Crime dramas are everywhere in autumn, but Paramount+’s Curfew sets itself apart from the whodunnit crowd with an intriguing dystopian setting for its murder mystery. The Britain of Curfew – based on the 2022 novel After Dark by Jayne Cowie – is an an ever-so-slightly off-centre version of our reality. It looks and functions just like ours – until 7pm, when men are subject to a government-sanctioned curfew and banned from leaving their homes until 7am the next morning.
The government and police argue the “Women’s Safety Act” has revolutionised the country – with all men electronically tagged, crime rates down, and the world (read: women) a lot safer. But when a woman is found violently murdered outside the Women’s Safety Centre during curfew hours, it’s clear the killer is trying to make a provocative statement: women are still not safe. Thankfully, DI Pamela Green (Sarah Parish) is on the case.
Striding onto our screens in a cloud of vape smoke and an obligatory “I mean business” detective coat, she reminds me of a gender-swapped, modernised Gene Hunt from Life on Mars . Taking one look at the body, she sniffs: “That level of rage? Only a man could have done that”. A woman with anger issues? Don’t be silly.
Except Curfew is full of feminine rage – especially from Pamela, who’s bitter and vengeful following her daughter’s highly-publicised murder. Her blind pursuit of a male assailant (despite a lack of evidence) feels like a cheap shorthan.