This book adaptation was the one that I have been looking forward to watch for a while. Although premiered and streamed in UK few years back, it took a while to reach this to my part of the world. But was this prolonged waiting worth it? Read more to find out.
Adapted from the Cormoran Strike series penned by Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling in another brilliant avatar), this series focuses on each book in a seasonal storyline featuring our famous private investigator Cormoran Blue Strike and his faithful partner, Robin Ellacott. It begins from the first breakout novel of the series titled The Cuckoo’s Calling till the forth book called The Lethal White. However, as mentioned before I could manage to binge watch only till the third book- Career of Evil.
Till now, I have noticed that the The Cuckoo’s Calling has got the maximum number of episodes from Season 1 i.e. 3 episodes in total. This is followed by 2 episodes each of succeeding books- The Silkworm and The Career of Evil covering season 2 & 3. From the perspective of a viewer used to watching detailed adaptations spread across multiple episodes during a season, this format felt like watching Strike and Ellacot on a fast track. Actually this feels more like watching adapted movies broken into episodes rather than a screen adaptation as a series, making each of these novels a compact miniseries.
Having said that, these adaptations from different books in the Strike series remain true to their storyline and don’t lose their grip on audiences, just like the original books have captivated readers for years. The credit goes to the team of Ben Richards and Tom Edge who have effortlessly managed to capture the spirit of these book and transcend fabulously to the screen. Definitely the mention of this series would be incomplete without it’s leading detective pair- Cormoran and Robin, brought to life by Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger.
On his part, Tom Burke manages to capture the moody, mysterious yet so accessible Strike with ease. He is a charm personified with those intense questions, brooding gazes and that mischievous twinkle in the eye- specially while teasing Robin. Holliday too, is quite convincing as the assistant turned partner of CB Strike, with those hilarious accents, caring nature and pursuit of her passion brings forth the character of Robin so vividly. This series is worth all your time just to see their camaraderie on screen.
To wrap up this post, I would just like to say that seriously go for it. Although it feels too condensed or fast paced, the true to the original words adaptation makes it worth a binge watch. Enjoy with crackers!!