Prey

I only recently caught up with Prey which starred the excellent John Simm. It was a three part series which was a whodunnit drama with a twist. As he is charged with the murder of his wife and child Farrow, who is a detective himself, manages to escape and then goes to investigate the case whilst being on the run from the police at the same time.

The mystery was quite clever because it seemed like it was really complicated but in the end turned out to be really simple. The twist of being on the run at the same time was great and there was some really clever scenes where Farrow escaped in some excellent ways. It had fantastic characterisation and although John Simm is excellent in every role he plays I really thought this was one of the best.

A great drama and it is nice to see ITV being able to now compete with the BBC with high-quality dramas.

/refers to Season 1/

I like British crime series - they are less "explosive" than those coming from the US, and do usually include some witty twists or turns, plus the use of distinct character actors not selected upon "cute" looks. Prey includes all above as well, but the story is not too plausible, and references to the motives were revealed too soon (I would have preferred to have longer doubts whether DC Farrow was guilty or not, and in what), and the very ending could have included some upside-down solution...

Nevertheless, the events are catchy to follow, and John Simm as DC Marcus Farrow and Rosie Cavaliero as DS Susan Reinhart, first of all, give splendid performances. "Only" 7 points from me, since I regard e.g. Line of Duty, Luther meatier and more seamless.

The themes of both seasons are very similar, give yourself a break between watching them. The acting is excellent and does make up for some contrived plotting.

Not giving it away but first series was intriguing. The 2nd Season's script is so horrible, it's a waste of one's time. The plot was poorly written with no twist just bunch of straight forward pursuits that wasn't interesting. What a waste of time. But if you have spare time, the 1st Season is worth it if you like "Vera" series.

Both series were excellent tho, of course, for me the draw was John Simm.

In series 1 a police officer must clear his name in the murder of his wife and son. Betrayed on all sides, he never knows who to trust.

Series 2 follows a prison guard who is forced to assist a prisoner escape to free his kidnapped pregnant daughter.

Both men are relentless in seeking justice and in protecting the ones they love.

The entire cast is brilliant. Well worth watching!