ceri-edwards2

This drama is less well reviewed than it deserves. I have heard it is poorly set up and lacks originality. Well if it were a white boy lead, I'm sure many reviewers would see things differently. The thing is it's a woman, of South Asian heritage and the central theme is her perspective. I'm not sure I can see so many equivalents that it's not original. The show so far has been really gripping in terms of the drama, one of those "when is the next episode on". There is police drama aplenty and it is packed with the tensions and intrigues we love in police drama. Rather than the stereotypical broken man, rule bender we have a woman who meticulously follows the rules because she has to but heads against her superiors because of who she is. She is strong and determined and has agency. There are subtext other than that of the racism she experiences also, along the lines of her own self image. I have watched 3 of 4 and am gagging to see the end, except it will have ended then.

I tried watching this when it came out, but all the mysterious macho stabbing left me thinking it wasnt for me. I saw Kelly Macdonald in line of duty and was wowed by her performance there so looked at her filmography and tried this again and went past the opening stages. What I found there was a stunning piece of subtle, wide ranging drama on a gangster back drop. The writing is excellent and as the programme develops it doesnt just get more 'plot twisty', it gives you a deep and touching exploration of a huge number of characters and their development in adversity. I dont want to say more, the programme does such a good job. Suffice to say whoever you are there is breadth and depth here as well as a blooming gripping storyline.