User reviews

Brilliant mini TV series. Devil's Playground is inspired from the 1976 film Devil's Playgroung and it is kind of a sequel to it. I haven't watched the 1976 film (although after watching the series I would like to) and didn't find any difficulties following the narrative of the series. It is a mystery situated in 1988 Australia, after the disappearance of a thirteen year old boy from a Catholic school. A beautifully made psychological thriller about the 1980's society and the church. Very realistic. The plot unravels really smooth, there are plot twists and what I enjoyed most about this series is that the characters are not what they appear to be, like in real life. The acting is great and I absolutely loved John Noble as Bishop Vincent Quaid (he is a great actor and I wish he had his own show). I couldn't stop watching, as I was so intrigued to see what happens next. I highly recommend it.

An interesting series that tries to create a personal story around the Catholic Church's paedophile scandal. I found that the series succeeds in compelling the viewer to feel for the victims in a way that media reports have failed to do. Although we are all disgusted by the behaviour of the priests and brothers in newspaper reports it takes a series like this to bring the full horror home to the public on an emotional level because we get involved with the children depicted. All acting was extraordinarily good and the writing was sound, despite the other reviewers criticism of it. I found each episode compelling viewing and recommend it to all.

Sheds some light on a sensitive topic. The series has it's share of creepiness, something unavoidable when dramatizing widespread sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. At times it feels like an attempt to capitalize on the subject rather than inform or entertain -- like the exploitive sexual encounter between 2 consenting male characters thrown in that contributes nothing to the plot.

Spreads itself a bit thin by trying to turn the subject into a murder mystery, and adding a dash of social commentary without fully committing to either. Overall it falls short of being a top-notch crime thriller or an awareness raising drama.

Interesting series, however, I think it would have had more punch in the hands of a Nordic production company.

Fred Schepsi and Thomas Keneally spoke a similar dialogue,and made the original titled film as an Australian masterpiece.

This 2014 TV series never reaches the writing delicacy of the original story. Just horrible dialogue writing in a cliché-driven script. If you were drinking a shot for every cliché you would fall off your recliner by ep one.

Other films have since tackled the theme with style and grace. This one lacks both.