'Amazon Prime war drama is dubbed perfect but I stopped watching within minutes'

With so many choices available, it can be hard to decide what to watch on TV nowadays - after all, there are so many different streaming services and channels to choose from. Even so, every now and then we look for something different to really get our teeth into.

I haven't watched a war drama for quite some time but one had grabbed my attention, as so many people had been talking about it. The Narrow Road to the Deep North has recently made its way onto BBC iPlayer and the Australian drama miniseries, which is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Flanagan, stars Jacob Elordi, Odessa Young and Ciarán Hinds. Since its release, it's been labelled "magnificent" in reviews I've read; however, I personally had some issues trying to watch it.

The series, which was initially released on Amazon Prime back in April, focuses on the character of Dorrigo Evans across three periods - the time before his deployment to the Second World War, during his time as a Far East prisoner of war and years after the war too, andit's said to be a truly captivating tale.

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Not to mention, a love affair also features in the narrative. Being intrigued by the plot, and being a big fan of Elordi, I tuned in hoping it would become my latest TV addiction, but I couldn't make it past a few minutes in.

While I have no doubt the show is gripping in many ways, I just couldn't bring myself to watch it. I'll admit the reason why left me a little surprised.

A few minutes into the show, bombs started to drop, which is naturally expected when you're watching a war series; however, it wasn't until I tuned in that I realised I couldn't watch anything about war for the time being.

As much as I wanted to stick with it, I couldn't, as I quickly learnt it left me feeling triggered and upset. Perhaps it's because I work in the world of news, or perhaps it's because I watch too much news, but I soon realised war wasn't something I could watch played out on my screen.

All of a sudden it hit me that there's been so much conflict in the world in recent years that I'm not quite in the right mindset to dive back into WW2. Though I don't shy away from the news, in my downtime, it seems as though I do need to stay away from such horrific stories.

It made me wonder if we are all seeking a bit of TV "fluff" lately or, at least, something a little lighter, funnier or simply less sad. As much as I wish I could watch The Narrow Road to the Deep North and see what all the fuss is about, I feel like some of us are just craving something different when it comes to TV at the moment.

In time, I'm sure this feeling will pass, and I'll be able to watch these historic tales again. But, for now, I just feel like I need something comforting and less violent as I had to switch off within minutes.

Despite me being unable to tune in, the show has received rave reviews from fans on social media. My inability to see it through perhaps says nothing about how good it is.

One person said: "Wow... there has never been many shows or movies I've watched and thought at the end 'that was perfect'. Honestly five stars in my books.

"Visually stunning, amazing acting - it pulled at your heart and you really truly felt everything. The trauma, pain and love. It was dark and beautiful. That was worth every minute of my time."

Another added: "It was a profoundly moving but dark series. As one that had not read the book before watching it, I found the love affair to be nuanced and tragic.

"The scenes of torture and beatings were horrific to watch. But to me, the ending was gut wrenching."

One more also wrote: "Just finished watching this series, and I’m in awe of the storytelling, the cinematography and the music. Truly depressing through and through until the bitter end, but will definitely stick with me for some time."