Bloodlands
JAMES NESBITT on the return of his troubled cop after that shock twist…
SUNDAY BBC1
James Nesbitt is back as serial-killer cop Tom Brannick. After the shocking revelation at the end of the first series, can Brannick keep his secret? Victoria Smurfit joins as the widow of a crooked accountant. Missed the first series? Catch up on BBC iplayer now!
BLOODLANDS SUNDAY, 9PM, BBC1 DRAMA
Cat-and-mouse thriller Bloodlands had viewers gripped when it launched in February 2021 as James Nesbitt’s tormented DCI Tom Brannick embarked on a dangerous mission to find a legendary assassin.
Known as Goliath, the serial killer had evaded capture during The Troubles in Northern Ireland and Brannick’s missing wife, Emma, was believed to be among his victims. However, there was a jaw-dropping twist in the final episode as Brannick himself was revealed to be Goliath!
As the drama returns for a second season, again written by Chris Brandon with Line of
Duty creator Jed Mercurio as executive producer,
Brannick is investigating the murder of a crooked accountant. But as a web of greed unravels and threatens to expose him as Goliath, the cop realises he must keep the victim’s widow, Olivia Foyle
(Victoria Smurfit), close if he’s to protect his secret.
Here, James, 57, gives us his take on the six-part series…
What was it like starting season two with viewers now knowing that Brannick is Goliath?
Revealing Brannick was Goliath in the first series almost felt like a confessional, but just to the audience, not the other characters. The responsibility of holding on to this secret without even the audience knowing was quite difficult, so it now feels quite freeing in a way.
It means that the tightrope I now have to walk as Brannick gets very narrow at times. But that’s key in being able to navigate the complicated chess game Brannick plays with all the different characters.
Series two feels like one big film. Once it takes off, it’s like a racehorse galloping towards something, but you’re not quite sure what!
It’s interesting watching Brannick investigate the new case while also manipulating it for his own ends…
Brannick gets off on the power.
I actually think he can’t help it, particularly with this storyline.
It’s impossible not to be not only corrupted, but rather empowered and almost sexualised by it. We see that in his relationship
with grieving Olivia.
What is your take on the dynamic between Brannick and Olivia?
Victoria and I first worked together on [ITV comedy drama] Cold Feet over 20 years
ago. We had chemistry back then and that chemistry is still there on Bloodlands.
Olivia is disarming, sexy, intelligent, frightening and cold. She prods at Brannick’s vulnerability, creating little chinks in his armour. He might be falling for her and that weakens him.
Olivia shows to Brannick a lot of the things that exist in him but he doesn’t want to admit. Victoria was brilliant, because I never really knew what would be happening with her – and Brannick doesn’t ever know what’s happening with Olivia!
Did you enjoy reuniting with Lorcan Cranitch (DCS Jackie Twomey), Charlene Mckenna (DS Niamh Mcgovern) and Chris Walley (DC Billy ‘Birdy’ Bird) for the new season?
I love working with Lorcan, Charlene and Chris, but I find those scenes very painful because of who Brannick is and because of how his lies, and his manipulation of them, goes against what he and the force stand for and how he has, in a sense, sold his soul.
And how is Brannick’s relationship with his daughter, Izzy (Lola Petticrew), in this series?
The journey Brannick has with Izzy is one of the most painful I’ve ever been asked to play. Lola’s an extraordinary performer; simple and pure but never without an enormous amount of thought. Getting to work with artists like that is why I still do this job.
How much do you enjoy returning to your native Northern Ireland to film?
I’m very much drawn to working in Northern Ireland. Tackling the Troubles is like the King Lear moment for a Northern Irish actor.
Bloodlands has the exciting aspect of a cat-and-mouse thriller with the complexity of a character like Brannick. Someone who, at his core, was on the good side of an evolving Northern Ireland and who had suffered a great deal as a result of the Troubles. Someone who, as we know, had to pay some terrible prices and do some terrible things to find peace.
It is wonderful to be grounded again in the environment of Northern Ireland. It becomes another character in our show.
What is it like having Jed on set during filming?
Jed’s very good at encouraging fearlessness. But he’s also good at breaking things down and looking for truth and simplicity. It’s good to have that avuncular, paternal, terrifying presence!