Nina’s ProFan Overview: Broadchurch
Title: Broadchurch
Channel: BBC America
Time: Wednesday nights at 10pmE/9C
What’s It About?
DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) returns to work after being on maternity to leave to find that the promotion she was promised was given to someone else the week before. She’s forced to work with the person, DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant), almost immediately as the body of a young boy has been found on the beach.
Things are further complicated when Miller learns that the dead boy was her son’s close friend. Under the glare of the media spotlight, Miller and Hardy try to piece together the events leading up to the boy’s death, and the small Dorset coastal town of Broadchurch tries to come to terms with the fact that there is a murderer among them.
Who’s In It?
Olivia Colman as DS Ellie Miller - I’ve only seen Colman in one other thing and that’s the 5th season opener of Doctor Who titled, ‘The Eleventh Hour,’ but she has a long resume of British series and movies under her belt. In the first episode of Broadchurch, she is given a lot to work with: disappointment and rage over losing her position, frustration at being paired with the man who took her job, and the devastation of learning of the young boy’s death. There’s a particularly funny moment when she politely greets a co-worker who passes by as she’s in the middle of a meltdown.
David Tennant as DI Alec Hardy - He’s The Doctor. If you don’t know that, get off of my website! I kid. I kid. But seriously, he’s from Doctor Who and so far, he’s brilliant in this. He doesn’t let Miller’s feelings about him being there stop him from doing his job properly. He promises the parents of the dead boy that he will find the murderer. It may have been a foolish promise to make, but when Tennant delivers the line, you believe him.
Jodie Whittaker as Beth Lattimer - Whittaker is fantastic as the grieving mother. Even though the episode opens with her son very much alive, but in a scary situation, we learn of his fate through Beth as she goes about her day. You see her stomach drop the exact moment she figures it out and yours will drop, too. And her cries. Wow.
Arthur Darvill as Rev. Paul Coates - Rory! Yes, another Doctor Who alum. We don’t see much of Rev. Coates in the first episode, but previews of him with the dead boy’s father show an explosive confrontation.
Should You Tune In?
Absolutely. Yes. Yes. And more yes. The first five minutes had me (and my husband) in tears. Besides the obvious mystery of who killed the Latitmer boy, there are questions around the motivation of a reporter who has come to town to cover the case and the boy’s father who may not have been where he said he was at the time of the murder. Not to mention that little sleepy, quiet towns are never what they seem.
The first episode of Broadchurch is available On Demand on BBC America’s site for a limited time, but officially premieres Wednesday, August 7th on BBCA. Check your local listings.
