What constitutes news, and what is the ethical way to obtain it? Can secrets uncovered without consent still be considered valid evidence? In 2011, Britain’s most vicious media scandal brought these questions to the forefront. Jack Thorne’s The Hack revisits the phone-hacking scandal that shook Britain and exposed the ugliest side of tabloid journalism. The seven-part crime-thriller follows The Guardian’s Nick Davies, who dared to take down a system built on manipulation, surveillance, and abuse of power. Here is our review of The Hack starring David Tennant, Robert Carlyle, and Eve Myles.
Plot Of The Hack
Jack Thorne’s The Hack follows the infamous phone hacking scandal of 2011 that led to the shutdown of Rupert Murdoch’s News Of The World British Tabloid. The show revolves around two individuals: Nick Davies (played by David Tennant), a senior journalist at The Guardian, trying to uncover the truth behind phone hacks and a detective, David Cook (played by Robert Carlyle), working on the murder case of private detective Daniel Morgan. As the story moves forward, we see the two protagonists get intertwined in each other’s worlds in their pursuit of justice.
Verdict – Disjointed Screenplay Falters An Important Story
What Didn’t Work!
On paper, The Hack should be gold. Making a show about uncovering a landmark scandal that will forever haunt Britain’s journalistic integrity and hiring Jack Thorne, the writer of the Emmy-winning limited series Adolescence, to take charge should be the perfect formula; however, it’s not.
The pacing is the biggest culprit. Nearly five episodes pass by, but little progression happens. While investigative journalism in real life is painstaking and slow, that realism doesn’t translate into compelling TV here. Much of the runtime is spent chasing dead ends and showing long stretches of exposition. The episodes alternate between Nick and David’s perspectives, and the transition between the two feels very disjointed. In fact, the second episode felt so disconnected that I almost thought I accidentally clicked on a different show, and it did not get better in the later episodes either.
Despite its large cast, only a handful of characters make an impression, with many filler roles adding little value. Celebrities, politicians, suspects, they all come and go, but nobody leaves an impact.
Nick Davies often breaks the fourth wall to address the audience; however, unlike other shows that employ this format, I failed to connect with him. We know the journalist suffers from trauma his mother inflicted on him and strives to bring the corrupt untouchables to their knees, but it never feels genuine enough to become invested.
If you do know about the real story behind Britain’s phone hacking scandal, you’ll realise how many monumental revelations the series skipped over. The murder of Millie Dowler, which gave this case a whole new direction and eventually led to the shutdown of News Of The World, is glossed over, while David’s divorce and marital problems span over three episodes.
The washed-out palette, sombre score paired with sluggish direction, only adds to the monotony.
What Worked!
The cast is spot-on. The casting for the show was accurate to the real-life figures that the actors portrayed. David Tennant, in particular, embodied journalist Nick Davies’ body language and speech patterns well.
The Hack’s strongest moments happen inside The Guardian’s newsroom. The commentary on the journalism industry, the moral rot that some go through to get exclusive scoops and the human casualties caused in pursuit of sensationalism are brief but interesting. Here, Thorne’s writing shines, grounding the drama in authentic journalistic culture. There’s also a line about the life of a being described as a “gradual erosion of self-worth”, and that will hit home for anyone in the field.
Davies’ ending monologue, where he reiterates what news is, how it’s about finding a source, making them comfortable enough to open up and uncover the truth, but what Murdoch’s croonies did was steal, bully and sensationalise the very humans that provided them these stories, is the emotional punch the series needed far earlier.
The Hack will be available to stream on Lionsgate Play on November 7!