The critics are unanimous: all eight reviews are positive, and the praise clusters on the writing. Most describe the anthology as inventive and macabre, admiring how each half-hour builds a complete story with a twist inside a confined setting, whether a wardrobe, a heist or a Christmas ghost story. The performances of the two creators and their guest casts are singled out repeatedly, as is direction that gets a great deal out of a single room.
The spread is narrow, from 70 to 90, and there are no real dissenters. The Times is the coolest, enjoying the debut’s tight, stage-like structure without matching the enthusiasm elsewhere. Later reviews, of the fourth series and of individual episodes, are if anything warmer than the first, with Digital Spy calling the fourth run the strongest yet. Where reservations appear they concern tone: Radio Times files the heist episode under silly fun, at the lighter end of a series most admire for its darkness.