Bitingly funny and relentlessly profane take on public relations and police work in London. As someone who thinks The Wire is the best TV series ever made, I was very happy to find something with a similar, dirty yet hilarious tone. Like in The Wire, we follow both the people at the top and a couple of different groups of cops in the streets. There is no educational angle on what life is like for the criminals, though, or how institutions are affected by a serious social problem like the black market drug trade.
Our very self-righteous heroine is an American PR social media guru brought in to help the police reform their image. It's an uphill battle, and the street cops (think Herc, Carver, and Fuzzy Dunlop now) provide wonderful, reckless everyday examples of why. People used to stuffy British crime mysteries will not enjoy this show's sense of humor, which is irreverent and often comes from the gutter and the gallows. This is not your grandmother's Masterpiece Mystery. But if a quip from a lout that reminds you of how contemporary blue collar cops might really act makes you laugh then you're in the right place. Nesbitt is especially witty as the stern, snarling commissioner who snaps out sarcasm through gritted teeth to his smiley-faced softie aide. Danny Boyle has cooked up another something special. Definitely more like Trainspotting than, say, Millions, though. Dark.
