ITV Passenger viewers left divided over new drama series with some branding it ‘different’ and ‘unexpected’ while others say it’s ‘boring’

ITV viewers were left divided over a new drama series which began on Sunday night.

Passenger tells the story of a London detective isolated in a small town, caring for her ex’s mother and releasing her frustrations by training at the local gym with a Polish mechanic.

Starring Loki’s Wunmi Mosaku (37), Shameless’ David Threlfall and The Bay’s Daniel Ryan, the show has drawn comparisons to the ’90s American surrealist classic Twin Peaks, a mystery set in a town where strange events occur.

But its premiere episode on Sunday divided viewers: some loved it and others weren’t so convinced.

“Loving #Passenger bending all genres and sprinkling in a ton of northern courage,” said one person on X, formerly Twitter. ‘First class things’.

Other new fans of the show said; ‘Well, #Passenger was kinda good, wasn’t it? Not at all what I expected from ITV on a Sunday night. Looking forward to the rest’;

‘One episode later and I’m hooked. Happy Valley meets American Werewolf in London;’

‘That was a really good first episode! Riya from Wunmi Mosaku is a character I want to follow, both her and the rest of the peculiar cast’;

Enjoy it. #Passenger Good to see ITV doing something a little different.’

But others weren’t too impressed, saying: ‘Try watching Passenger on ITV. That will make you sleep’;

‘Is anyone watching Passenger on ITV? What total boredom’;

‘Just watched the new drama #Passenger on ITV. Very confusing and difficult to follow. The only thing familiar on that show was a certain Italian car brand! If you know it, you know it.’;

“Watching #Passenger on ITV, it’s weird and pointless, especially the police car which is a 90s Rover Metro”;

“The script struggles to add comedic bits as any drama will be lost in this horrible script placement, it’s strange direction, sorry, very poor ITV.”

Wunmi’s Riya Ajunwa is a police officer who misses her old job at the Met in London and is desperate for an important case.

“She thinks she found him when Katie Wells disappears the day her father gets out of prison,” Wunmi says.

‘Katie reappears, but Riya knows something is very wrong. Something strange happens with Katie’s car and this huge crack appears in the road, not to mention the mutilated deer. Everything is… wrong!’

Daniel Ryan plays Derek Jackson, who runs the local bread factory. “Derek appears to be an affable boss, but in the first episode he glimpses the darker side of him,” says Dan.

“He is involved in transporting everything on the bread truck, and is horrified when the secret plan begins to fall apart.

He becomes more scared as the series progresses and sinks deeper and deeper into trouble.

The series was filmed in West Yorkshire and a former department store served as the factory. “We spent two weeks in that place and we were breathing flour the whole time,” Dan laughs.

But screenwriter Andrew Buchan is proud of his cast. “Another writer told me, ‘Don’t be surprised if it doesn’t turn out the way you imagined,'” he says.

But it’s better than I expected. The cast has been magnificent and I am very proud of Passenger.”

• Passenger, Sunday/Monday, 9pm, ITV1 and ITVX.