The TV landscape is saturated with adaptions of best-selling, critically-acclaimed books, so much so that you\u2019d be forgiven for thinking original ideas have fallen dramatically out of fashion. Several of Netflix\u2019s<\/a> most-watched shows in its history (Bridgerton<\/a>, The Witcher<\/a>, 13 Reasons Why<\/a>, Maid<\/a> and You<\/a>) were all lifted from the page, and the book-to-TV pipeline shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, with some of this year\u2019s most hotly anticipated titles\u00a0all beginning their lives as novels.<\/p>\n Roar<\/a>, the newest addition to the Apple TV+<\/a> roster, is an anthology series based on Cecelia Ahern\u2019s short story collection of the same name. Like the source material, it explores several stories, each with its own female protagonist, that will resonate with much of its female viewership.<\/p>\n Regardless of age, race, relationship status, career and myriad other factors, the throughline remains the same: being a woman is hard <\/em>and no one is immune from the whip hand of the patriarchy. Whether it\u2019s the shame borne by being a working mother or the deadly impact of incel culture, domestic abuse or caregiving responsibilities, all of which disproportionately impact women, the hurdles are vast and varied, and they bear down on all women in some capacity.<\/p>\n But that gut-punching reality aside, the series is not without levity \u2013 there are humorous, novel and extraordinary moments scattered throughout that will stop you from spiralling into a black hole from which you\u2019ll remain trapped for eternity. One scene, in particular, is the wildest thing you\u2019ll probably ever witness on-screen, and that includes anything that happened in Tiger King<\/a>. You\u2019ll never<\/em> look at ducks in the same way again.<\/p>\n And crucially, Roar is not entirely without hope either, with a number of episodes signalling a brighter future for our female protagonists \u2013 not because the world has suddenly changed and they won\u2019t have to shoulder the same burdens, but because they\u2019re finally able to voice their grievances or have acquired the tools necessary to survive.<\/p>\n There\u2019s great skill in communicating just how unflinchingly cruel life can be for women without making female viewers wants to hurl themselves down a well.<\/p>\n There\u2019s good pedigree both in front of and behind the camera: Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch of GLOW<\/a> fame created and co-wrote the series, and the cast is a who\u2019s who of female heavyweights, boasting Nicole Kidman, Issa Rae, Cynthia Erivo and Meera Syal, among others, all of whom are predictably doing good work. But the promise doesn\u2019t quite match the final execution.<\/p>\n While the series is having important conversations about the demands and trauma that women are forced to endure in assorted degrees for the simple crime of being women, the approach it adopts doesn\u2019t always work, with the form rather than the content often taking centre stage.<\/p>\n In The Women Who Was Fed By A Duck, it\u2019s impossible to move past the fact that Merrit Weaver\u2019s character is in a relationship with a bird. The physical and emotional mistreatment she suffers is intended to be the focus, but you find yourself utterly distracted by the bizarre framework in which it unfolds.<\/p>\n In The Woman Who Ate Photographs, Kidman stars as the titular photograph-eater who scrambles to hold onto precious childhood memories as she loses her mother to dementia. But what ensues following her consumption of those snapshots in time has the look and feel of a flashback from a soapy Lifetime drama, rather than the spellbinding effect we were promised.<\/p> Magical realism, which works so seamlessly in Donald Glover\u2019s Atlanta<\/a>, adding further layers to the storytelling, doesn\u2019t quite have the intended impact here. The absurd details are intended to amplify the commentary, but instead, you\u2019re left wondering about the physical mechanics of whiling away your days on a ledge \u00e0 la The Woman Who Was Kept On A Shelf, or just how shredded your insides would be following a sustained period of scoffing photos.<\/p>\n The dialogue, too, has a habit of whacking you over the head with a particular point when a pained or puzzled expression from a character, or the moment prior, would have been sufficient. There\u2019s no need to be quite so explicit when many viewers will likely be well-versed in the subject matter on the table.<\/p>\n But regardless of its limitations, Roar is an entertaining, timely watch that you\u2019ll gobble up, in part thanks to episodes that are no longer than 38 minutes, with some as brief as 30 \u2013 a delectable treat in an age where many creatives have seemingly forgotten that less can be more.<\/p>\n A willingness to engage with bold storytelling \u2013 there are much less challenging works that Flahive and Mensch could have chosen to adapt \u2013 also deserves praise.<\/p>\n But whether the series does anything<\/em> that the book doesn\u2019t or goes a step further and exceeds Ahern\u2019s work, as we\u2019ve seen from some adaptations, is up for debate. Even the golden age of television, with its bells and whistles, doesn\u2019t always match the magic of cracking a good book.<\/p>\n All 8 episodes of Roar arrive on AppleTV+<\/a> on Friday 15th April. Find something else to watch with our TV Guide<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By Abby Robinson Published: Tuesday, 12 April 2022 at 12:00 am 3.0 out of 5 star rating The TV landscape is saturated with adaptions of best-selling, critically-acclaimed books, so much so that you\u2019d be forgiven for thinking original ideas have fallen dramatically out of fashion. Several of Netflix\u2019s most-watched shows in its history (Bridgerton, The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Abby Robinson Published: Tuesday, 12 April 2022 at 12:00 am 3.0 out of 5 star rating The TV landscape is saturated with adaptions of best-selling, critically-acclaimed books, so much so that you\u2019d be forgiven for thinking original ideas have fallen dramatically out of fashion. 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