Low Winter Sun
Perhaps it’s because we’re having the best summer in decades that the television schedule leans more to a spread of ‘light salad’ than ‘hearty feast.’ There are a few continuing series that you really shouldn’t miss out on, but none of the major channels seem to be offering any exciting new shows for those of us who aren’t outdoors playing cricket and so forth.
Right up on the northern slopes of the channel guide – for BT, Virgin, TalkTalk and Sky customers at least – is the Fox channel. That comparatively small outfit is quietly sneaking the highlight of the week on to our screens this Friday at 10pm.
Low Winter Sun is a curious beast. A US detective drama series based on a British show (shown on Channel 4) about Scottish rozzers and starring two British actors who play American cops. Not just any two British actors, either. The tremendously intense Mark Strong (reprising his role), villain of approximately 103.9% of major Hollywood films this year, plays homicide detective Frank Agnew. Frank starts the series by committing a major crime of his own. Helping him is Joe Geddes (Lennie James, one of the hardest-working actors on TV ).
The labyrinthine investigation that follows, played out against the backdrop of a crumbling Detroit, promises to be tense, dramatic and absorbing. It opened to mixed reviews in the States but I’ve added it to my list of weekly essentials.
So long as you are not averse to a trek up to the less welltravelled end of the TV dial, I think you should join me.
NOT TO BE MISSED
Top Of The Lake (BBC Two, Saturday at 9.10pm)The pace of this superior murder mystery is quickening. If you’ve missed it so far, don’t rest until you find someone with a full set of recordings.
Family Tree (BBC Two, Tuesday at 10pm)
Christopher Guest’s dotty comedy traces branches of Chris O’Dowd’s eccentric fictional family.
The Midwives (BBC Two, Tuesday at 9pm)
The busy labour wards of St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester, seen through the eyes of the midwives.