A few years in the past, the ‘darkish academia’ aesthetic took flight on TikTok and past. Assume sombre tweeds, leather-bound books, wood-panelled libraries and atmospherically low lighting. Mysterious writer Donna Tartt was the pattern’s godhead and her 1992 novel The Secret Historical past was its bible. The guide’s resurgence led to a spate of belated imitators, although none, after all, might recapture the unique’s beguiling mixture of highfalutin references and potboiler intrigue.
The endearingly daft Prime Goal strikes issues on just a little. It’s kind of SparkNotes academia: less complicated, extra accessible; a streamlined model of one thing that was fairly streamlined anyway. However, God, what loads of enjoyable it’s. Leo Woodall – sure, the dreamy Dexter from One Day – performs Edward Brooke, a gifted Maths undergraduate on the College Of Cambridge. When his grouchy tutor (David Morrissey) invitations him over for dinner, the Prof’s equally tutorial spouse (Sidse Babett Knudsen) exhibits Ed some markings discovered on a wall after a latest bombing in Baghdad.
Our younger genius recognises a mathematical sample within the etchings, turns into fantastically animated and, for causes which are barely laborious to observe (maybe as a result of they don’t make a lot sense), reckons he’s unlocked a secret system to life itself. It’s some nonsense to do with prime numbers that, unbeknownst to Ed, might convey down each pc on the planet. Alas, there’s a shadowy cabal that, eager to maintain this revelation below wraps, screens the trio through hidden cameras on the college and even the Professors’ dwelling. Fortunately for the key organisation, no-one in Cambridge apparently ever adjustments their smoke detectors or the jig would have been up way back.
Anyway, the footage is being watched by lackeys who’re clueless as to what they’re really monitoring: after logging something that could be suspicious, they will clock off and benefit from the sunshine in Cassis, France, the place they’re stationed. This feels like an excellent gig however when lackey Taylah (Quintessa Swindell) sees one thing she shouldn’t and begins to ask questions that could be finest left alone, she, too, turns into a first-rate goal (geddit?).
It’s all so absurd, it might be risible in the event you didn’t sense that the sequence’ creator, former Sherlock author Steve Thompson, is at the least half in on the joke. By the point Ed is diligently typing the phrases “prime numbers” into the College Of Cambridge library archive, solely to seek out that – dun dun dunnnn – each textual content on the topic has been eliminated, the present’s tipped nicely over into camp.
Prime Goal works as a result of Thompson retains a number of compelling subplots spinning concurrently, whereas the entire thing appears to be like drop-dead attractive. Cleverly, one part of the drama runs 4 days behind the primary motion, which in some way by no means turns into complicated. It’s refreshing, too, that Ed’s queer sexuality is incidental to the story, moderately than a focus. However wait a minute: can he actually belief dishy bartender Adam (Fra Payment, with whom Woodall shares palpable chemistry)?
That’s the form of query that may maintain you coming again to this silly-smart puzzle of a programme. It’s A Stunning Thoughts meets Sherlock, or maybe The Traitors with a library card. Sure, it’s pure hokum jammed with traces corresponding to, “Math nerds are in all probability essentially the most harmful folks on the planet!”, however in the event you can subtract a reasonably large quantity of disbelief, you’ve cracked the code.
‘Prime Goal’ is out January 22 on Apple TV+
