Better (British TV series)

Better is a British crime drama television drama series, created and written by Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley, about a corrupt police officer who attempts to turn her life around, only for it to get much worse. The series began broadcast on BBC One on 13 February 2023, with all episodes available on BBC iPlayer simultaneously.[1][2]

Better
GenreCrime Drama
Created bySam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley
Written bySam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley
Starring
ComposerSamuel Sim
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes5 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Sam Vincent
  • Jonathan Brackley
  • Lucy Dyke
  • Nawfal Faizullah
  • Mona Qureshi
  • Jane Featherstone
  • Chris Fry
ProducerJames Dean
Running time59 minutes
Production companySister Pictures
Release
Original networkBBC One
Picture format2:1 1080p
Audio formatStereo
Original release13 February 2023 (2023-02-13) –
present

Plot

After her son almost dies, corrupt police detective Lou Slack attempts to make amends for her sins and escape Col McHugh, the powerful criminal she has been working for.

Cast

Main

Recurring

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
1"Episode 1"Jonathan BroughSam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley13 February 2023 (2023-02-13)4.69
Lou Slack recovers a firearm from a gangland shooting on behalf of businesssman Col McHugh. A few days later she attends a party at McHugh's house, during which time her son Owen contracts meningitis and her husband Ceri takes him to hospital.[3]
2"Episode 2"Jonathan BroughSam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley20 February 2023 (2023-02-20)3.75
Owen is using a wheelchair and attends a support group, which McHugh sends his son Donal to infiltrate. Slack tracks down retired officer Vernon Marley who has experience of the West Yorkshire organised crime world.
3"Episode 3"Jonathan BroughSam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley27 February 2023 (2023-02-27)3.61
During a vehicle stop on the Malik gang, Slack plants drugs in their car which DC Esther Okoye notices.
4"Episode 4"Pier WilkieNick Ahad, Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley6 March 2023 (2023-03-06)3.49
To keep Okoye on her side, Slack sets up McHugh for an arrest but Okoye finds nothing incriminating on his person. Slack and McHugh have a showdown but he agrees to let her go. Later at Marley's house, McHugh's associate Bulgey tries to kill her but Marley shoots him first.
5"Episode 5"Jonathan BroughSam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley13 March 2023 (2023-03-13)3.75
Marley is killed in prison by one of McHugh's associates. Slack and McHugh agree to hand themselves in to the Police.

Reception

Sean O'Grady from The Independent gave the first episode four out of five stars, praising Farzad and Buchan.[4] Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian awarded the first episode three stars out of five, criticising the opening but finding it gained momentum by the end.[5] Anita Singh in The Telegraph also gave it three stars out of five, unimpressed by the plot.[6]

References
  1. "Better cast – who stars in the BBC thriller?". Radio Times.
  2. Cormack, Morgan (22 April 2022). "BBC One's Better: everything you need to know about the new drama". Stylist.
  3. Stylist https://www.stylist.co.uk/entertainment/tv/better-bbc-one-episode-one-recap/761672
  4. "In Better, Leila Farzad brings flawed humanity to a bent copper – review". The Independent. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  5. Nicholson, Rebecca (13 February 2023). "Better review – this moreish bent copper show gets stronger and stronger". The Guardian.
  6. Singh, Anita (13 February 2023). "Better, review: the BBC brings back bent coppers – but this is no Line of Duty". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.