Review - Ackley Bridge Season 3

 

Ackley Bridge (2017 - present)
Created by: Malcolm Campbell, Kevin Erlis, Ayub Khan-Din
On: Channel 4
3 seasons, 26 episodes

The merging of two schools causes plenty of problems for headmistress Mandy who has to deal with explosive fall-outs and problem pupils.












My Thoughts
I was beyond excited for this season of Ackley Bridge. Last year I binged it so quickly and then I loved it so much that I rewatched it over the Christmas holiday as well. I counted down to the first episode coming back and honestly I have never been more disappointed I my life. The first episode of this season wasn't just a bad episode of Ackley Bridge but one of the worst episodes of telly I've seen in a really long time. Obviously I still had hope and continued with the show hoping every week it would get better, and some weeks the episodes weren't that bad but about 50% of this season was absolute rubbish.

One of the things I hated most about this season was the length. You had no idea of how much time had passed throughout each episode and they crammed a whole year into one season, which just meant I had no attachment to any of the new characters and every story line felt rushed.

Which brings us to the point of the LGBT+ representation in the season. Ackley Bridge is outstanding for having a leading lesbian Muslim character and has in previous seasons has had phenomenal representation but this year it felt like they no longer cared. A running plotline through the second season was the will they won't they between Cory and Naveed and this was completely thrown away in this season. A show that gave the young LGBT+ community such a voice used queerbaiting as a way to get audiences interested multiple times in the show and it was heart-breaking to see them backtrack on the incredible foundation that had given themselves.

This isn't to say it was all bad, it was just all underdeveloped. There were some great moments between Sam and the new deputy head, Martin, and some of the episode were really compelling for example I loved the third episode. But this wasn't enough to save the season from being a genuine disaster.

In conclusion, I love Ackley Bridge but i would no longer call it one of my favourite shows. I will be watching the fourth season if it gets renewed for one and there is a chance that, that season could save the show. I will definitely be continuing to rewatch the first and second season because I stand by them being masterpieces. This season was a two star watch for me and honestly one of the stars is purely because of my sentimental love for the show.