Dear ladies and gents,
here is a short selection of some of the upcoming and returning UK shows in May/June.
Returning shows
– I really enjoy Scott and Bailey. It has two strong female leads (Lesley Sharp and Suranne Jones respectively), the storylines are interesting and there is gore (but not too much gore and definitely not the type of gore that would put you off your food).
– another return show that I quite enjoy. Based on books written by Kate Atkinson, Case Histories is a about Edinburgh based private investigator Jackson Brody (portrayed by Jason Isaacs).
New shows
– created by Allan Cubitt the latest series for BBC Two stars Gillian Anderson (yes that Gillian Anderson from the X Files) as Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson from the Metropolitan Police Service, who is called in to investigate a string of murders in Belfast. Solid crime drama with totes creepy male lead.
– ITV crime miniseries stars Hayley Atwell (of Captain America fame) as Denise Woods, a rookie police officer who becomes obsessed with a murder case of a teenage girl (whose killer has not been found, natch). The series follows Denise over the period of three decades as she rises through the ranks, but is still haunted by the fact the murderer is still at large.
– Vicious is another sitcom for ITV. It stars sir Ian McKellen and sir Derek Jacobi as a couple who have been together for some 50 add years. They bicker and argue and walk their farty old dog. The thing is I did watch a couple of episodes of Vicious (come on, it has Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi in it, how could I not?) and I get they are trying to create the old school sitcom format (think Are You Being Served? and Keeping Up Appearances). The thing is I’m not sure they are being successful with it. Also the show is being slammed for stereotyping of gay men, which… I didn’t perceive it as such – anyone who has been with anyone for 50 odd years, surely you would bicker regardless of your gender or sexual orientation.
– The Wright Way is a new sitcom for BBC that was written by Ben Elton. It stars David Haig (who you might remember from the Thin Blue Line) as Gerald Wright, the health and safety inspector for the Baselricky Council. Now Gerald is a bit persnickety about his job and will see threats to health and safety where there are none. The show is being panned by the critics, like a lot, but I don’t know whether that is down to show being atrocious (for what is worth, I have seen worse) or because Ben Elton wrote it.
– new sitcom for ITV written by Martin Dennis. It is about the employees of a busy West Midlands job center, namely the manager Trish (played by Sarah Hadland), who is a bit of a neurotic and struggling to cope with the demands of her job.
