Marriage TV review: a poignant BBC drama about ordinary lives
Anyone in a long-term relationship will certainly recognise the ‘claustrophobia’ on show

Couples in prime-time dramas generally have designer fridges and marble-topped kitchen islands, said Christopher Stevens in the Daily Mail. How refreshing, then, to see no sign of any of that in this “utterly absorbing” BBC drama, about an ordinary couple living somewhere in Middle England.
Emma (Nicola Walker) and Ian (Sean Bean) have been together for 27 years; they drive a Ford Focus and bicker over jacket potatoes. But as the “layers of their marriage” are peeled back, we learn that their relationship is under strain: from a bereavement; from a job loss; from the pressure of caring for an elderly parent.
It’s “everyday stuff”, but beautifully written and acted. Anyone in a long-term relationship will certainly recognise the “claustrophobia, inertia and quotidian poignancy” on show in Marriage, said Nick Hilton on The Independent. “But why would we want to watch that on television? It’s bad enough living through it.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The show is sure to win lots of awards, but “if I wanted to watch a man in his underpants drinking milk straight from the carton, I could provide myself with a live performance”.
It’s true that the drama could be said to be “lacking in pace”, said Carol Midgley in The Times. But I loved it all the same. At its heart, it’s “a portrait of the fascinating mundanity of ordinary human existence, of pain pushed down, of the quiet dysfunctionality of family relationships”. Marriage isn’t flawless, but it’s “a strange joy to watch; small, uneventful lives writ large”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Week Unwrapped: How did Japan become a space superpower?
Podcast Plus, why on earth are Labubu dolls so popular? Will buy-now-pay-later cause a new financial crisis?
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A tomato fight, painting behind bars, and more
-
Mountainhead: Jesse Armstrong's tech bro satire sparkles with 'weapons-grade zingers'
The Week Recommends The Succession creator's first feature film lacks the hit TV show's 'dramatic richness' – but makes for a horribly gripping watch
-
Mountainhead: Jesse Armstrong's tech bro satire sparkles with 'weapons-grade zingers'
The Week Recommends The Succession creator's first feature film lacks the hit TV show's 'dramatic richness' – but makes for a horribly gripping watch
-
Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists – a 'riveting' exhibition
The Week Recommends Pallant House exhibition offers fascinating instances of painterly reciprocity
-
Geoff Dyer shares his favourite books on war
The Week Recommends Out of Sheer Rage author chooses works by Martha Gellhorn, Michael Herr and Dexter Filkins
-
6 sun-drenched homes by the sea
Feature Featuring a large patio overlooking the ocean in Laguna Beach and a marble rainfall shower in Norwalk
-
Garsington Opera opens its summer festival with two 'very different productions'
The Week Recommends A 'fabulous' new staging of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades and Donizetti's fake-love-potion comedy L'elisir d'amore
-
The Rehearsal series two: Nathan Fielder's docu-comedy is 'laugh-out-loud funny'
The Week Recommends Television's 'great illusionist' has turned his attention to commercial airline safety
-
The Ballad of Wallis Island: bittersweet British comedy is a 'delight'
The Week Recommends A reclusive millionaire lures his favourite folk duo to an island for an 'awkward reunion'
-
Aston Martin Vantage Roadster: 'a rare treat indeed'
The Week Recommends The Roadster version of Aston Martin's new Vantage coupé makes even 'the most mundane journey feel special'