Dept. Q (Netflix)
If you have the space to fit another grumpy, traumatised detective into your life, then make it Matthew Goode’s DCI Carl Morck in this nine-part adaptation of the first in Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Danish crime novels, moved from Copenhagen to Edinburgh for TV. Recovering from an attack that killed one colleague and paralysed another, Morck returns to work and is tasked with heading up a new unit investigating high-profile cold cases. With the help of mysterious Akram, a Syrian refugee with a talent for violence and baking pastries, and colourful chatterbox Rose, Department Q tackles the case of a young woman who went missing four years earlier. With a leisurely pace that prioritises character, the series builds into a satisfyingly dark crime story that should suit fans of Luther and Rebus.
Doctor Who Series 15 (BBC One)
Debate the madcap finale and rushed exit of Ncuti Gatwa all you like, but it’s worth remembering that before Doctor Who arrived there, it delivered some great episodes this year. “Lux” looked fantastic and gave us a very memorable villain, “The Well” was very creepy, with a terrific guest appearance from Rose Ayling-Ellis, “The Story & The Engine” was visually stunning and featured another excellent guest performance from Ariyon Bakare as ‘The Barber’… The Disney money made it all look colourful, exciting and new, and no matter where you looked, there were ideas to spare.
Gangs of London Series 3 (Sky Atlantic)
Criminal kingpins the Wallace family and their not-insignificant list of enemies and enemies-turned-reluctant allies came back for a third series of betrayals, plotting and gory violence. With Sean Wallace inside following the events of the previous series finale, it’s up to Elliot to step into the power vacuum and to say goodbye to his previous undercover self… or is it?
Series three was filled with the same conflict, backstabbing and expertly choreographed violence as the previous two. A fourth instalment has yet to be announced but there’s certainly room in this bloody, twist-filled story for one.
Just Act Normal (BBC Three)
Heartbreaking, sharp and funny is a difficult cocktail to pull off on screen, but Janice Okoh’s Just Act Normal does it with apparent ease. This six-part comedy-drama about three Black teenagers trying to survive abandonment by their mother in the face of her pressing debts and the threat of social services finding out that they’re on their own is filled with real emotion, laughs and solid performances from its young cast. Adapted by Okoh (Sanditon, Hetty Feather) from her acclaimed stage play Three Birds, it’s subtle, unusual and emotional.
Taskmaster Series 19 (Channel 4)
It can’t still be good, can it, after all this time? Oh yes it can, and even though the 19th series of Alex Horne and Greg Davies comedy challenge show Taskmaster is still airing at the time of writing, it’s already clear that the current line-up will be remembered as a classic. Why? The dry delivery of Fatiha El-Ghorri, the charm of Mathew Baynton, the weekly on screen quarter-life breakdown of Stevie Martin, the no-nonsense Rosie Ramsey, and the unpredictable strangeness of US import Jason Mantzoukas. As the show’s first non-UK-dwelling international contestant, Mantzoukas (The League, Brooklyn 99, Parks and Recreation) has added a great deal to the Taskmaster mix, namely confusion and rage, all of which makes for great, stupid TV. Long may it continue.
