Two new, locally produced crime series are worlds apart: in the way they look, the style of their storytelling, and their creative foundations. One is a pragmatic clone of a proven crowd-pleaser and something of a laydown misère for its broadcaster; the other is a pioneering production that hasn’t received the attention or the kudos that it deserves. One is a relatively safe bet; the other is a gutsy gamble that pays off handsomely.
The former is Return to Paradise (ABC, Sundays, 7.30pm and ABC iview), a six-part Down Under offshoot of the globally successful whodunnit series Death in Paradise , which is regularly one of the ABC’s most popular programs. So a joint ABC-BBC effort, capitalising on the existing and enthusiastic audience and extending its footprint, is a monty for our national broadcaster.
It’s not an audacious choice, but it is an understandable one. Early ratings seem to endorse the move, with the spin-off attracting more than a million viewers less than a week after its premiere. Meanwhile, Stan, one of the few Australian streamers in a pool dominated by multinationals, has opted for something completely different with the gritty and uncompromising six-part Critical Incident.
Set in Sydney’s tense west, it offers a darker view of the city than the one seen from the golden, tourist-magnet sands of Bondi. Created by Sarah Bassiuoni, a lawyer steering her first series, it opens by seamlessly setting the scene, introducing the Blacktown police station and its literal “poster boy”, senior constable Zilficar “Zil” Ahmed (Akshay Khanna), a celebrated face of the force. Akshay Khanna stars as Senior Constable Zilficar ‘Zil’ Ahmed in Critical Incident.
Credit: Stan The shocking accident of the title occurs in the opening episode during a police pursuit, and unwise decisions rapidly accumulate to trap characters in what feels like a vice-like grip. This tough and troubled setting is no paradise. However, as Death in Paradise has demonstrated over 13 seasons, its formula of sun, surf and sudden death in the colourful and otherwise inviting fictional community of Saint Marie is a winner.
Created by Robert Thorogood, the series knows precisely what it’s doing, and viewers know exactly what to expect. The tone, from the jaunty theme music to the vibrant colour palette and idyllic setting, is upbeat. Anna Samson as DI Mackenzie Clarke and Lloyd Griffith as Detective Senior Constable Colin Cartwright in Return to Paradise.
Credit: ABC Here, the violent deaths aren’t too disturbing because they’re not excessively gory, and the victims aren’t known for long before they meet their untimely ends. The self-contained murder mysteries will be solved within an episode. The vibrant Caribbean community will blithely continue on its merry way despite the rising body count.
And a fish-out-of-water detective from London will anchor the series and the investigations. It’s classic cosy crime, a sturdy and enduring formula delivered with beautiful beaches and cute waterfront cafes. Leading the writing team for the local version, executive producer and Australian expat Peter Mattessi ( Neighbours , EastEnders, The Heights ) fiddles with the formula a bit, but not too much: if it ain’t broke and all that.
The detective is Australian expat DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson), reluctantly returning home from the UK to fictional Dolphin Cove, played with Insta-ready appeal by stretches of NSW’s Illawarra coast. She appears to have assumed some traits from The Bridge’s Saga Norén: a sharp policewoman, strong on investigative skill and short on social awareness. Surrounding her is a lively bunch, including a stalwart senior sergeant (Catherine McClements), a keen young constable (Aaron McGrath), an earnest pom relishing the coastal lifestyle (Lloyd Griffith), and a former teacher and current police volunteer (Celia Ireland) who’s a font of local knowledge.
A backstory affords Mack a failed romance with a forensic pathologist and surfer (Tai Hara) who looks fine shirtless. For bonus appeal, there’s a lovable dog. There’s a lot less sunshine and light in the inner-urban landscape portrayed by Bassiuoni, who has solid training as a screenwriter ( The Heights, House of Gods, Ladies in Black ) and fills her drama with fresh faces on screen and behind the scenes.
The cast is completely convincing, but the only actors you’re likely to recognise are Hunter Page-Lochard and Erik Thomson in well-tailored supporting roles. And everything in Critical Incident , from the set-up, through the pacey plotting to the character and relationship development and the resolution is inventive and thoughtfully considered. The tragedy of the inciting incident isn’t simply the physical injury that it causes but the way in which it traps the central characters, two essentially decent people struggling to cope in increasingly difficult circumstances.
Zil is confident, even a bit cocky, at the outset, a local hero who’s knocked from his pedestal and spirals into a string of bad decisions in an effort to save himself and to salvage an increasingly dire situation. Dalia Tun (Zoë Boe) is a teenage high-school student living in a group home under state care. Smart and capable of girlish exuberance with her friends, she’s also impulsive, reactive and damaged by her past.
Both are seen to be products and, at times, victims of their environment, which affects them in different but destructive ways. “I love flawed characters who make snap decisions that turn out to be bad choices,” Bassiuoni has explained. “And then I love to see how far those characters will go to get away from the consequences they should face.
” The writing throughout the series is empathetic towards characters on both sides of the law, evoking the pressures and politics of policing as well as the terror and powerlessness of being a police target. Bassiuoni’s experience as a lawyer with Amnesty International, UNICEF and the Aboriginal legal service in Alice Springs and with the juvenile justice system productively informs the depiction of Dalia. The performances throughout are carefully calibrated, including Jai Waetford as Dalia’s brooding and protective drug dealer boyfriend and Zindzi Okenyo as the commanding and conflicted police inspector leading a team and seeking promotion.
Radiating quiet menace, Page-Lochard is chilling. The settings – Dalia’s home, her boyfriend’s house, the shopping strip bakery, the drab police station interiors – feel real, and the drama pulsates with a raw and authentic energy. It’s also effortlessly multicultural: this urban landscape looks like Australia today.
It’s not the stuff of postcards and tourist promotions, yet it deserves an appreciative audience here and overseas. That’s also the kind of audience that Return to Paradise is courting, but in a wildly different way. Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees.
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