Ackley Bridge is understandably trying to fill a gap in the market of where Waterloo Road once was but it has fell short in regards to audience retention.
Season 1 and 2 focus on a small group of characters primarily Missy, Nasreen, Jordan, Steven Bell, Emma Keane and the friends/ families surrounding these characters. But as soon as season 3 rolls in, the majority of the original cast gets cut out. The teens we invested our time into slowly fade out or just don't return. And old storylines that could have had a good run never come to fruition. (One example is Missy's struggles in exams in season 1, we see her viewing all the words jumbled when looking at the exam paper, why did they not explore this as it would of been a good dyslexia storyline and that helps Missy to understand herself and help her studies?)
Season 3 leaves the audience back at square one as although it's understandable to see the students move on, the teacher should remain, giving the show some familiarity. But instead the likeable teachers are scraped and replaced with filler ones that barely have any storylines or likeable traits. I went into season 3 feeling like it was a completely different show.
Then they have the issue of Poppy Lee Friar (Missy) leaving the show because the actress wanted to persue other ventrues. The show put all their eggs in one basket giving the majority of screen time to only Missy and Nasreen to the point their on screen time leads to nothing but them leaving. They could have been spending some of that screentime exploring other side characters stories and the issue they are facing in day to day lives. So when Missy, Nasreen and Jordan do leave it doesn't feel like as much of a blow.
If anything I feel like the show went backwards compared to Waterloo Road. When you look into it, character development is few and far between, we never actually get to know the majority of characters on our screen and when the main characters do leave its a massive hit to the show that isn't recoverable.
I really wanted to like this show, but with comparisons such as Waterloo Road, this doesn't stand a chance. I also understand they wanted to spread awareness of Asian cultures but even those stories are few and far between and don't really do them any good either.
I hope they do sort this show out because it has so much potential, but I have a feeling it maybe too late.
Season 1 and 2 focus on a small group of characters primarily Missy, Nasreen, Jordan, Steven Bell, Emma Keane and the friends/ families surrounding these characters. But as soon as season 3 rolls in, the majority of the original cast gets cut out. The teens we invested our time into slowly fade out or just don't return. And old storylines that could have had a good run never come to fruition. (One example is Missy's struggles in exams in season 1, we see her viewing all the words jumbled when looking at the exam paper, why did they not explore this as it would of been a good dyslexia storyline and that helps Missy to understand herself and help her studies?)
Season 3 leaves the audience back at square one as although it's understandable to see the students move on, the teacher should remain, giving the show some familiarity. But instead the likeable teachers are scraped and replaced with filler ones that barely have any storylines or likeable traits. I went into season 3 feeling like it was a completely different show.
Then they have the issue of Poppy Lee Friar (Missy) leaving the show because the actress wanted to persue other ventrues. The show put all their eggs in one basket giving the majority of screen time to only Missy and Nasreen to the point their on screen time leads to nothing but them leaving. They could have been spending some of that screentime exploring other side characters stories and the issue they are facing in day to day lives. So when Missy, Nasreen and Jordan do leave it doesn't feel like as much of a blow.
If anything I feel like the show went backwards compared to Waterloo Road. When you look into it, character development is few and far between, we never actually get to know the majority of characters on our screen and when the main characters do leave its a massive hit to the show that isn't recoverable.
I really wanted to like this show, but with comparisons such as Waterloo Road, this doesn't stand a chance. I also understand they wanted to spread awareness of Asian cultures but even those stories are few and far between and don't really do them any good either.
I hope they do sort this show out because it has so much potential, but I have a feeling it maybe too late.