The searing first series of Sherwood was widely regarded as a modern classic when it was broadcast in 2022 . Straddling state-of-the-nation drama and crime thriller, the show united some of the country’s greatest actors – Lesley Manville, David Morrissey, Lorraine Ashbourne, Adeel Akhtar – with one of its hottest writing talents, James Graham ( Quiz, Dear England ). The Nottinghamshire native, inspired by two real life murders, delved deep into the DNA of the fiercely divided mining town where he grew up, keeping 7.
5 million viewers hooked along the way. It was also regarded to have stuck the landing, with murders solved and amends made, but with the arrival of another series, we find that the gaping chasms left by the closure of the mines had merely been papered over. Series one switched between timelines in the 2010s and 1980s, opened with the voices of Arthur Scargill and Margaret Thatcher and excavated conflicts from 30 years previously.
Series two, meanwhile, is set in the present day and tackles a more recent period of discontent – the economic wasteland left by the demise of the mining industry and the gun violence of the early 2000s that led to the nickname “Shottingham”. The main players are trying to move on – Julie (Manville) has put her house up for sale while Iain St Clair (Morrissey) has left the force to become the “anti-violence tsar” – and there are new local families to meet. The drama this time centres on the murder of Nicky Branson, a y.