We’re bearing witness to a new golden age of television being fostered by the BBC. Granted, from a foreign perspective, both the network and British television as a whole doesn’t appear to be navigating too far beyond the boundaries of law enforcement + crime dramas. But if the formula ain’t broken, why fix it? They’ve already given us Line of Duty, Bodyguard, and Vigil. Now, it’s time to clear your schedules for The Responder featuring what’s being hailed as a career-best performance from Martin Freeman.
Based on writer-creator Tony Schumacher’s own real-life experiences as a former Liverpool cop, the five-part miniseries revolves around Merseyside police officer Chris Carson (portrayed by Martin Freeman), a man at war with himself recently demoted from the rank of inspector.
Partnered with your archetypal rookie Rachel Hargreaves (portrayed by Adelayo Adelayo) to undertake night shift duties on the mean streets of central Liverpool, the latter’s idealism and inexperience also comes with a healthy respect for the rules; which should make for an interesting (albeit well-explored) contrast of characters alongside Freeman’s grizzled veteran.
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“Carson is a conflicted and compromised man with somewhat divided loyalties, a desire to do good, but violent aggressive streak brought on by childhood trauma exacerbated by his experience in the police,” describes the official plot outline.
“The effects of the jobs and Chris’ mental state take a toll on his family.”
Without giving too much away, the story kicks into high gear when mid-level drug dealer Carl Sweeney (portrayed by Ian Hart) has his stash of cocaine swiped by local addict Casey (portrayed by Emily Fairn). To make matters worse, Carson finds himself being “pursued” by the officer responsible for his demotion, who’s motivated by less-than-honorable intentions.
Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adelayo, Ian Hart, and Emily Fairn are joined by MyAnna Buring as Kate Carson, Rita Tushingham as June Carson, Warren Brown as Raymond Mullen, Kerrie Hayes as Ellie Mullen, David Bradley as Davey, and Josh Finan as Marco.
Currently, BBC’s The Responder is only being aired/streamed on BBC and BBC iPlayer – we’ll update you when it finally hits Australia (probably on either Binge or Stan), but in the meantime, check out the killer first trailer above.
