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.
