Marcella Series 1 and 2

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This Emmy Award winning, dark, British police drama/thriller is a cut above similar British television series. It merges English actors and London setting with Scandinavian crime-noire. Fans of Scandinavian noir police dramas will not surprisingly find the feel of Marcella quite familiar as Swedish screenwriter Hans Rosenfeldt, who created the original Scandinavian series of ‘The Bridge’, is the  writer, director and producer of ‘Marcella’. 

Marcella is a young woman resuming her work as police detective following the tragic death of her baby and her seemingly unexpected separation from her husband. Her pursuit of a pedophile serial killer, and her response to her marital separation and consequent sharing of her two school-age children with her husband and his girlfriend, are the two main strands of the storyline in series 1 and 2.

This is a tense, suspenseful and at times depressing series but worth the effort, even if only for the brilliant acting by Anna Friel as Marcella. The gambit of emotions she is required to present also includes her untreated blackouts of uncertain causation but suspected to be due to a mental illness brought on by the death of her baby. This show is highly addictive, so binge watching on Netflix is a must. 

‘Marcella’ addresses the end of a marital relationship in a raw manner, reflecting despair as few other television shows have succeeded in doing. It also considers the causes of pedophilia and puts forward some confronting suggestions.

Finally, the ending of this two series long story line will long stay with you – if my experience is in anyway typical. 

The end of the second series leaves open the possibility of further but distinctly different series. I am not aware of any announcements concerning the production of a third series but have my fingers crossed.

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