Toll of terror hits home in family drama
I’ve seen enough dramas to know that if one opens with the line “Today is officially a good day” it will turn out to be anything but.
That was the case in Next Of Kin, which also confirmed that ITV has decided Monday is officially a “ruffle a few feathers” day.
After controversy with rape drama Liar, ITV is tackling another divisive subject: Islamic terrorism.
Reaction will probably have split into two camps – those who thought it reinforced stereotypes and those who thought it made a promising start in trying to show the damage those stereotypes can do. With five episodes to come I’d say the jury is out in both cases.
It was gripping drama, hooking me even before that shocking execution scene in Pakistan was played out in London via the mobile of Mona, sister of the victim, Kareem.
Mona (Archie Panjabi) is a London GP. Kareem (Navin Chowdhry) was a surgeon running a clinic in Lahore.
Mona then had more disturbing news – counter terrorism officers were looking for Kareem’s AWOL son Danish over a London bombing.
What happens next is anyone’s guess. But when the episode ended with the revelation Danish was also in Lahore I can’t have been alone in hoping for an innocent explanation.