ITV’S NEW DRAMA LIAR
ITV, MONDAY 2 MARCH, 9PM
Series one of Liar arrived two-anda-half years ago, and it was a hugely gripping success for ITV. Nearly 9.5million viewers tuned in for its finale, which climaxed with serial rapist Andrew Earlham (Ioan Gruffudd) dead in a ditch, his throat slit. The series, created by sibling TV drama hit factory the Williams brothers (The Missing, Baptiste), revolved around teacher Laura Nielson (Joanne Froggatt) trying to prove that she had been date raped by plastic surgeon Earlham. Series two becomes a classic whodunnit, depicting a gaggle of possible suspects for the murder of Earlham, including, of course, our heroine Laura, who did manage to kidnap him at one point.
FLASHBACK AND FORTH
Series two is ostensibly set three weeks after the events of the first, but it begins with a creepy flashback to when Earlham first met Nielson in her classroom. Indeed, Gruffudd’s sick and twisted character is still a constant presence in the new run, which cuts between the present-day investigation into who killed Andrew Earlham and the events that led up to his murder. Said investigation is fronted by a new character, detective Karen Renton – played by Katherine Kelly, following on from another recent cop role in Netflix’s Criminal. She’s drafted in from the Met, but is assisted by local DS Rory Maxwell (Danny Webb).
SUSPECTS OLD AND NEW
It’s pretty clear that Laura is the prime suspect in the case, but there are plenty of other characters being lined up as other possible killers in the opening episode, including couple Carl and Winnie Peterson, played by Howard Charles and Amy Nuttall. She is a nurse who worked with Earlham and bonds with Laura over their shared trauma, while her husband Carl is falling apart and behaving suspiciously in general. Laura’s seemingly sweet and lovely boyfriend Ian (Kieran Bew) is also high on the cops’ list once they start probing into his past. All in all, the return of Liar is as instantly riveting as you’d expect from the cunning Williams brothers. A textbook murder mystery is about to unfold. HHHH