Hustle · Season 1 · BBC One
Hustle Season 1
Hustle Season 1 is a WORTH-IT, BollyMeter 7.4/10. 6 episodes on BBC One from 24 February 2004.
Updated
What BollyAI Thinks
Hustle launched in February 2004 with 'The Con is On' and immediately staked out its aesthetic territory: slick, self-referential heist television that broke the fourth wall, deployed fantasy sequences, and withheld the true sting until the final minutes. Tony Jordan's creation was unapologetically in love with the mechanics of deception. Adrian Lester's Mickey Bricks led a crew whose marks were invariably wealthy and morally compromised, allowing the show to frame its cons as a form of rough justice. Critics split on whether the surface confidence masked genuine substance. Rotten Tomatoes recorded 80% from 10 reviews. Empire found the attempt at effortless cool too effortful; Entertainment Weekly conceded style was present even while finding the lead slightly underwritten. Audience reception was warmer, with BBC viewership across the run averaging above 5.5 million.
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The Room
“This tries far too hard to achieve something which should be effortless - a sense of cool.”
Empire Magazine
Standout Episodes
The hours worth arguing about - premieres, finales, and the turning points. BollyAI reads the room episode by episode.
- E1The Con is On7.5
The series opener introduces the crew and the format in one move: a long con in progress, glimpsed from the inside, with the mechanics only fully revealed at the close. Sets up the show's grammar cleanly.
The moment: The finale reveal of how the mark was set up, delivering the structural pleasure the series would build its entire run on.