Audiences voiced strong reactions after ITV premiered Coldwater on Sunday, with the six-part thriller prompting a wave of comments on social media that ranged from dismissive to complimentary.
Written by David Ireland and set in a seemingly idyllic Scottish village, Coldwater follows John, a middle-aged father played by Andrew Lincoln, who relocates his family after a violent incident in London. The cast also includes Eve Myles, Ewen Bremner and Indira Varma. The opening instalments focus on the aftermath of an attack in which John strikes a man with a rock, then confides in neighbour Tommy; Tommy subsequently returns to the scene and kills the injured man, leaving John riddled with guilt and contemplating a confession to the police.
Many viewers took to X, formerly Twitter, to express frustration with Lincoln’s portrayal and the show's pacing. Some posts described the character as “infuriating” and too subdued compared with Lincoln’s long-running role as Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead. “Andrew Lincoln's character in #Coldwater is infuriating. So many good actors in this as well but expected better,” one user wrote. Another said: “I enjoyed the first episode but now I just want to shake Andrew Lincoln - get a grip man.”
Other comments highlighted the difficulty some viewers had in disassociating Lincoln from his zombie-apocalypse persona. “I can't disassociate Andrew Lincoln from Rick Grimes, I was waiting for him to tear the fella's throat out in the shop #coldwater,” one post read. Several viewers also criticised the series' tempo and premise, calling the story “baffling,” “too slow” or “a stupid story about nothing.”
Not all responses were negative. Some viewers praised Lincoln’s performance and the show’s different tone. “#coldwater is actually quite good. It's a different vibe, Andy's character is a lot different to that of Rick ofc. But his acting is great & he and the show is quite funny,” one viewer wrote, while another said simply: “#coldwater was so good. Andrew Lincoln was phenomenal as always.”
Lincoln, who portrayed Rick Grimes from 2010 until 2022, has said Coldwater represented a deliberate departure from his previous work. Speaking to Metro, he described the project as “almost the opposite of what I’ve been doing for 12 years in the US,” and recounted asking writer David Ireland whether the show was “a middle-aged fight club.” Lincoln quoted Ireland as responding that it was not, but acknowledged the series explores coercion and transformation within the characters.
ITV has scheduled Coldwater as a six-part run; the broadcaster’s official synopsis describes a man who, after failing to intervene in a violent incident, moves his family to an idyll where their neighbours harbour a secret. The remainder of the series will reveal how the characters respond to the initial crime and its moral consequences, while audience reaction continues to be mixed as viewers weigh the show's slower pace and tonal shift against performances from its ensemble cast.