The Listeners is the latest top quality TV drama to arrive on BBC One and BBC iPlayer and it's something that everyone can relate to - here's why in our review.

Although the premise may seem far-fetched at first, it's anything but - the four-part series tackles very real subjects in a totally fascinating way. We guarantee it's unlike anything you'll have seen (unless, of course, you've read the brilliant book it's based on of the same name).

The Beeb describes it as a "provocative, haunting new drama". We call it an unsettlingly plausible account of one woman's journey into a scary, alternative nightmare.

Here's our review of The Listeners on BBC One, starring Rebecca Hall.

The Listeners TV series review

Not quite a thriller, but uncomfortable to watch nonetheless, this follows school teacher Claire (The Prestige's Rebecca Hall), whose life is suddenly deeply affected by a very rare occurrence.

She's a 'normal', happily married woman. She's the type of woman who sings in the car on the way to work with her daughter, and has dinner parties with her friends.

However, the popular teacher is baffled when she begins to hear a low humming sound that no one else around her can hear. The rumbling "low deep noise in the background" begins to affect her whole life, leaving her sleepless and unable to relate to those around her who simply do not understand. The sounds causes nose bleeds, and headaches, and insomnia.

What is The Listeners about?

The Listeners could be a tale about how illness can demoralise a person, crush you, exhaust you, and slowly destroy your life. How no one can understand what Claire's going through - not her doctor who blames the peri-menopause, or her husband who suggests Tinnitus.

In fact, The Listeners is about how much, much more than that. You'll find no spoilers here, but it's about conspiracy theories, cults, faith, and mania. It's about loneliness, world views, a woman teetering off the edge, and human attachments.

When Claire discovers one of her students also hears The Hum, they start to feel a deep connection to each other. And then they both learn of a group who all hear The Hum, too...

Is TV series The Listeners on BBC One and iPlayer any good?

The Listeners TV series on BBC One and iPlayer is very good indeed. It takes something most of us take for granted - our senses - and torments Claire with it. It also using clever TV tricks to give us an insight into how it feels.

What is the hum? Is it natural or supernatural? How connected can you instantly feel to someone who also hears it? Is this mysterious hum a gift for the chosen few - or the soundtrack to a living nightmare?

The series poses a multitude of intriguing questions. Rebecca Hall is perfectly cast in the role, as is Ollie West as her student (reminiscent of a young Paul Mescal in Normal People).

It doesn't hurt, either, that wide-eyed actress Rebecca reminds us of a terrified Shelley Duvall in The Shining. This will give you chills in all the right places. It's a masterful, thought-provoking tale about the fragility of connections, and how quickly a lonely woman can unravel.

The Listeners will be available as a boxset on BBC iPlayer from Tuesday, November 19, 2024.