What’s it rated? TV-MA
When? 2022
Where’s it showing? Netflix
Written by Steven Moffat (The Adventures of Tintin) and directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin), the central conceit of this engaging BBC miniseries is the idea that anyone can become a murderer given the right situationāeven mild-mannered English vicar Harry Watling (David Tennant) and his kindly wife, Mary (Lyndsey Marshal), whose love for their son Ben (Louis Oliver) means everything.
The series also explores serendipitous connections, opening with Janice (Dolly Wells), a math tutor, cleverly helping Beth (Lydia West), a journalist, out of a threatening situation on a UK subway. Janice is smart and resourceful, which Beth admires. This brief encounter sets up a storyline to come, but the thread that ties all the characters together is Jefferson Grieff (Stanley Tucci), a death row inmate in the U.S. who helps solve cold cases. The former criminal pathologist can deduce whodunit.
When Beth visits Grieff in prison for a story on his techniques, she mentions that her acquaintance Janice has gone missing, setting up what’s to come. Contrived? Absolutely! But this is brilliantly acted with Tucci, Tennant, and Wells really shining. (four 60-min. episodes) Ī
This article appears in Holiday Guide 2022.