Nightsleeper viewers 'hooked' on BBC show even if it is 'utter trash'

What did you miss?

Nightsleeper continues to thrill audiences on BBC One with its tense hijack plot, but not everyone has become enamoured with the series.

The drama stars Joe Cole as a police officer, also named Joe, who finds himself trapped on the overnight train from Glasgow to London after it is hacked. With the driverless train heading straight for disaster, Joe makes contact with cyber security director Abby (Alexandra Roach) to find a way to stop it.

It’s a simple enough premise that is full of twists and turns, and some viewers said they were "hooked" on it even if they knew they didn't think the show was good. But there were others who were not too taken with it by episode 2 despite a shocking cliffhanger, before we explain how and why, be warned this article contains some spoilers for episode 2.

What, how, and why?

Nightsleeper’s second episode saw Joe reveal all to the passengers on board, and it is also saw the characters learn that the hacker is most likely still on the train. Joe soon discovers a gun, while things get heated as it becomes apparent that the train is set for a collision imminently when the credits roll.

Expressing their feeling for the show on X there were some people who were put off by the unrealistic plot, but it wasn’t all terrible as several viewers chose to see the good side of the unbelievable plot with some commenting on how the show is so bad it’s good.

One person said of the show: "#Nightsleeper is pretty terrible, belief wise but it’s great fun. It’s not Godfather 2, but who cares?", while another said matter of factly: "B****ks to the haters. Thoroughly enjoying #Nightsleeper yeah it's a mash up of many things but it's thrilling to watch."

This sentiment was certainly felt for a number of viewers, as one viewer also wrote: "#Nightsleeper is absolutely terrible, but I’m totally hooked & now on iPlayer watching the rest."

In an amusing response to the show, one person wrote: "#Nightsleeper is some of the worst writing and directing I’ve seen for quite some time. The acting is pretty bad too but with direction and material this broad I doubt they could do much better than they have so far. Utter trash and I’ll clearly be watching all of it".

Despite the intensity of the situation the characters are left in in episode 2, there were several viewers lamented how bad the show was and shared their thoughts on social media.

One viewer said: "Christ, this is utter cobblers. How the hell did this get green lit? Terrible script with dire lines & so many plot holes . A waste of a great cast."

While there was another viewer who compared it to Apple TV+'s plane hacking drama Hijack, as they wrote: "I think the BBC was hoping #Nightsleeper would be there version of Hijack unfortunately Joe Cole isn't as charismatic as Idris Elba, it[s] tongue isn't as firmly in its cheek and they don't have Apple-style money to spend on it."

What else happened on Nightsleeper?

Nightsleeper has been launched in full on BBC iPlayer, even if it is airing two nights per week on BBC One, so there were viewers who chose not to wait to watch the rest.

One person who had seen the whole show felt it was the fact that the show did go all out that it worked: "#Nightsleeper was over the top, campy, and jumped the shark several times, but what a fun six hours. It was like 24 but with more ordinary British characters and heroes that don’t wear capes."

Another viewer said: "I have watched all six episodes of #Nightsleeper now. The best original show on British TV in a long time in my opinion. No spoilers from me though!"

Nightsleeper continues every Sunday and Monday at 9pm on BBC One.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/nightsleeper-viewers-hooked-trash-bbc-130238158.html