Great TV and streaming series have a way of transporting the viewer to the show's setting. Maybe it is hot outside, but if you are watching a series from Sweden, maybe it makes you feel a little bit cooler. When it comes to Broadchurch, a British crime drama from the previous decade, you might feel swept away and on the rocks.
You might want to binge-watch the show this summer because you might think you are watching a true-crime podcast come to the screen. The acting is brilliant, the direction meticulous, and this well-conceived show turns the rocky coast of Dorset, England, into its own character.
The actors alone, though, might get you interested. David Tennant (who is seemingly featured in any British crime program) stars as Detective Inspector Alec Hardy, an intelligent police officer who is clearly struggling with personal demons.
The cast of Broadchurch is incredible
The incredible Olivia Colman, an Oscar winner for her role in The Favourite, plays Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller, a trusting officer until life changes her outlook. Colman is riveting in the role, and heartbreaking at times. We suffer when she suffers.
It is the relationship between the two detectives that truly makes the show magic. They do not see eye to eye on many things, but throughout three seasons, they understand that each is not right about everything, nor are they wrong.
In the first season, Hardy tries to teach Miller not to be so trusting. Everyone on the show could be a suspect. It is a bit like Clue, but instead of a house, the setting is a small town, and there is a sinister element always looming. Reluctantly, Miller begins to understand Hardy's approach.
An 11-year-old boy has been murdered, and the obvious suspect appears to be the boy's friend's father, Mark Latimer. Latimer is played perfectly by the always underrated Andrew Buchan (The Crown, Black Doves), so much so that viewers might think Latimer did the terrible crime, but we also want to believe what he says.
The end of season one is brutal for many characters, but especially for Ellie Miller. She learns things she never wanted to know, but viewers might have had an inkling about the entire time.
Broadchurch never leaves drama at the door
Part of the magic of Broadchurch is that each season is not a standalone, as circumstances roll from one season to the next, but this happens as other storylines, just as interesting, are developing. While the person responsible for the child's murder is attempted to be held to account in season 2, Hardy is haunted by a past mistake that involves the disappearance of two girls.
It is in this season that fans will find a more human aspect of Hardy. While he remains a DI with the know-how to solve a case, he struggles with his own inabilities.
The final season is the third one. The plotlines include the town trying to heal from the crimes of season 1, but the main narrative is driven by a woman who is raped. The case is anything but straightforward, and there appear to be layers for the inspectors to get through to find out even the simplest details.
Broadchurch originally aired on ITV and re-aired on PBS Masterpiece. Each season is eight episodes long and can be streamed currently on Masterpiece. You will not be sorry you took a few hours of your summer to watch the drama unfold.
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