ITV's new drama, Holding, made its debut on Monday night and viewers are seriously divided over the new series.
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The four-parter has been adapted from Graham Norton's best-selling novel and tells the story of local police officer, Sergeant PJ Collins, who lives a peaceful existence in Duneen, Ireland, until human remains are found on a village farm and PJ is tasked with the first serious crime of his career.
WATCH: What do you think of the new ITV murder mystery?
Taking to Twitter, some viewers were left disappointed by the adaptation, feeling that it didn't do justice to the novel. One person wrote: "#Holding so far not doing justice to the book. I'll give it a chance though," while another added: "I liked the book, but knew within ten minutes that turning it into a TV drama wasn’t a good idea and turned off. Some books don’t lend themselves well to dramatisation."
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A third person commented: "What a disappointment. I'd heard the book was good so was looking forward to it but despite typical Irish scenery, which I liked a lot, the acting was horribly ill-fitting, more like Craggy Island seen through a bad magic-mushroom experience than a murder mystery."
© Photo: ITVViewers were left divided after the first episode
Other viewers were left confused by the show's genre, questioning whether the series is a serious drama or a comedy. One person tweeted: "What a weird drama #Holding is. Or is it meant to be a comedy? Hard to tell. Anyway, only managed 30 mins and had to switch off," while another added: "I'm not purposely being thick, but is #Holding a drama or a comedy? Or a tongue in cheek drama?"
While some viewers may not have enjoyed the opening episode, other fans were full of praise for the new murder mystery, with one person writing: "A slightly different vibe to other detective dramas. This one has more of a darkly comic slant, which gives it this really unique feel. There's some great lines of dialogue here, and the characters are full of personality."
© Photo: ITVThe new series is based on Graham Norton's best-selling novel
A second viewer added: "Thought #Holding was lovely, which I know is a strange term for a murder mystery. But there's genuine warmth with wonderful characters, writing, acting and of course scenery," while a third applauded the show's writers, Dominic Treadwell-Collins and Karen Cogan: "I really enjoyed tonight's episode! Love the wee one-liners and the typical Irish village and villagers. Intrigued to learn more about them. Well done, @dominictc and @KarenMCogan!"
Holding continues on ITV on Monday 21 March at 9pm. The full boxset is available to stream on ITV Hub.
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