Series 2 of Code 404 does more of the same – intense silliness from a quality cast that doesn’t always land
“Go, go, go!
‘You have to press the button, love'”
With a core cast that includes Stephen Graham, Daniel Mays, Anna Maxwell Martin and Rosie Cavaliero, you’d be forgiven for having high hopes for Tom Miller, Sam Myer and Daniel Peak’s Code 404, but somehow it doesn’t quite come together like you really feel it could do. It has returned for a second series and despite not being blown away by the first, I went back in for more.
And it delivers even more of the same. Mays’ John Major is the policeman who was shot in the line of duty and has been brough back to life with AI, though not quite firing on all cylinders. His partner – Graham’s Roy – moved on with John’s widow-turned-wife-again, played by Maxwell Martin, and as they continued to fight crime, they also did personal battle over the perceived betrayal.
But in a slapstick way, mind. And no matter how dark the crimes get, that sense of silliness pervades, to the point where it is the main point of the show. Which is fine, in that it is fleetingly funny on several occasions, but entirely insubstantial with it. I guess it depends on what you want from your comedy shows. (I always want more Anna Maxwell Martin.)
