Legends Reviews: Steve Coogan And Tom Burke Praised For Netflix Drama

If you’re a fan of a British drama, you’re definitely going to want to check out Netflix’s latest true crime adaptation.

On Thursday morning, the streaming giant unveiled Legends, a star-studded drama telling the story of the undercover customs investigators who took part in an elaborate operation to take down a gang of illegal drug traffickers.

An official synopsis for the show teases: “In the early 1990s, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise was losing its battle with illegal drug smuggling across Britain’s borders. The solution was extraordinary. In a top-secret operation, a small team of Customs employees were sent undercover. Their task – to infiltrate Britain’s most dangerous drug gangs.

“But these were not trained spies. They were normal men and women, plucked from ordinary lives around the UK, put through a basic training regime and tasked with building new identities in the criminal underworld. These identities were called Legends.”

So far, critics have been heaping praise on the “gripping” series, praising performances by cast members Steve Coogan and Tom Burke, and indicating that it’s perfect for binge-viewing.

Here’s a selection of what the reviews have been saying…

“Together with directors Brady Hood and Julian Holmes as well as a uniformly strong cast, led by a gravel-voiced [Steve Coogan] and Tom Burke as Don’s star pupil, Forsyth makes Legends a gripping tale of found potential and assumed identity.”

“While everyone in this strong ensemble cast delivers, the standout performance comes from Burke […] This is glossy, big-budget drama filled with adrenaline — and a mighty fine early Nineties soundtrack — but it’s not without moments of comic relief, giving it a British feel that will undoubtedly please fans of Forsyth’s previous work on the BBC.”

“Forsyth’s skill for paring a narrative down to just the fun parts makes this irresistible. Steve Coogan is in his element […] Don’s lone-wolf eccentricities, boosted by Coogan’s gift for the little tics and gestures that say a character has formed their own unique view of the world, give Legends a running seam of humour.”

“Neil Forsyth has turned this little-known episode in British history into a sure-footed six-part thriller. You will never stop marvelling throughout at the fact that it really happened.”

“There are too many names and too many side players running at once, and somewhere between Liverpool and Green Lanes, you start wishing someone had taken a red pen to the cast sheet. None of that ruins it, though. If anything, the messiness is part of why the show feels so alive.”

“Perhaps because Legends tells a less well-known story, Forsyth’s dialogue works overtime to remind us of the stakes involved. Within the space of a few minutes, we’re told that the operatives are trying to ‘pull off the biggest result in customs history’ while the smugglers are plotting the ‘biggest heroin importation the country has ever seen’.

“Thankfully, there’s enough intrigue to keep you persevering through some protracted moments.”

“In its competence, Legends feels like it was born to be on BBC One but has somehow ended up on Netflix. How the series will play to international audiences remains to be seen, but it lacks the pizzazz of Peaky Blinders or the relentless rug pulls of Line of Duty.

“What’s left is Forsyth’s trademark brand of period drama: engaging but not gripping, authentic but not original, well-crafted but not striking. Legends, is, in short, what a lot of British telly is: an exercise in risk-free repetition.”

“The energy spent keeping things serious prevents the series catching fire. But it remains a brilliant story, here well told.”

All six episodes of Legends are now streaming on Netflix.