‘Blue lights’
Creators: Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson
Address: Gilles Bannier
Distribution: Siân Brooke, Katherine Devlin, Nathan Braniff, Richard Dormer
Country: United Kingdom
Duration: 60 minutes (6 episodes)
Year: 2023
Gender: crime drama
Premiere: 29 September 2023 (Movistar Plus+)
★★★★
We’re already used to getting good six-part crime dramas from the UK. It’s what works among locals and what some audiences beyond its borders devour with complementary enthusiasm. But still something like this ‘Blue lights’ (Movistar Plus+ since Friday the 29th) surprised this reporter. Well, it’s a relative surprise: the series received rave reviews after its premiere on BBC One in March; first part added more than seven million viewers. But still, what a really nice effect.
Decentralization of the latest British thriller ‘Blue Lights’ continues It is set in Belfast; Here we see three rookies from the Police Service of Northern Ireland trying to finish their probationary period.It is the successor to the militarized Royal Ulster Constabulary, which was adopted by Catholics in 2001 as the armed wing of the Protestants.
This central triad consists of Grace (Sian Brooke, Queen Aemma Arryn from ‘House of the Dragon’), a single mother who has a habit of getting more personally involved than she should; Annie (Katherine Devlin), the young Catholic who breaks the rules with ease, and Tommy (the incredible debutante). Nathan Braniff), his social skills and joking wit leave much to be desired. Veterans Stevie (Martin McCann) and Gerry (always big Richard DormerBeric from ‘Game of Thrones’) acts as the supervisor and tries to ensure that the apprentices are not affected in more ways than one.
Agents of the fictional Blackthorn police station face a particularly conflicted neighbourhood, where drug dealing, gang violence and community conflict are daily occurrences. All evil seems to lead to a Republican mafia clan led by the sober but brooding James McIntyre (John Lynch give another master class). But like the corruption and internal affairs conspiracies of ‘Line of Duty’, the enemy may also be on the side of so-called justice.
Be that as it may, ‘Blue lights’ is more reminiscent of that famous epic. ‘Happy valley’It has a believable feel and is matched by a complex character structure. It’s not hard to find in Grace’s gaze the humanity of Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), another strong but vulnerable woman who is incredibly empathetic almost despite herself. The former social worker is just one of many three-dimensional characters; Trustworthy people explained patiently and allowed themselves moments of levity.
All this originality is not surprising if we remember who the project managers are. Declan Lawn And Adam Patterson Until recently they were known respectively as correspondents and photojournalists/producers of BBC investigative programmes. In their first drama series, ‘Death in Salisbury’, they took care to sensitively describe the case of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and the chain of poisonings that shook Salisbury in 2018. Here they describe another community they knew and, moreover, with awareness of the facts: they both grew up in Northern Ireland; As we suggest in this series, where the spark that ignited the Troubles is still alive.
The duo found their ideal collaborator Gilles BannierThe veteran French director, who directed the second season of ‘Espiral’, is often described as the French answer to ‘The Wire’. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to mention the Big HBO Classic along with this new series: a particularly comprehensive procedure Here both action and waits, longer hours, downtime in offices on wheels with police cars. And do it without ever feeling bored. Humanity, the most complex humanity, will hardly be boring.