Netflix's new crime thriller show is the streaming service's answer to 'Slow Horses' — and I literally couldn't stop watching

When I first saw the trailer for "Legends," I was sold right away. For those of you who don't know me, I am nothing if not a fan of a crime thriller or spy thriller. Especially if it's a British one. I'm not one to shy away from extolling the virtues of "Slow Horses," "Broadchurch" or the first season of "The Night Manager." They tell compact, well-plotted stories that resolve within a single season, and quite often in six episodes or less. They never overstay their welcome.

So when I saw that Netflix was adding its own British crime thriller to the streaming service, I was already hyping it up in my head. Fueling that hype was the fact that this show was written by Neil Forsyth, who created and wrote "The Gold," a masterpiece of a British crime drama. Plus, it stars Steve Coogan, whom I love in most things; Tom Burke, who I liked in "Furiosa"; and Douglas Hodge, who was excellent in "The Great." In short, this show felt like it was tailored specifically to be a hit with me.

Legends | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

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Well, spoiler alert: It's a hit for me. This show's six episodes were well-paced, engaging and genuinely so addictive that I watched through most of them in a single sitting. They're not short episodes either. Most sit just under an hour, but at least one exceeds 60 minutes in length (though not by much).

So if you're someone who loves a crime drama or a spy thriller, British or otherwise, trust me, this six-part series is a must-watch. In fact, if you start watching the first episode, you might not stop until it's over.

'Legends' doesn't feel like a Netflix show, and that's a good thing

"Legends" has a lot in common with Forsyth's previous show, "The Gold." Both are based on real events, with unassuming law enforcement outfits led by an acclaimed British actor, tasked with taking down some of the most notorious criminals of the Margaret Thatcher years.

In this instance, the crime in question is the booming illicit opioid trade of the 1980s and 1990s, and the criminals in question are a unified cartel of Liverpudlians and Turks. Originally two separate crime organizations, these two unite in "Legends" to bring together most of Britain's opium and heroin into a single organization.

To combat this, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, led by Angus Blake (Hodge), tasks a small group of undercover agents with little training and even fewer resources to infiltrate and take down both organizations. Guy (Burke), a Fulham man who was most recently checking suitcases at the airport for contraband, is sent to infiltrate the Turkish operation in Green Lanes, London, while Kate (Hayley Squires) and Bailey (Aml Ameen) are sent to Liverpool to determine who is pushing drugs in the western port city. Operations are coordinated by Erin (Jasmine Blackborow) and led by Don (Coogan), a former undercover cop now high up in Customs.

What follows is a show with far more in common with "Slow Horses" and "The Gold" than your average Netflix bingefest. This feels shot on location. There are cliffhangers, but they don't feel as cynically placed as some Netflix cliffhangers. They feel natural, rather than intentionally placed to make you hit play next.

And accusations of scriptwriters forcing actors to reiterate the plot so you can stay on top of things while scrolling on your phone? Forget about it. If you're not paying attention to this show, you'll quickly get lost. The undercover operations and the criminal organizations they're taking down both have tons of moving parts, and if you decide to doomscroll during an episode, you'll miss something important.

Verdict: I'm disappointed we may not get another season of 'Legends'

If I had to complain about this show, I'd have three nits to pick. First, for the most part, the show is very steady and level, perhaps to a fault. It doesn't have the peaks of action that "Slow Horses" does, for example. It's much more about potential energy building up than it is about constantly unleashing kinetic energy in the form of action sequences.

Unfortunately, the one time it does take a major swing with its plot, it comes off as a deus ex machina; a plot device used to rescue our protagonists from an impossible situation. This would be more forgivable in a work of true fiction, but without spoiling anything, I'll just say that Forsyth plays a bit fast and loose with history for a moment. It's not show-breaking, but it is frustrating.

Finally, I'm disappointed that this show will seemingly end with just these six episodes. I know that earlier I proclaimed my love for British shows knowing to never overstay their welcome, but I could have easily taken more episodes of "Legends." Not this specific story that we get in season 1; six episodes was the right length for that. But I'd love this to become an anthology series, or something along the lines of "Slow Horses," where characters return but a new, mostly self-contained plot is introduced.

Still, if my biggest complaint about a show is that we're seemingly not getting more of it, that just tells you how much I liked it. Trust me when I say that this crime thriller is a must-watch, and you won't regret adding it to your watchlist.

Stream all six episodes of "Legends" on Netflix now

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