For viewers today the age old tradition of patiently waiting an entire week for the next episode of our favourite TV programmes has been almost completely forgotten about; the occasionally overwhelming manner in which entire series are presented to us, completely at our disposal, on Nelflix has created the phenomenon of binge watching, a craze which I too am guilty of embracing. However, it would be a fundamental mistake to overlook some of the television jewels to be found on the original five channels. One of these is writer and director Sally Wainwright’s hit series ‘Happy Valley’ which can be described as no less than utterly compelling.
From serial murders to sheep rustling on housing estates, this grim portrayal of a community in West Yorkshire’s Upper Calder Valley extends far beyond the realms of a cop drama. The heroine around which the drama unfolds is, admirable yet immensely troubled police officer, Catherine Cawood whose intrinsically human personality is revealed alongside her traumatic past. Centred on her honourable endeavours to improve the quality of life in her crime and drug ridden town whilst simultaneously raising her orphaned grandchild, Catherine’s strength of character and resilience immediately earns the audience’s sympathy. Unquestionably, strength of women is the overriding theme of this series, and the main character personifies this throughout.
The first series, aired in 2014, gripped an audience of 8 million viewers and earned the show 2 BAFTAs, one of which was deservingly presented to lead actress Sarah Lancashire. After nearly 2 years of waiting, a follow up arrived on our screens this February and, despite the notion that second series have tendency of never being quite as good as their predecessors, in the case of ‘Happy Valley’, the current series has, arguably, proved to be more suspenseful than the first.
The carefully interwoven plot is, unfortunately, set to come to its conclusion this coming Tuesday, however, I would highly recommend catching up with this one from the beginning if you have not already seen it.
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