Netflix’s No. 1 Show Right Now Is Being Torn to Shreds

A new Netflix original series is doing well on the streamer’s charts, but abysmally in the reviews. The show is called Obsession and is an erotic thriller about a woman having an affair with her fiance’s father. While many people seem to have watched the show, critics are urging viewers to skip it.

Obsession is a four-part limited series adaptation of a novel by Josephine Hart. It stars Charlie Murphy as Anna Barton, Richard Armitage as Dr. William Farrow and Rish Shah as Jay Farrow. Over the course of the story, William becomes obsessed with Anna and things go from taboo to frightening. Before it is over, Anna’s career and her life are on the line. The show was adapted for the screen by writers Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Benji Walters, and directed by Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa. It has attracted a lot of attention for its BDSM content.

Other stars of the show include Indira Varma, Pippa Bennet-Warner, Sonera Angel, Anil Goutam, Marion Bailey, Celine Arden, Isla Jackson-Ritchie, Francesca Knight, Gregg Barnett, Victor Pontecorvo, Letty Thomas and Kerim Hassan. Damage was previously adapted into a film in 1992 starring Juliette Binoche, Miranda Richardson and Jeremy Irons. This new adaptation seems to be garnering worse reviews overall.

In general, critics are calling Obsession “excruciating” and “cringe-worthy,” finding that the tone is inconsistent and off-putting. In many cases, they find the sexual tension necessary for an “erotic thriller” to be missing. A review by BBC Culture called the show “flaccid,” and blamed the lack of chemistry between the characters.

Some casual viewers have had similar responses on social media, chalking this show up to the other lackluster fare on offer at Netflix recently. A review by iNews said the show is “just another nondescript, unconsidered throwaway piece of streaming tat,” and many tweets and comments echoed this sentiment.

Of course, some commenters worried that Netflix would ignore the reviews themselves and count the show as a success, possibly picking up future series based on this one’s performance. This is a concern that has grown among streaming fans in recent years. For example, many were shocked when HBO Max renewed Velma for another season, believing that many viewers did not enjoy it despite watching quite a bit of it.

Obsession is streaming now on Netflix, and as a limited series, there is little chance of a renewal. Hart’s book is available in print and digital formats.