SHERWOOD BBC One, 9pm
Buoyed by the ecstatic reception for Quiz to go with his acclaimed stage productions, the brilliant, prolific James Graham has assembled a formidable cast and, in Lewis Arnold (Time, Des), a director on the rise for this excellent, thoughtful six-part drama with roots buried deep in our collective past. David Morrissey stars as community-minded Nottinghamshire DCS Ian St Clair, reluctantly paired with Robert Glenister’s Met officer to investigate the murder-by-crossbow of Alun Armstrong’s former miner in the Red Wall area of Ashfield (where Graham grew up). The county is a fulcrum of anti-num sentiment after the decision to break picket lines during the Miners’ Strike, so old divisions inevitably reopen and rumours of embedded Met spycops circulate.
Lesley Manville’s grieving widow, her estranged sister Claire Rushbrook, reclusive train driver Adeel Akhtar and Joanne Froggatt’s ambitious Tory councillor are among those who are affected by the airing of old grudges, with Lindsay Duncan, Mark Addy and Stephen Tompkinson essaying brief cameos. Graham’s achievement in this call for reconciliation, along with solid storytelling, is a consideration of the full complexities of the Strike and its legacy. Continues tomorrow.