This old-fashioned crime drama is an autumnal treat
Amid all the sumptuous period romps, shiny spy thrillers and true crime series, we’ve been somewhat starved of a superior police drama on our screens this year. The closest thing was Line of Duty this spring, which was more anti-corruption procedural than old-fashioned murder-solver.
I’ve missed grim-faced coppers wearing overcoats, wielding warrant cards and ducking under police tape at crime scenes. This meant the highly promising Dublin Murders (BBC One) was a most welcome addition to the schedules.
The macabre mystery is set in the summer of 2006, at the height of Ireland’s “Celtic Tiger” economic boom. Deep in the woods beside Knocknaree housing estate – an impoverished community seemingly untouched by the upturn – the body of a gifted young ballerina was found laid out on an ancient stone altar.
DS Rob Reilly (chain-smoking, jaw-flexing Killian Scott) and fiery sidekick DC Cassie Maddox (acclaimed stage actress Sarah Greene, not to be confused with the Blue Peter presenter) were dispatched to investigate. They wielded warrant cards, ducked under crime scene tape and even wore overcoats, albeit shorter, sharper ones than sleuths of yore.
From creepy flashbacks to a similar case back in 1985 – there are few scenes more foreboding than a lone, frightened-looking child riding a bike into a forest – we gradually learned that the detectives had an intense psychological connection to the case. This was a tale of two Irelands and two time frames, nimbly interwoven.
We usually have to wait until Christmas for a fresh creation from one of our most gifted screenwriters, Sarah Phelps, who adapts the BBC’S annual festive Agatha Christie whodunit. Here we unwrapped our gift early, since it’s Phelps who has skilfully distilled this eight-part autumnal treat from Tana French’s bestselling Dublin Murder Squad novels.
This was typical Phelps: knotty, earthy and unsettlingly atmospheric, scripted with urgency and verve. The two terrific leads formed a charismatic duo, displaying all the well-honed tricks, easy rapport and instinctive understanding that real-life partners develop. Conleth Hill (aka Lord Varys from Game of Thrones) chewed scenery as their sardonic, sweary boss Superintendent O’kelly.
Pitched somewhere between a Nordic noir and a classic episode of Cracker, this dark, intriguing series has already wormed its way under my skin. Fortunately, it’s airing every Monday and Tuesday, so we don’t have long to wait for our next fix.
Forget Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding or that dysfunctional Fleabag family dinner. Succession (Sky Atlantic) reached its dazzling finale with a bloodbath brunch, as the billionaire Roy clan turned on each other like snarling hyenas in designer cruise-wear.
The business empire of hard-bitten mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox in full Shakespearean splendour) was beset by allegations of wrongdoing. He needed a sacrificial lamb to offer up to shareholders and salvage the firm’s tarnished reputation.
Over eggs, fruit and coffee on the deck of his Mediterranean superyacht (a sleek, shiny shark of a craft which deserved crediting as a co-star), he pondered whether the “head on a spike” should be a family member or top lieutenant. While the craggy old warhorse sat back and watched, fingers were pointed and knives plunged into backs. This was Ancient Rome with glossier hair and more swearing. The Corleones, the Trumps, the Murdochs – take your pick.
Logan’s drug-addled scion Kendall (Jeremy Strong, superb) was crushed of spirit and consumed with selfloathing, so agreed to fall on his sword. In Biblical scenes – there was a Judas kiss, a last supper, a sombre walk to his press conference crucifixion – he bowed to take his punishment. That is, until a head-spinning, gaspinducing late twist saw him vengefully turn the tables on his father, who was watching on TV and smirked with strange paternal pride.
The power plays, smiling betrayals and duplicitous dances were precision-scripted by Emmy-winning Briton Jesse Armstrong and skintingling to watch. You’re unlikely to see a better-made, more hypnotic episode of television drama all year.
Succession’s obsessive fans can rest easy in the knowledge that a third series is already commissioned and expected next summer. Just enough time to scrub the blood off that superyacht’s deck.
Dublin Murders ★★★★
Succession ★★★★★