Boat Story sets out to answer the age-old question: what would you do if you stumbled across a shipwrecked boat full of drugs?

The BBC series, set to stream on Freevee, follows two strangers Janet (Daisy Haggard) and Samuel (Paterson Joseph). Out for a stroll on the beach one morning, they can’t believe their luck when they stumble upon a shipwrecked boat full of cocaine. With each of them desperate for a fresh start, they agree to sell the drugs and split the cash. 

But on their tail are the police, masked hitmen, and a sharp-suited gangster known only as “The Tailor” (Tchéky Karyo). When two ordinary people are pushed to the very edge, can they trust each other? And get away with their lives and the money?

The series comes from writers Harry and Jack Williams, who also directed episodes along with Alice Troughton and Daniel Nettheim. The ensemble cast also features Joanna Scanlan, Craig Fairbrass, Phil Daniels, and Ethan Lawrence.

Boat Story Review

Right from the start, you’ll see that Boat Story isn’t your typical crime drama. The series puts a unique spin on the format right from the start. Special title cards, a non-linear story, and a distinct voiceover narration add to the show’s drama and intrigue, while keeping the whole story in a heightened, almost fairytale-like state.

One of those dark fairytales, I mean. Think original Grimm Brothers, not their Disney-fied modern counterparts. Because the first episode of Boat Story also brings quite a gruesome bit of blood and intense violence. Though the series often dives into the elevated and (intentionally) ridiculous with its story and characters, you’re unlikely to forget the edge of the early story. Even as the story’s main villain, The Tailor, falls head over heels in love with the local baker, you’re going to be left thinking about the first time you saw him, when he was cutting out a man’s tongue.

Boat Story is the kind of show that really draws you in. You’ll want to keep hitting “play” on the next episode. It’s twisty and unpredictable in its mystery-drama-crime plot, but just as unpredictable in its comedy. The show doesn’t shy away from the strange and unusual (think: a meta-musical story within a story), and that keeps it from getting boring and falling into a beat-by-beat repeat of all other crime dramas.

Haggard and Joseph both give great performances, and imbue their characters with plenty of humanity and relatability. That’s crucial for an audience to connect with any performance, but even more so for a plot like Boat Story, in which characters tend to make… well, not the smartest decisions. Both Janet and Samuel are driven by desperation and a desire to keep their respective families together during a tumultuous time in their lives. This gives us enough suspension of disbelief to say, “Okay, I get why you’re trying to make a bunch of fast cash selling stolen drugs, even though this has to go south.”

Though not without its faults, I have to applaud Boat Story for putting such a distinct, unique spin on an otherwise fairly standard crime drama plot. This is a show that isn’t afraid to get weird, and I respect that. It lost some intrigue in the middle, but the beginning really drew me in, as did the final moments. If you like a crime story with a dash of the absurd, Boat Story is for you.

You can stream Boat Story now in the US on Amazon Freevee, a free ad-based platform.