I watched it all too as I was off work today :lol: I agree it’s definitely a hell of a lot better than the last season, that felt like a test or springboard into what they actually wanted to do whereas this felt like they found their feet with everything and there wasn’t really a single character or storyline that didn’t work for the entire run, really impressed and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Echoing previous comments here. The previous series was good but it was finding its feet again whereas this series completely smashes it out of the park. The character development this time is spot on

I've only seen the first episode so far, but it does seem to be a step up from the previous series. It's good to see that Waterloo Road still exists in a totally different time zone from the rest of the UK. The last series was, presumably, set in the first term of the school year. This one is, again presumably, set in the following term, starting in January. That didn't stop senior staff leaving school at the end of the day in broad daylight.

I much preferred this season but one person who is starting to grate on me is Preston.

 

And Kym Marsh but it’s just because she’s Kym Marsh.

 

Also, I can’t explain it but I really fancy Donte but am not keen on Adam Thomas. I can’t even explain it!

2 more series have been confirmed today alongside the next one which has already been filmed! Hats off to them for making this return such a success

Good news!

Returns 2nd January

Another strong season overall (it's all up on iPlayer if you don't want to watch weekly) and my thoughts are below.

 

 

God, Libby was an annoying little shit but it shows how good Hattie is in the role to get under the viewer's skin so much. The constant lying was comical and it definitely went too far.

 

Loved the character development for Kelly Jo this time. Giving her the pregnancy storyline (and her family heritage) really allowed for some depth beyond her being a kid with ADHD and she just shone as a result.

 

Mika returning was random, but long overdue. At least they sort of addressed why she was absent in Season 11 for Chlo's funeral.

 

Schuey was an interesting addition to the school and how his family life affected his school life played out well on screen. His dad was a bit of a naff character though and whilst the last episode wasn't surprising, I think there was more to explore there with the home life. I guess that'll never happen will it as the focus is always on the school.

 

Lots of other bits I enjoyed: Andrew's return and his story with Kim, Coral becoming one of my faves (which I would've laughed at someone for saying 2 seasons ago) and Kai/Preston being so grown up in their relationship.

 

Edited January 5, 20241 yr by lewistgreen

Finished the new series a few nights ago, and it really was a series of two halves for me. The first four episodes were dull as fuck and very filler. I get that they were laying the foundations for everything else to come, but my god I've never been so disinterested in the show before. Then things really kicked into gear in the last few episodes with Kelly-Jo's pregnancy, Andrew's cancer revelation, and the growing tension between Libby and practically everybody that got in her way.

 

I'm excited to see where things go next with the school becoming an academy and Kim potentially going for CEO. I think one of the main things that's letting the show down at the moment is that everything is always so self-contained within the school at all times. Back in the day, you'd see deep into all of the characters' home lives and how things affected them and what they brought to school with them. But now we're seeing mere glimpses of that and nothing more (Schuey's home life revelation would've been much more hard-hitting if we'd seen a much bigger pay off with more of a build up instead of just a rushed introduction and resolution in one episode).

 

Mika returning, I agree, was long overdue and I was shook when she appeared (in a good way). Lord knows why Lauren Drummond hadn't returned until now because it's not like she's overflowing with work commitments. Hopefully more legacy characters continue to re-appear in episodes to come, even if fleetingly.

I watched the last two episodes this evening.

 

It's been very different watching recent series now that I work in a school. One of the things that we are constantly reminded of is that we don't necessarily know whai is going on at home. For some stidents, school represents a place of stability and somewhere safe. Of course, I'd love to see class sizes as small as Waterloo Road seems to manage :lol:

 

As with its earlier incarnation, ithe timing is still all over the place. It's difficult to tell how much time is supposed to have elapsed between episodes and in the course of an episode. They seem to be afraid of having too many main story lines running in parallel.

I thought Kim was a bit unfair towards Amy. Yes, she crossed a line, but she was being provoked and she's clearly a bit naive and inexperienced, compared to someone like herself.

 

 

Been leaked/confirmed the show has been renewed for another 2 series, taking it up to series 17!

Returns 10th September, all episodes dropping at 6am and airing on BBC One at 9pm weekly!

 

Looking forward to it, but I’m still very skeptical of Jason Manford lol

HYPE. Had no idea Jason was joining the cast so it'll be an interesting watch just to see what his acting is like as I've not experienced that before

Jason Manford is a dilf idc, very random casting though. Hyped to have this back!

I'm watching weekly. Did anyone catch it tonight?

 

I didn't expect them to go full villain with Dean. I guess the signs were there but still.

 

I think Steve planned the whole thing, personally.

I had read spoilers about the previous series since the reboot so I’m hoping to avoid them and watch this series in one go.

I'm barely half way through this series and it's the best one yet. Jason Manford has been absolutely brilliant

Will make a start on this series tomorrow most likely when I finish The Summer I Turned Pretty, but oh my :o wasn't expecting all the positive reviews I'm seeing!

I binged it last night and tbh I think its the best one of the reboot series!! Jason Manford has acted his socks of in it