Double Jeu

Police Officer Jo Gillespie learns that her husband, an undercover Detective is killed, she sets about learning the truth for herself.

I am so glad ITV put this out again, as I must have missed it when it first went out.

Ok, there are several times when you need to suspend your disbelief, at times it is a little bit far fetched, but then it is TV, and it's rather good TV.

She has her critics, she has her fans, personally I adore Sheridan Smith, and for me she is the standout, I think she's wonderful throughout, she's well supported by Geraldine James, Matthew McNulty and plenty more acting talent.

It's a good story, it's a topsy turvy, rollercoaster ride, you are made to question and doubt, you are made to wait until the very end.

Very satisfying, well worth a look, 8/10.

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.

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.

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!

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.