GRITTY DRAMA

From gripping conspiracy thrillers and scandals that rocked the world to intrigue in the Vatican, here are the unmissable dramas that will keep you on the edge of your seats this season

1 THE ACCIDENT

A mother fights for justiceIf you thought you’d seen Sarah Lancashire (left) at her very best, think again. Her new offering, The Light, sees the BAFTAwinning actress deliver a huge performance as a mother fighting for justice in a poor community. The four-episode drama is the final part of a trilogy written by Jack Thorne. It follows 2016’s National Treasure, which starred Robbie Coltrane as a comedian accused of historic sex offences, and last year’s Kiri, in which Sarah played a social worker at the heart of a tragedy. While all three have the common thread of guilt and blame, The Light focuses on a search for truth and justice. Set in a Welsh town whose industry has been decimated, tragedy occurs when a group of children trespass on a building site. An explosion causes the building to collapse, killing all but one girl, whose mother Polly (Sarah) leads the hunt for someone to blame. Channel 4, coming soon

2 DUBLIN MURDERS

Psychological thriller set in the Irish capital

When a ballerina is found dead on an ancient stone altar and another woman is discovered stabbed in a ruined cottage, detectives Rob Reilly and Cassie Maddox (Killian Scott and Sarah Greene, left) are on the case. This eight-part psychological crime thriller ‘has a tap root that drops deep down into Ireland’s past, foreshadows the future and brings insight to its present,’ according to the BBC. The series was adapted from Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad novels by Sarah Phelps, who also worked on the BBC’s Agatha Christie whodunnit

The ABC Murders. BBC1, coming soon

3 TEMPLE

Maverick surgeon goes underground

Underneath London is a labyrinth of secret spaces – unused tunnels from when the Tube was built.

This hidden world is the basis for thrilling drama Temple. The eight-part series stars Mark Strong as surgeon Daniel (right), who is inspired by his wife’s illness to use one such bunker as an illegal operating theatre. As more people learn about his underground world, a strange sort of ‘family’ begins to exist between these outcasts. ‘Daniel treats criminals, company executives who don’t want their shares to lose value, and immigrants who don’t have any papers,’ says Mark. ‘But everything he does is for love.’

Sky One, from 13 September

4 TOP BOY

The return of the acclaimed urban drama

The Canadian rapper Aubrey ‘Drake’ Graham is responsible for the revival of this hard-edged drama. The first two series, about street gangs in London’s East End and starring Ashley Walters as drug dealer Dushane, aired on Channel 4 in 2011 and 2013, and after Graham watched the original episodes on YouTube he hatched a plan to bring it back. ‘I was gripped by the characters and their stories and by the depiction of London,’ says Graham, who is executive producer on the new series. ‘I thought there should be more.’ Ashley Walters is back as Dushane, attempting to re-establish himself as the most powerful drug dealer – the Top Boy – on the (fictional) Summerhouse Estate in Hackney.

5 THE CAPTURE

As thrilling as Bodyguard – but even more chilling

6 PEAKY BLINDERS

TV’s most stylish show is back for a fifth series

7 CITY ON A HILL

Unlikely duo take on Boston’s underworld

Kevin Bacon stars in this spin on the ‘Boston Miracle’, a real-life law-enforcement crusade in the US city that saw a huge reduction in violent crime in the late 1990s. Kevin plays Jackie Rohr (right, with screen wife Jenny), a corrupt yet respected FBI veteran who teams up with District Attorney Decourcy Ward, who is on a mission to clean up Boston. Ward persuades him to join forces and take on the Ryan family – armed robbers who epitomise the city’s lawlessness.

Sky Atlantic, September

8 GIRI/HAJI

Two worlds collide in tale of estranged brothers

This eight-part crime thriller (its title means Duty/Shame) sees detective Kenzo Hira travel from Tokyo to London to find his missing brother. Kenzo (left, played by Takehiro Hira) is distracted by detective Sarah (Kelly Macdonald), and their liaison threatens his marriage. Filming took place in the UK and Japan. ‘In the UK, to film in a certain area, you letter-drop and give people chocolates,’ says producer Susie Liggat. ‘In Japan you have to tell everyone what you want to do, months in advance.’ BBC2, October

9 THE LOUDEST VOICE

Hollywood star plays

Fox News founder Roger Ailes

10 UNBELIEVABLE

Chilling true-life tale — who will you believe?

Marie Adler (Kaitlyn Dever) was the 18-year-old American who, in 2015, claimed she’d been raped at knifepoint by a masked intruder but nobody believed her. Only later, after she’d retracted her story under pressure from male detectives and been charged with false reporting, did the truth start to emerge. Toni Collette plays cop Grace Rasmussen (above), one of two female officers investigating the case in a fact-based drama that reveals a frightening lack of communication between police departments in different US states.

Netflix, from 13 September

11 TRACES

Dark deeds in Dundee Lab assistant Emma, played by Cheat star Molly Windsor, has a dark past but joins forces with two forensic science professors to try to uncover the truth about an unsolved murder case. The series is set in Dundee and features Martin Compston – minus his Line Of Duty beard – as Emma’s love interest and Laura Fraser as a senior colleague (both right, with Emma centre). Alibi, coming soon

12 CRIMINAL

Multilingual duels in a police interview room

This groundbreaking series features 12 different stories set across four countries and filmed in four languages – but all taking place in one police interview room. David Tennant appears in the three British episodes, playing a man accused of murdering his stepdaughter (left). The show’s co-creator George Kay says the starting point for Criminal was watching Sir Trevor McDonald interview a murder suspect for ITV. ‘It was the way the accused kept changing from being friendly to unfriendly, the way I kept changing my mind about whether or not he was guilty. It was a single conversation, in a single room, and I didn’t expect to be captivated by it, but I was.’ Netflix, from 20 September

13 COBRA

Behind the scenes of a national crisis

Ever wondered what happens in the corridors of power during a national emergency? Sky reckons its new drama COBRA (which stands for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A) will give us an insight. It stars Robert Carlyle as Prime Minister Robert Sutherland and Victoria Hamilton as his chief of staff, Anna Marshall, and delves into not just the high-pressure professional lives of the two main characters but their private ones too. Writer Ben Richards has interviewed people at the heart of government to create a well-informed take on a country in crisis. Sky One, coming soon

14 THE TWO POPES

The men who cleaned up the Vatican

15 THE CROWN

Olivia Colman is set to reign supreme

Netflix, from 13 September