You must be living under a rock (or somewhere without a stable Internet connection) if you haven’t been thoroughly caught up in the recent flurry of top notch television series.
The gaping hole left after the departure of Breaking Bad and the season wraps of other applauded names such as Game of Thrones and True Detective urged me to look for other quality series to get stuck into. And I found them in the UK.
Great TV is a British institution, especially comedy, with the likes of Peep Show, The Office, Black Books and Spaced, to name a few. This year, however, it’s the turn of the Thriller with many interesting and engaging new series coming to fruition more or less at the same time.
Without giving too much away, the following series -all either premiering or returning for new seasons this year- made my pick of the best of 2014.
Utopia – Channel 4 
«Comic fans stumbling across a global pharma conspiracy and an outbreak of a mysterious deadly illness»
A manuscript in the form of a creepy graphic novel holds the secret to one of the world’s most disastrous pandemics and it’s up to lead characters Ian, Becky, Wilson and Grant to try and stop it.
Not only championing in the plot and character stakes, Utopia is also beautifully shot with a great -yet undeniably disturbing- soundtrack to boot.
This horror-SciFi-thriller will make you want to revisit old conspiracy theories, avoid CCTV cameras on street corners and run in the opposite direction of strange men with unusually sized holdalls.
Find a whole hoard of extra scenes, blogs, competitions and online games over on the official Channel 4 website here.
You’ll recognise:
Ian – actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett played shamed runner Curtis in Channel 4’s Misfits.
Young Milner – Rose Leslie played Ygritte in Game of Thrones.
Wilson (pictured) – Adeel Ahktar previously gave life to one of Chris Morris’ Four Lions.
Happy Valley – BBC1
Set in a quaint Yorkshire town riddled by a rising drug problem, Happy Valley sees Sarah Lancashire play spunky Sergeant Catherine Cawood. The award winning series will leave you screaming at the screen in frustration as The Murderer stalks closer and closer to our leading lady. Flying the flag for bad ass women, Lancashire has been praised for her great portrayal of Sergeant Cawood despite complaints from the public that the plot was unnecessarily violent.
Boasting drama, intrigue and tension, Happy Valley has rightfully been commissioned a second series.
You’ll recognise:
Sarah Lancashire is known for playing pint-pulling bimbo Raquel in Coronation Street in the 90’s.
League of Gentlemen and Benidorm star Steve Pemberton plays fumbling, plotting idiot Kevin.
In The Flesh – BBC3
«Set after a zombie uprising, treated zombies are rehabilitated back into society.»
Rehabilitated zombies return to their homes after the invention of a drug which keeps their «rotter» tendencies at bay. The show follows teenager Kieren as he adjusts to his new life and combats prejudice and attacks from militant anti-PDS (Partially Deceased Syndrome) neighbours.
Things hot up in season 2 when PDS sufferers fight back with a grizzly vengeance.
The fate of Kieren currently lies in the balance as TV bosses squabble about commisioning a third series, much to the disappointment of the show’s huge online fan base.
You’ll recognise:
Roarton neighbour Ken – played by The Royle Family star Ricky Tomlinson.
Simon – actor Emmett J Scanlan was once a Hollyoaks bad boy.
Do you have any more recommendations? Send them my way! And happy viewing!
Lucy
lucy@sepiavlc.com
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