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Catherine Tate’s Hard Cell gets rare 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes – but fans love its shock ending

Comedian’s mockumentary-style series launched on Netflix last week – spoilers below

Nicole Vassell
Tuesday 19 April 2022 12:43 BST
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Hard Cell trailer with Catherine Tate

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Catherine Tate’s Netflix sitcom Hard Cell has received a rare 0 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes in its first week of streaming.

The mockumentary-style series, which launched on the streaming platform on Tuesday 12 April, is set in a fictional women’s prison.

As well as creating the six-episode run, Tate features as six different characters and portrays staff as well as inmates who band together to put on a musical.

Since its launch, reactions to the series have been mixed.

At the time of writing, Hard Cell has received only eight reviews on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. With all reviews being negative so far, its current rating on the ‘Tomatometer’ is at 0 per cent.

However, the series has fared better with general audiences, as the audience score is 84 per cent positive. Viewers have also expressed their appreciation for the show on Twitter.

Presenter Carol Vorderman told her followers on Monday (18 April): “Just binge-watched Hard Cell on @netflix with the incredible Catherine Tate and amazing cast.

“Honestly, watch it,” she continued, before calling it “surprising and brilliant”.

Catherine Tate in Hard Cell
Catherine Tate in Hard Cell (Netflix)

Others have praised the ending of the series, which takes a shocking, tragic turn when (SPOILER ALERT) inmate Anastasia is attacked during the musical performance and bleeds to death.

One fan tweeted: “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you know what #HardCell is all about. I have never seen a comedy go from silly to pathos-filled to gut-wrenching so deftly and cleverly. Well done, Catherine Tate and team. This was brilliant and astonishing.”

Another viewer described the show as an emotional rollercoaster before recommending people to “definitely watch to the end because you will not be disappointed. Praying we get a season two.”

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