DOUBLE TROUBLE
A mismatched detective duo and a pair of twisted killers play a game of cat and mouse in new thriller We Hunt Together
The best TV cops are those who bend the rules and whose personal flaws make them as interesting as the twisted killers they’re chasing. Think Luther, Jack Regan and Saga Norén in The Bridge.
DS Lola Franks looks set to join their ranks as the most intriguing character in new six-part thriller We
Hunt Together on Alibi, which can be seen by anyone with Sky and Virgin TV. Played with a haunting intensity by Keeping Faith’s Eve Myles, Lola is a London cop chasing killers. But it’s clear from the off she’s not your average officer – dishevelled, stony-faced and utterly focused on the job, Lola seems a riddle to her new detective partner, DI Jackson Mendy (Babou Ceesay, star of BBC1 drama Dark Money).
‘She’s described as somebody you need to unravel,’ says Eve. ‘She’s dark as honey and funny at the wrong times. It makes her authentic in how she deals with the life she’s found herself in.
‘When you meet Lola, you know something’s wrong. Three years before, something happened – she was involved in a situation that stopped her life and she’s lived with guilt and hatred for herself ever since. She believes she doesn’t deserve anything better, that she should be punished.’
Lola funnels her energy into work, tracking down the killers of a man during a sex game. But viewers know who did it from the start – depraved lovers Freddy Lane (Hermione Corfield) and Baba Lenga (Dipo Ola). The show’s title refers to the fact that the police and killers are both duos.
Freddy and Baba are an odd couple who get together after first meeting at a club. Freddy is a seductress and sociopath who lures asylum seeker Baba into her web via a date at a funfair. He’s vulnerable after being a child soldier in the Congo and their meeting sparks off a murder spree. ‘Encountering Baba marks a turning point in Freddy’s life because she sees him as someone who can carry out things she’s always wanted to do,’ says Hermione.
As for the police duo, while the damaged Lola is seeking redemption through work, the avuncular DI Mendy uses his empathy to attempt to penetrate her reserve while dealing with his own personal turmoil.
As a result, We Hunt Together becomes a drama about two couples that mirror each other. Freddy and Baba’s deadly energy leads them to destruction, while Lola and Mendy find working together brings them renewed strength. ‘The two detectives don’t necessarily want to be together,’ says Babou Ceesay. ‘But they figure something out that needs lots of teamwork.’
We Hunt Together, Wednesday and Thursday, 10pm, Alibi (Sky 132, Virgin 126).