Viewers of The Listeners have been left feeling ‘distracted’ and ‘unsettled’ by the new BBC drama – and even threatened to switch it off.
Adapted from Jordan Tannahill’s novel, the story follows English teacher Claire (Rebecca Hall) and her student Kyle (Ollie West), who become aware of a humming sound inaudible to others.
Claire’s desperate search for answers about the mysterious humming sound pulls her away from her family and friends and leads her to a group that claims they can also hear the strange sound.
With the first episode airing on BBC One on Tuesday, viewers were quick to give it a chance and tune in, but many viewers were left unsettled by the series’ soundtrack.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one fan raged: ‘The Listeners background noise is doing my nut in, might be turning this over.’;
‘She’s hearing the annoying ambient sound effects on EastEnders whenever they have an outdoor scene in Albert Square. Once you notice it, you can’t unhear it.’;
Viewers of The Listeners have been left feeling ‘distracted’ and ‘unsettled’ by the new BBC drama and threatened to switch off the show
Adapted from Jordan Tannahill’s novel, the story follows English teacher Claire (Rebecca Hall) and her student Kyle (Ollie West) who become aware of a humming sound inaudible to others
‘This background music is very unsettling’ while another viewer wrote: ‘Am I the only one watching The Listeners on BBC One and how seeing how unsettling the soundtrack is?’;
‘Watching The Listeners in the same week I’ve started getting up in the night to try and find the high pitched hum is… a bit weird.’
The BBC says The Listeners is a show that ‘explores the seduction of the wild and unknowable, the human search for the transcendent, the rise of conspiracy culture in the West, and the desire for community and connection in our increasingly polarised times.’
Rebecca, who previously appeared in Christine, The Town and Vicky Christina Barcelona leads the cast while Ollie, who starred in The Sparrow, stars as school student Kyle.
The wider cast includes Prasanna Puwanarajah (The Crown, Ten Percent, Patrick Melrose), Amr Waked (Ramy), Gayle Rankin (Men, Perry Mason, The Greatest Showman), Mia Tharia (Phoenix Rise) and Franc Ashman (The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself, Inside Man).
Other actors include Samuel Edward Cook (Peaky Blinders, The Gallows Pole), Karen Henthorn (Coronation Street, The Rising), Lucy Sheen (Ping Pong) and Ian Mercer (Doctors, All Creatures Great And Small).
In total, there are four episodes of the drama series and each episode is under 60 minutes long.
The first episode was broadcast this week and the following episodes are set to air at 9pm in the following weeks.
Claire’s desperate search for answers about the mysterious humming sound pulls her away from her family and friends and leads her to a group that claims they can hear the strange sound
With the first episode airing on BBC One on Tuesday, viewers switched channels to check out the new drama, but many viewers were left unsettled by the series’ soundtrack
It comes after the broadcaster released not one but THREE gripping new dramas for viewers to binge-watch this month including The Listeners.
One of them is Moonflower Murders – a new gripping drama that features The Crown’s Lesley Manville and Tim McMullan.
Read More BBC releases THREE gripping new dramas this month ripe for binge-watching – here’s everything we know so far 
The six-part series kicked off on Saturday, November 16th on BBC One and iPlayer.
Moonflower Murders is a sequel to the acclaimed Magpie Murders and was written by Horowitz and directed by Rebecca Gatward (Bad Sisters).
Returning in the lead roles they originated in Magpie Murders, are Academy Award-nominee Lesley Manville (The Crown, Phantom Thread, Mum) as book editor turned sleuth Susan Ryeland and Timothy McMullan (Patrick Melrose, The Crown) as famous literary detective Atticus Pünd.
A synopsis for the drama reads: ‘Susan has left publishing and is living in Crete with her long-time boyfriend, Andreas.’
‘But her idyll is disturbed by the shadow of a murder committed at a British country H๏τel eight years ago.’
Moonflower Murders is the second novel in Horowitz’s Susan Ryeland series.
Published in 2020, it was dubbed as ‘a richly plotted, head-spinning novel’ by the New York Times.
Meanwhile, on Friday, November 22nd, the highly anticipated launch of Return to Paradise will air.
It comes after the broadcaster released not one but THREE gripping new dramas for viewers to binge-watch this month – among them Moonflower Murders (pictured)
Moonflower Murders is a sequel to the acclaimed Magpie Murders and was written by Horowitz and directed by Rebecca Gatward (Bad Sisters)
Meanwhile, on Friday, November 22nd, the highly anticipated launch of Return to Paradise will air
The new Australian-based series is a spin-off to the smash hit Death in Paradise and set in the idyllic beachside hamlet of Dolphin Cove
The new Australian-based series is a spin-off to the smash hit Death in Paradise and set in the idyllic beachside hamlet of Dolphin Cove.
According to the synopsis: ‘Return to Paradise follows DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson), an Australian expat who’s made a name for herself in London’s Metropolitan Police for cracking uncrackable murder cases. When she is accused of tampering with evidence, Mackenzie returns to Australia, back to the last place she ever wanted to be – her hometown of Dolphin Cove.’
‘Having fled the town six years ago, infamously leaving her ex-fiancée Glenn (Tai Hara) at the altar, Mackenzie is not welcome here.’
‘But with no other job options, and a unique talent for solving a mystery, no matter how challenging, a reluctant Mack joins the team at Dolphin Cove Police Station.’
It continues: ‘Once a case lands on her desk, she can’t rest until she’s figured it out, and the killer is in handcuffs. It’s that tenacity and work ethic that might just, over time, help Mackenzie win over her new colleagues, and the people of Dolphin Cove.’
All three shows will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
