To have thought Happy Valley was a gentle female led police show set in the picturesque Yorkshire dales?

[Greatly]

Something like Doc Martin, but with a female lead.

I finally got round to watching the first season, thinking it would be a calming, relaxing show that would help me fall asleep.

Ended up binging the first season and still feeling slightly traumatised! How did i get it so wrong?!

Please no spoilers as i loved it and cant wait to watch the next two although hoping they are a bit less violent 😂

It's brilliant. Love the complexity of the characters. Very real.

"........"

"Twats"

😂😂😂

Yes! I avoided it for years because it sounded drippy 😂
Finally watched season 1 recently and found it totally amazing!!

My DH was the same, thought it would be fluffy schmaltz - although why he thought I would watch fluffy schmaltz, I will never know! Anyway, I got his to watch S1 with me (me for third time) and he had to stop as it was too dark. Wimp.

I just started watching this the other day and already five eps into the first series - I'm loving it and can't wait to see what happens!! SL is amazing in it but the story is fab too!!

I was similar, OP, finally caught up with it during lockdown (via Britbox, I think). Wow! Blown away.

I missed Last Tango in Halifax when it was new and my Britbox sub has expired now. Maybe one day I'll catch up with that. I did see the first episode and it didn't seem to be heading in a dark direction, but maybe I didn't stick with it long enough.

The first two series somehow passed me by originally but I caught up with them when they were repeated. I love the interaction between Catherine and Clare. Sometimes feel like I am eavesdropping on a conversation rather that watching a drama. Fantastic.

I’ve found that all things Sally Wainright are brilliant.

Scott and Bailey
Last Tango
Gentleman Jack
Happy Valley

It’s the realistic dialogue.

One of those rare dramas where you feel a little lost when the series ends because you just know the next thing you watch won’t be as good .

Possibly the best TV cop show in…well, long enough for it to be thoroughly outstanding.

Yes, agree that Mare of Eastown prolly borrowed heavily & no matter was a superb show anyway. I am looking forward to the next series. I can almost forgive KateW her reflex luvviness because of her superb work in MoE.

Every character pulls their weight as the story unfolds.
Tightly written, depth, pathos & dark humour.
Awesome casting - meaning that I am in awe of well it is cast - with established British character actors & plenty of new talent means that the ensemble is robust, fluent & fresh.

The direction is well paced as the plot unfolds & yet there are quiet moments, lingering pauses for us to fill with our own thoughts. Particularly the closing scene of series 2 as Catherine gazes afar after the family had all walked up the field together. What was she looking at? What was she thinking? We’re I Catherine what would I be thinking?

I am so sorry to hear that this will be the final series, it is so good. Great to have something less London centred, less city based and less macho.
The acting and script are exceptional.

I am just watching the last episode of S2 before I watch the new one, because my memory is so awful I need to remember what happened. 😳

If anyone wants to recommend any other TV cop shows while we're on this thread crack on though, it's my go to thing for watching while I'm sorting a big pile of washing, or something else boring 😆

you've reminded me of a tweet I saw
The guy had switched on Ambulance, in his words "expecting it to be like Casualty, except now I'm crying my eyes out"

It's very violent at points - I would get a cushion out to hide behind OP - there are also funny and sad parts - a really good balancee.

One of the more violent scenes was filmed a stones throw from my home 😱

It's Heartbeat, as directed by Quentin Tarantino

YABU. It's not set in the Yorkshire Dales for a start and sadly, the area it's set in is no stranger to a history of serious crime (not far from Brady & Hindley and Yorkshire Ripper territory).

I caught a glimpse of a recent one where she was investigating an empty reservoir that must have been filmed last summer and I went to look at that reservoir at the time as it was on the news as being completely empty and remember thinking 'if anyone hid a body in here, they must be getting quite nervous now'. As it happens, a body was found during a previous drought, which is probably what inspired the storyline.

Isn't Sarah Lancashire a Special Constable in real life? Albeit in London

I too have only just got around to watching this and binged both series between Xmas and NYE. It's incredible. Found S1 really hard to watch in places but so worth it. The acting is amazing and the relationships between the characters are really complex and nuanced - so unusual to see this on telly.

Line of Duty
Unforgotten
Strike
Vera
Vigil
Shetland
The Fall
Bodyguard
The Capture
Inside Man
Deadwater Fell
Scott & Bailey
Broadchurch
Bloodlands

That should get you through a few piles of ironing!

I don't know but I know Penny Lancaster is - similar name?

Ooh I've just started Unforgotten too, glad to hear that's good.

@Galvantula I loved 'No Offence'. Wish it would come back!

I really liked Unforgotten. Another one I caught up with long after it first aired. I got good value out of my Britbox subscription while I had it!

Unforgotten is amazing. Seriously the best drama/police series I think I've seen in the past decade. This is the one I wish I could forget so I could rewatch the whole thing for the first time! Chris Lang is the absolute master for writing things like this.

No Offence was absolutely cracking!