Black Work

For decades, the UK has produced so many high-class crime dramas, that it is impossible to "shoot without fail" all the time. Tastes develop, as well as circumstances, and viewers may move beyond the approaches and issues they used to like in Poirot or Morse, for example, or have begun to like "new age" in the form of Luther or Prey... Black Work is a kind of related mix, but worrying and grief overshadow other elements, including credibility, several male performers are too look-a-like, and the final 20 minutes or so add unnecessary sophistication.

True, Sheridan Smith as P.C. Jo Gillespie is catchy and the background realism is up there, but I am able to "blurt out" dozens of more interesting (mini)series I have seen in recent years. To me, Black Work is more a long film than series, and when you see all 3 episodes in a row, you could realise that many scenes and dialogues could have been more compact.

This show didn't bother me like it seemed to bother others. :) It wasn't brutal (I can't watch brutal), it was interesting, and I thought the acting was fine across the board. I didn't love the lead character, but she was sympathetic. The kids were both good, and the boy was not rebellious, he was sweet, not sure why someone said that. There were a few jumps in the plot but I'd go back 10 seconds (great button on the Acorn app!) and get enough info. I watch a lot of UK cop/detective shows and this fit well within what I like.

Broadchurch set such a high standard that everything after it was difficult even to come close. This is OK, but more of an amateur show, and the direction is terrible. The "local" accents are a bit over the top and irritating. I like some of the actors when I saw them in other shows, but in this show, they all seem to have taken an amateur pill. The lead actress is OK but keeps overacting with her facial expressions, or perhaps it's the camera work that looks deficient. There is a scene in episode 2 where she and another detective is coming down an escalator and her facial expressions are very weird! She is supposed to be upset, but her face looks like she is laughing! Andrew Knott is particularly irritating, and his outbursts were terrible.

The writing is inferior, and the direction is lacking and low standard. Put all that with the dark atmosphere and continual bad weather scenes, and you have achieved the complete opposite of a Blue-Sky Drama. I feel you should be somewhere in the middle. Maybe we are all getting bored with this Nordic style dark real-life drama! The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was such a breakthrough and brilliant. If you were to watch that movie and then watch Broadchurch, Line of Duty, Bodyguard, Luther then this.... You will have fallen off a cliff! If you want something to watch while you are ironing it will do, but don't hold your breath!

Black Work begins with an undeniably compelling setup: a police officer is murdered, and his wife - also in the force - becomes entangled in the mystery surrounding his death. The emotional stakes are high, the premise has depth, and it all hints at a tense, character-driven crime thriller. But despite this potential, the series struggles to deliver.

Sheridan Smith takes the lead, but unfortunately, her performance leans more toward brooding than emotionally layered. There's a lot of pouting and staring into the middle distance, but not much range (perhaps let down by the writing and direction) . Her character is suspended from duty early on, which is accurate, yet she continues to dig into the case with surprising freedom - as if suspension means nothing more than a stern warning. The way she's able to push forward with her own amateur investigation, without facing any real barriers, stretches credibility.

A supporting actor, portraying a fellow officer, seems to have only one gear: rage. Every scene is delivered at maximum intensity, regardless of the context. Instead of building tension, it just becomes monotonous - like someone shouting at a wall for three episodes.

Visually, there's something oddly off-putting about the production. Every character seems overly made-up, particularly with blush - as if the entire cast just ran a 5K in full foundation. It becomes oddly noticeable and distracts from what should be gritty realism.

Black Work could have been a standout crime drama. The plot had meat on the bones, but wooden acting, unrealistic character behaviour, and strange stylistic choices undercut what could have been a taut and emotionally driven story.

The show kept my interest and I was able to connect with the characters... the biggest distraction for me was Sheridan Smith's haircut and her duck face expression at times... I know, superficial things.... but still were a distraction. Overall though, it was worth a watch.