London Spy, Luther and Capital: The 6 best TV dramas you have to see this season
THE nights may be drawing in but there are some great new dramas to look forward to. Our writer previews six of the best…
Luther BBC1, December
Idris Elba’s star has risen so much in recent years that luring him back to reprise his role as DCI John Luther counts as a coup for the BBC.
In two one-hour specials, Elba (above) plays the brilliant-but-unpredictable Luther as he is pushed close to the edge, facing his most dangerous adversary yet and dealing with ghosts from his past.
Although Ruth Wilson will not return as his psychotic helper, Alice Morgan, it will feature Game Of Thrones stars Rose Leslie and Patrick Malahide.
Capital BBC1, November
The social impact of London’s skyrocketing property prices is the focus of this mystery. Pepys Road in south London has been gentrified to such an extent that its former lower-middle-class residents can no longer afford to live there.
One day, everyone on the street receives an anonymous postcard containing a veiled threat, but who’s behind it? At once funny and dramatic, Capital shines a light on this very modern problem and boasts a great cast that includes Marvellous star Toby Jones, Scott & Bailey’s Lesley Sharp and Spooks’ Gemma Jones.
Dickensian BBC1, December
The interior of a giant warehouse was transformed into a lifelike Victorian street – complete with horses, cobbles and The Old Curiosity Shop – for this costume drama based on characters from various Charles Dickens novels.
EastEnders writer Tony Jordan has cherry-picked his favourite people and put them together for 20 half-hour episodes starring Stephen Rea as Bleak House’s Inspector Bucket, Caroline Quentin as Mrs Bumble from Oliver Twist and Pauline Collins as Martin Chuzzlewit’s Mrs Gamp. You won’t need to know the stories to enjoy Dickens’ characters brought to life.
The Dresser BBC2, October 31
Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian McKellen team up for the first time in this TV play, so memorably filmed in 1983 with Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay.
It features the dressing-room conversations between the irascible old actor referred to as Sir (Hopkins, above centre) and his loyal dogsbody Norman (McKellen, above right) on one fateful night while on a touring production of William Shakespeare’s King Lear during the Second World War.
As Sir becomes increasingly difficult then disappears, Norman must find him and ensure he gets on stage. Emily Watson, Sarah Lancashire (above left) and Edward Fox co-star.
The Dresser - Original British Drama 2015- Trailer - BBC Two
London Spy BBC2, November
Love story meets espionage tale in this five-part thriller written by Tom Rob Smith, whose acclaimed novel Child 44 was just turned into a movie starring Tom Hardy.
Ben Whishaw (who played Q in the Bond films) plays young, hedonistic clubber Danny, who by chance meets and falls for the antisocial but brilliant Alex, who works for the British secret service. When Alex is found dead, Danny decides to take on the world of spies and secrets to find out what happened.
An impressive roster of support includes Charlotte Rampling, Jim Broadbent and Mark Gatiss.
Prey ITV, December
Philip Glenister takes over the lead from his Life On Mars co-star John Simm in the second series of this turn-the-tables drama. Prison officer David Murdoch (Glenister) escorts a female prisoner (Ripper Street’s MyAnna Buring) on a routine hospital visit, but events spiral out of control when his pregnant daughter (Emmerdale’s Sammy Winward) is kidnapped.
To get her back, Murdoch has to take to the wrong side of the law himself, while DS Susan Reinhardt (Rosie Cavaliero) tries to figure out why he’s suddenly behaving so out of character in a taut three-parter full of tension and high-octane car chases.
