Happy Valley: Season One- Review

Happy Valley is a sardonic, gruesome and devastating English crime drama that is guaranteed to mark its audience.

The show focusses on the life Sgt Catherine Cawood, a divorced and blunt police sergeant haunted by her past and the lengths she is willing to travel to in order to bring justice for those without a voice.

I felt personally victimised by this show. That's a good thing. To have a show suck me in as if I were a bystander or the victim is beyond fantastic. There were scenes where I giggled, gasped and cried too. I believe this show is designed to toss your emotions up and around like a salad bowl.

Another well researched show about criminal activity and policing. However, unlike a few other shows that I have seen (and thoroughly enjoyed), I found this one to be the most brutal. It really stripped the glamorisation of homicide and gun-wielding away and replaced it with the harsh reality of present day policing. People get killed and injured. People of authority risk their lives everyday with the off chance that they might not return home. This show explores that in such great detail while simultaneously turning your stomach, speeding up your heart rate and making you sweat out the anxiety right in your own living room.

Just like the storyline, the characterisation was flawless and displayed real emotions and real people in real time. That is why it has won a BAFTA award and countless others.

Again, only the first season is available on the Australian Netflix, with each episode spanning across one hour. There is also a second season but I will need to buy that on DVD.

Another show I recommend to crime lovers that has not only been highly regarded by me, but by various other people across the world.

Featuring: Sarah Lancashire, Siobhan Finneran, Charlie Murphy, James Norton and George Costigan.

Score: 10/10.