Times Pick of the week

Better (Monday, BBC1, 9pm) BBC1’s obsession with corrupt cops is clearly not confined to Line of Duty. Almost exactly a year ago it gave us Martin Freeman’s Liverpudlian lawman in The Responder, compromised by his friendship with a gangster; and now Leila Farzad plays Lou Slack, a Leeds detective who covertly looks after the interests of Col McHugh (Andrew Buchan), an Ulster-accented Mr Big who once rescued her and her husband from bankruptcy — and who may be, their body language hints, a former lover. The opening episode gains clarity and power as a series of incidents — including a health crisis for her son, a dangerous errand she has to carry out for Col and a violent robbery by one of his goons — push Lou towards putting a stop to her secret criminal life. As she showed in I Hate Suzie, Farzad has real star quality, whether her dodgy DI is on duty tackling a hostage siege or off duty attending Col’s birthday party as the guest of honour. John Dugdale

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Better

Better (Serie 2023) #LeilaFarzad #AndrewBuchan #SamuelEdwardCook #CarolinStoltz #ZakFordWilliams #KayaMoore Mehr auf:

Serie Jahr: 2023- (Februar) Genre: Drama / Thriller Hauptrollen: Leila Farzad, Andrew Buchan, Samuel Edward-Cook, Carolin Stoltz, Zak Ford-Williams, Kaya Moore, Anton Lesser, Ceallach Spellman, Olivia Nakintu, Joseph Steyne, Anthony Lewis, Junade Khan, Gavin Spokes, Charley Webb, Jamie Dorrington … Serienbeschreibung: Vor 19 Jahren, als Lou eine junge Polizistin auf dem niedrigsten Rang war…

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In the crowded world of police dramas it takes a lot to stand out right from the start. This new series, starring Leila Farzad as a corrupt Leeds detective inspector who’s on the payroll of a major-league gangster, gets you on the edge of your seat in the opening moments and keeps you there for the duration. At its heart is the electric chemistry between Farzad, as the pragmatically unscrupulous DI Lou Slack, and Andrew Buchan, playing brilliantly against type as the menacingly charming crime boss Col McHugh.

In tonight’s opening episode we’re drawn into this moneyed but seedy world, intrigued by how Slack walks the tricky line between being a tough but respected investigator at work yet also someone who’s willing to do pretty much anything at the behest of old pal Col. Until, that is, her beloved teenage son is struck down by bacterial meningitis and her priorities begin to slowly shift. It’s well written and acted, even in the smaller roles, but it’s the crackling tension between Farzad and Buchan that carries us along – strongly suggesting that, wherever this drama is bound for, it could get very nasty indeed. The box set is on iPlayer from Monday.