BBC The Listeners sparks division as viewers distracted by flaw in ‘boring’ plot: ‘Five episodes of nothing’
The Listeners viewers were left divided last night after tuning in to the new BBC series, questioning whether there was any more to the plot than advertised.
The show is centred around Claire Kutty (played by Rebecca Hall), a popular English teacher, who begins to hear a low humming sound that no one else around her can hear.
At first, the noise seems to be nothing, but it gradually upsets the balance of her life, increasing tension between herself and her husband, Paul Kutty (Prasanna Puwanarajah), and daughter, Ashley (Mia Tharia).
After seeing multiple doctors, Claire is told there is no source or medical issue that can be found – but she is later given some peace of mind when a student of hers, Kyle (Ollie West), can also hear the sound.
Striking up an unlikely and intimate friendship, they become increasingly isolated from their families, friends, and colleagues and fall in with a disparate group of neighbours.
The group is led by a charismatic couple, Jo (Gayle Rankin) and Omar (Amr Waked), who also claim they can hear what they call “The Hum”.
However, rather than track down the source to stop it, they believe it is a gift, heard only by a “chosen few”.
During the first episode last night, many fans quickly took issue with the plot of the show and couldn’t understand how it was going to go any further.
Taking to their X account, one noted: “22 mins in and she hears things others don’t. That’s it…..”
Another added: “Hope this isn’t going to be 5 episodes of nothing happening until all is revealed in episode 6.”
“Wouldn’t it be more effective if we could actually hear the hum? #TheListeners,” a third jibed before another said: “Is this all it is? She hears a hum… great plotline that.”
Others were bored with the show, as a fifth penned: “I’m bored now. Too slow.”
Not all viewers were unimpressed with the show though, as one expressed: “Oh I do like this! It’s something different to all the usual murder rubbish! Excited for episode two.” (sic)
Speaking about her character ahead of the show airing, actress Hall said: “The series is Claire’s story and that is quite rare to come across.
“Where a series spends a substantial length of time focused on one person’s perspective. Fundamentally, Claire is quite normal, there’s nothing particularly extraordinary about her.
“She’s charismatic and outspoken. She’s the kind of person that was fun to be around in her younger days.
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“Maybe a bit punk, a little bit of a wild card. But where we meet her in the series, she is living a normal, fulfilled existence. She has a child who’s about to leave home and she is married.
“She’s a teacher at a high school teaching literature. She’s smart and savvy. She’s a modern everywoman!
