Irish mum has always wanted to go to the Isle of Man. Mum recommended we watch this. So will be interested to get my sisters take. There is one scene in particular that I want her to watch as she has thrown that sentence my way before about not having children. So sis. Start watching this please.