While shows such as Bad Sisters, Say Nothing, and the disappointing and odd Day of the Jackal reboot have basked in the spotlight recently, let’s redirect it to the second season of Sherwood, which had as great a first season as any British crime show in streaming memory, including Happy Valley and Broadchurch. So great that I was apprehensive about its return. Why tamper with perfection? With the original story line about two shocking murders in depressed Nottinghamshire County put to rest, series creator James Graham found a different angle with two local crime families: the Sparrows, who figured in the first season and have refocused on their legitimate business, and the more ruthless Bransons, a new addition. The de-industrialization of the area created an economic vacuum filled by criminal enterprises like these, with violence as the unfortunate by-product. Graham has devised several points of almost unbearable tension—there’s a sickening inevitability to the way it all plays out that feels like the workings of fate. —Lisa Henricksson
The Arts Intel Report
Sherwood
David Morrissey, Lesley Manville, Robert Glenister in the first season of Sherwood.
Photo: Matt Squire/BBC/House Productions