Behind Her Eyes (TV series)

Behind Her Eyes is a British noir supernatural psychological thriller television series created by Steve Lightfoot, based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Sarah Pinborough, that premiered on Netflix on 17 February 2021.^[5] The limited series stars Simona Brown, Tom Bateman, Eve Hewson and Robert Aramayo.

Behind Her Eyes
Official Netflix poster
Genre	Psychological thriller Supernatural fiction
Created by	Steve Lightfoot
Based on	Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
Directed by	Erik Richter Strand
Starring	Eve Hewson Tom Bateman Simona Brown Robert Aramayo
Composer	Rupert Gregson-Williams
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producers	Steve Lightfoot Eliza Mellor Suzanne Mackie Andy Harries Jessica Burdett
Cinematography	Felix Wiedemann
Editors	Amy Hounsell Brenna Rangott
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	47–53 minutes
Production companies	Sony Pictures Television Left Bank Pictures
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	17 February 2021 (2021-02-17)

Synopsis

Louise is a single mother who begins an affair with her new boss, David. Matters take a strange turn when she is drawn into an unlikely friendship with his wife, Adele. What starts as an unconventional love triangle soon becomes a dark, psychological tale of suspense and twisted revelations, as Louise finds herself caught in a dangerous web of secrets where nothing and no one are what they seem.^[6]

Cast and characters

• Simona Brown as Louise Barnsley
• Eve Hewson as Adele Ferguson (née Campbell)
• Tom Bateman as Dr. David Ferguson
• Robert Aramayo as Rob Hoyle
• Tyler Howitt as Adam
• Georgie Glen as Sue
• Nichola Burley as Sophie
• Roshan Seth as Dr. Sharma
• Nila Aalia as Geeta Sharma
• Eva Birthistle as Marianne

Episodes

No.	Title [7]	Directed by [8]	Written by [7]	Original release date [9]
1	"Chance Encounters"	Erik Richter Strand	Steve Lightfoot	17 February 2021 (2021-02-17)
A spilled drink at a bar leads to an awkward day at work for Louise, who's shaken again by night terrors. David introduces Adele to his new colleagues.
2	"Lucid Dreaming"	Erik Richter Strand	Steve Lightfoot	17 February 2021 (2021-02-17)
A peek inside David and Adele's private life — and a look at Rob's dream journal — leaves Louise with more questions than answers.
3	"The First Door"	Erik Richter Strand	Angela LaManna	17 February 2021 (2021-02-17)
Against her better judgment, Louise grows attached to both David and Adele, becoming increasingly enmeshed in their tense, complicated marriage.
4	"Rob"	Erik Richter Strand	Angela LaManna	17 February 2021 (2021-02-17)
An accusation of violence threatens to unravel David's life, and more shocking news awaits him and Louise when Adele drops a bombshell.
5	"The Second Door"	Erik Richter Strand	Steve Lightfoot	17 February 2021 (2021-02-17)
Despite David's warnings, Louise can't shake her concern for Adele, who sows seeds of doubt over what happened with Rob on her family estate.
6	"Behind Her Eyes"	Erik Richter Strand	Steve Lightfoot	17 February 2021 (2021-02-17)
Louise pays a visit to David's former mistress, Marianne, in Brighton where the latter reveals how Adele vandalised her home and threatened her. She then confronts David about Rob's death when he explains it was Adele who threw his body in the well after he had overdosed on heroin. After he discovers that Louise has informed the police about Rob's death, David decides to tell them Adele's truth and sets for Scotland. Meanwhile Louise faces Adele for her surreal use of astral projection. When Adele finds out that Louise has told the police and David has decided to tell her truth, she decides to end her life while texting Louise. Worried, Louise arrives at Adele's house, to which she has set fire. Unable to break in, Louise decides to project out of her body to save Adele. When her soul reaches Adele's body, the latter's soul reaches for Louise's body. Now both of them having swapped, Adele kills Louise in Adele's body with a heroin overdose, completely taking over her life and reconciling with David. In the flashback, it is revealed that Rob was the one who was in Adele's body when Louise died. After Adele showed Rob how to project, he refused to give Adele's body back and killed her in his own body. Rob then proceeded to kill Louise after hijacking her body, wanting to be with David after falling in love with him, and resumes her life.

Production

Development

On 25 January 2019, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for a six-episode first season.^[10] Steve Lightfoot is credited as the creator and executive producer of the series.^[11] In August 2019, it was announced that Erik Richter Strand would direct the limited series.^[8]

Casting

In August 2019, it was confirmed that Simona Brown, Eve Hewson, Tom Bateman and Robert Aramayo would star in the limited series.^[8][12]

Filming

Principal photography for the limited series took place in London and Scotland, from June to October 2019.^[13]

Release

On 4 February 2021, Netflix released the official trailer for the limited series.^[14] The limited series was released on 17 February 2021.^[3]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 62% approval rating for the first season with an average rating of 5.7/10, based on 37 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Behind Her Eyes' many twists may be unexpected, but limited character development also leaves them feeling unearned - still, it may be just bonkers enough to keep forgiving viewers entertained."^[15] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[16]

The Guardian stated in their review of the series, "Who knew threesomes could be so boring?", giving the series a 2-star rating.^[17] Rolling Stone stated "Netflix's new erotic thriller self-destructs with a series of needlessly crazy twists".^[18] The Independent gave the series a 2-star rating, stating "One bizarre twist can't make up for the yawning lulls".^[19] The Irish Times gave a mostly negative review stating "You may be charmed. Or it's possible you will wonder why you wasted six hours of your life."^[20] Patrick Cremona from Radio Times said of the series, that it "flits from the bland to the bizarre without being particularly convincing or compelling".^[21]