The Iris Affair (2025) Series Review

Streaming On:oOn..

Format: TV Series (8 Episodes)
Network: Sky Atlantic / NOW
Creator: Neil Cross (Luther)
Starring: Niamh Algar, Tom Hollander, Kristofer Hivju
Genre: Tech Thriller / Chase Drama

We watch plenty of TV over in Hedgehog Towers, recently a show that caught our eye was The Iris Affair. Positioned as a Thriller with some glossy visuals, it looked interesting enough to give it ago, needless to say we became hooked and why wouldn’t we? The show comes from the same mind that gave the world Lutherrrrrrr!

The Iris Affair follows Iris Nixon (Niamh Algar), a socially reclusive genius with a taste for puzzles. After becoming the only person in the world to solve the hardest puzzle ever created, you’d expect MI5 to snap her up. Instead, she crosses paths with the game’s eccentric creator, tech entrepreneur Cameron Beck (Tom Hollander).

Now “tech entrepreneur” might be a generous label. Beck is more of a man with a vision, and an apparently bottomless pot of money. With a mix of charm and persuasion, he recruits Iris to crack the “unbreakable” code of a dormant supercomputer. The catch? She’s whisked away to the depths of , Slovenia to a lair so extravagantly sinister that even Dr. No would be envious.

That’s the moment that we, the audience, finally see what’s really going on. Unfortunately, what follows is very formulaic. Neil Cross frames the story as a modern Frankenstein trope: the mad genius creates a thing, the mad genius despises what he has created and inevitably tries to destroy it.

Only this time, instead of a stitched‑together monster, we get an almost sentient supercomputer with the gloriously absurd name Charlie Big Potatoes. Yes, you read that right. Forget Skynet, HAL 9000, or Ultron, Neil Cross gives us a supercomputer that sounds more like a pub quiz team than a harbinger of doom. It’s a gag that somehow works, injecting levity into the otherwise familiar Frankenstein‑style narrative. The absurdity of the name makes the stakes both terrifying and hilarious, reminding us that even in the shadow of apocalypse, Cross can’t resist a wink at the audience.

The Iris Affair is paradoxical show. On one hand, the narrative is based on TV and Science Fiction cliches, and uses ideas done a thousand times before. The Frankenstein trope is as old as cinema itself (see Garry’s Frankenstein 1939 review), The Characters have zero development or explanation (more on that later), yet on the other hand, the dynamic between the core cast is insanely watchable and the viewer is kept guessing on who actually is the villain of the story. The production is fantastic, the pacing is razor‑sharp, with cliffhangers at the end of each episode that kept us hooked. Meanwhile, the European settings lend atmosphere and authenticity, elevating the familiar story beats, into something stylish and engaging. Real tension comes not from what happens, but from how Iris and Beck react to each other as the inevitable plays out.

The Cast..

Iris Nixon (Niamh Algar)
Iris is written as an enigma, not in the good Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy way. She’s a socially reclusive genius with an incredible mind, able to crack impossible puzzles, handle weapons, build bombs, assassinate people, and generally out‑think everyone around her.

But here’s the problem, we’re given no backstory whatsoever. Is she a spy? A rogue agent? A lone wolf? The show drops hints; the Bond influences are everywhere but never commits to explaining who she actually is. It’s infuriating. Instead of peeling back layers, the series leaves us guessing.

Worse still, her emotions are all over the place. One scene she’s written as an emotionless psychopath, the next she suddenly has feelings, when it’s convenient to the plot. Could Neil Cross not settle on who exactly she is meant to be? By the finale, Iris feels less like a fully realised character and more like a collection of cool skills stitched together.

The saving grace is Niamh Algar’s performance. She delivers everything with conviction, making Iris hugely fun to watch and believable, even when the writing falters. Algar injects humanity and charisma into a role that could easily have collapsed under its contradictions.

Cameron Beck (Tom Hollander)
Beck is written in a similar vein to Iris: mysterious, charismatic, and deliberately under‑explained. For most of the series, he’s simply a man with money, vision, and questionable morals The sort of man who could commission a supercomputer, call it Charlie Big Potatoes, but still lose his Netflix password.

What makes him fascinating isn’t just the villainous streak, but the humour woven into his interactions with Iris. Their banter is sharp, playful, and crucial to the character dynamic. One moment Beck is dripping menace, the next he’s tossing out a line so dry it could sandpaper a table. It’s this interplay that keeps him from becoming a cardboard Bond villain-he’s dangerous, yes, but also oddly entertaining.

Midway through the series, Hollander delivers a powerhouse face to camera performance that finally cracks the façade. It’s just him, alone, staring down the camera and delivering a sliver of backstory that reframes everything we’ve seen. It’s magnetic, unsettling, and impossible to look away from, the kind of scene that reminds you why Hollander is one of Britain’s finest character actors.

If Iris is frustratingly incomplete, Beck at least gets that one moment of dramatic clarity. And thanks to Hollander’s mix of menace and wit, Beck becomes less a villain in the shadows and more a mischievous guy with a smirk whose strings are being pulled.

The series doesn’t rest almost entirely on the shoulders of its two leads, it is a who’s who of supporting cast..

Sacha Dhawan as Alfie Bird
Known to Doctor Who fans as ‘The Master’, opposite Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor, Dhawan brings some manic energy here. Alfie Bird is written as a wildcard reporter with a social following (or so he thinks). What would otherwise be a low key character is transformed by Dhawan. He plays very scene with the energy of a scared cat, jittery and defensive. It’s the kind of performance that feels like an Instagram short, only longer, quick bursts of emotion make Alfie fascinating to watch, even when the script gives him little to do. Dhawan’s presence elevates every scene, clearly relishing every moment and doing enough to keep you engaged.

Angela Bruce as Meski

Angela Bruce appears as Meski, a General with drones, but sadly the character is underwritten. There’s not much to her beyond the title and the tech. She is used as a plot device and nothing more.

Spoiler Alert… the last episode.

As the series unfolds, we meet the genius but unhinged creator of Charlie Big Potatoes, a figure whose brilliance is matched only by his madness. Iris begins to wrestle with the weight of what she learns, torn between her conscience and the cold logic of survival. Along the way, the true villain emerges, and the story twists tighter with each episode — layers of deception, shifting allegiances, and puzzle‑box reveals stacking one on top of the other.

It’s a steady escalation that keeps you hooked… right until the last episode, when the narrative takes a sharp left turn into something far more outlandish.

The last episode of The Iris Affair swings for the fences with a big reveal that feels positively preposterous. What begins as a sleek, puzzle‑driven thriller suddenly morphs into something dealing with universes colliding, the subjugation of humanity, and ultimately the end of the world hanging in the balance.

It’s hard not to feel like this finale was borrowed from a Marvel reject pile, dusted off, and repurposed with a European backdrop. That aforementioned Frankenstein trope is explained away by the “genius creator having seen the light,” but instead of brilliance, it lands with a dull thump.

It’s the kind of twist that makes you blink twice and wonder if you’ve accidentally switched channels. One moment we’re watching Iris and Beck spar over codes and computers, the next we’re knee‑deep in multiverse melodrama. The show seems desperate to raise the stakes, but instead of awe, it delivers something faintly ridiculous.

The Silver Hedgehog Verdict.
★★★★☆ (4/5) Recommended.

The Iris Affair is switch‑your‑brain‑off television in the best possible way. Slick, silly, and undeniably entertaining, it thrives on charismatic performances and gorgeous backdrops.

But scratch beneath the glossy surface and the cracks show. The plotting is riddled with holes, the science is by the numbers at best, and the characterisation inconsistent.

Yet despite these flaws, the series works as escapism. Algar and Hollander elevate the material, the supporting cast injects energy, and the production design makes every frame look expensive. It’s not a show to dissect for logic, but it is one to binge with popcorn — glossy, chaotic fun that entertains, even as it frustrates.

Hurrah for Charlie Big Potatoes and all who search for the sequence to activate his non-organic polymer neural pathways! What fun we shall have!