Broadchurch: The Complete Second Season

Both critically acclaimed and hugely popular in Britain, the original Broadchurch was produced as a standalone miniseries, but it was such a hit that it led to a second season, which begins where the original series left off, with a confessed child killer (Matthew Gravelle) up for arraignment while the town tries to put events that almost tore it apart behind them. When the murderer suddenly enters a plea of not guilty, a subsequent trial reopens all of the wounds, dragging secrets and lies exposed during the investigation into the open courtroom. An ambitious barrister (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) takes the case for the publicity value—battling her former mentor (Charlotte Rampling), who has come out of retirement to prosecute the killer—while police detectives Alec (David Tennant) and Ellie (Olivia Colman) become entangled with an old case that nearly ruined Alec's career. The procedural aspect is interesting enough (although they bend the law so much it borders on the criminal), but it's the character drama that sustains the show: the anger, sense of betrayal and injustice, and suspicion of neighbors who once trusted each other but are now polarized by the revelation of secrets. As with the first season, the town itself is a character and the effects of the original crime still reverberate through what was once considered a tight, familiar community. British TV veterans Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchan, and Eve Myles costar, with rising star James D'Arcy as the primary suspect in the unsolved murder case that Alec reopens. Extras include deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and cast interviews. Another example of British TV drama at its best, this is highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)