Anxious People – Season 1 Episode 1 “Viewing In Progress” Recap & Review

Viewing In Progress

Episode 1 of Anxious People begins with a man named Jack reflecting back on an incident involving a suicidal man when he was a kid. Handing over a note, he implores the boy to drop it off at the bank… before jumping. This plays heavy over Jack’s mind, especially when he’s out for a run in the present and travels over the same bridge.

Jack works as a police officer with his father Jim, while his estranged relationship with drug-addicted sister Jill puts a strain on their ties.

However, this is quickly swept aside when a robber shows up at the bank, desperate for cash. Only, the bank this person has chosen happens to be cashless. Realizing their error, this hooded figure rushes out on foot, prompting a chase from the father/son duo.

With surveillance at the back and the officers working to try and thwart the threat, inside the apartment building this robber forces everyone to hand over their phones, sliding them across the floor while they lie on their stomachs. There are rumblings that there’s a bomb in there too, forcing Jim and Jack to hold tight until the SWAT team arrive. A gunshot forces them into action.

Jim grabs a megaphone and tries to communicate with the robber inside. The only thing they manage to get is a note asking for pizza (which Jim immediately rushes into making a reality) and a hostage hanging out the window and waving.

When the hostages are released, the robber slips away and no one seems to have a description of their appearance. One shifty woman though happens to hold a blue envelope on her way out. However, for now they’re all told to go home.

The Episode Review

The first episode of Anxious People gets off to a rather rocky start. There’s a weird parodical sense of humour in this that doesn’t quite work and the drama doesn’t feel strong enough to sustain this over 6 episodes. It’s still early days but given the short run-time for this series, the show needs to get this balance right – and quickly.

The story itself is okay though and the enticing blue envelope is enough to keep watching to find out what’s actually inside. It’s the same blue letter that this suicidal man had way back in the day from the looks of it, but whether this robber is linked to the man who commit suicide or not remains to be seen.