Who is Erin Carter?, a new crime-thriller miniseries from Netflix, has proved a breakout fan favourite despite being heavily-slated by some critics. The drama centres around a British expat teacher living in Barcelona: the titular Erin Carter (played by Kurdish-Swedish actress Evin Ahmad).
In the series' first episode, Erin is caught up in a supermarket robbery – by chance, but it's when one of the robbers recognises her that it becomes apparent Erin may be hiding a criminal past of her own. Over the next six episodes, the mystery unfolds: with flashbacks into Erin's – who, it becomes apparently, is not actually called Erin – back story, which forced her to flee the UK.
Rising star Ahmad, who won the Kristallen Award for Female Actor in a Leading Role for her part in Netflix's 2021 crime-drama Snabba Cash, is joined by cast mates Sean Teale and Denise Gough in the series, which is directed by two-time BAFTA nominee Jack Lothian.
The Netflix synopsis reads: “Who Is Erin Carter? combines a unique blend of genres: Erin’s family life and work life at the local international school offers rich character-driven domestic drama, while the crime story combines nail-biting plot twists with breath-taking action sequences.”
Yet despite its sparkling cast and crew – and intriguing synopsis – the show has launched to a polarised reception, seemingly split down the middle of critics versus popular opinion. There has been an early snub from some critics: for instance, a one-star Guardian review entitled "Who is Erin Carter review - the real question is": who cares", while The Observer's verdict was lukewarm, complaining of the show “cliches”. Time was more in favour, calling it an “addictive, old-school action drama”.
Meanwhile, the show has a fairly neutral 6.4 rating on film and TV rating site iMDb. This contrasts with the popular opinion, which has been decidedly in favour – rating it “10/10” and calling for a season two.
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That said – there are some Twitter users agreeing with the negative reviews, with one person calling it “the worst show ever written”.
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So what's the plan if you haven't watched Who Is Erin Carter? yet? We'd say, given the strength of popular opinion in the show's favour, it's definitely worth a go, particularly if you have enjoyed other Netflix original crime dramas, such as Top Boy and Ozark, in the past.
All seven episodes of Who Is Erin Carter? are now available to stream on Netflix.
