‘There’s something classy in every aspect of this show. Performances, direction, cinematography, music’
Following a dysfunctional team of agents in a dumping-ground department of MI5 called “Slough House”, 11-time-nominated and 2-time BAFTA-award-winner Slow Horses returns for a six-episode third season. This season, a romantic liaison in Istanbul threatens to expose a buried MI5 secret back in London.
Commended by our judges for its ability to “carve out a space with its mix of dark comedy and gritty realism,” the drama returns with its original cast, which includes Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Samuel West and Sophie Okonedo, as well as some new faces, including Sope Dìrísù and Katherine Waterson.
Slow Horses greatly impressed the judges this year, particularly the performance of Gary Oldman, who plays protagonist Jackson Lamb. One judge said Oldman “gives the show such class with his understated weary performance and is the very definition of UK acting royalty.”
They went on to describe the show as “a huge success for the platform and the envy of many other platforms, I’d imagine”.
The critically-acclaimed drama was also praised for its “perfect” pacing, and its ability to do something new with the often cliched spy-drama genre.
SHORTLISTED
Criminal Record / Apple TV+
Tod Productions and STV Studios for Apple TV+
Exploring institutional failures and racism, this crime drama sees Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo star as two detectives constantly butting heads – until they are forced to work together.
Criminal Record asks the uncomfortable but nevertheless important questions about whether we should hold officers of the law to higher standards than the rest of us. As the drama unfolds across eight episodes it explores incidents of institutional and individual racism, against the backdrop of an unsolved murder case.
Grime Kids
Mammoth Screen for BBC
Set in East London estates in 2001, Grime Kids sets out to highlight the fun and vibrancy of the lives of its black teenage protagonists, challenging their traditional TV depictions as lives overwhelmed by poverty and violence.
The drama was the first major role in a TV drama for all the lead actors, who were either street cast or found through open auditions. Though its atmosphere is dominated by joy and music, it is also unafraid to confront danger and tragedy.
Hijack / Apple TV+
60Forty Films and Idiotlamp Productions for Apple TV+
RTS-nominated Hijack balances suspense and human emotion as it follows the hijacking of a 7-hour flight from Dubai to London. Starring Idris Elba, protagonist Sam Nelson – a business negotiator – reluctantly becomes the negotiator between the UK’s counter terrorism unit and the plane’s hijackers.
As Sam struggles to control the situation unravelling on the plane, this seven-episode drama piles tension upon tension while grappling with a range of moral dilemmas.
The Winter King
Bad Wolf for ITVX
ITVX’s historical drama The Winter King dives deep into Arthurian legends, adapting Bernard Cornwall’s fifth century-set version of the stories across ten episodes.
Combining historical authenticity with a complex political narrative, the drama series attempts to represent a period that we know very little about in modern day. The drama was shot in some of the real locations mentioned in the Arthurian legends, including the Brecon Beacons and The Wye Valley.
Then You Run
Kudos and MadeFor for Sky Max
With bold aesthetics, an avant-garde score and constantly shifting tone, RTS award-winner Then You Run is a comedy-thriller drama that puts originality at the forefront. Offbeat black humour jumps between the series’ 4 main protagonists on their first holiday, and a violent crime syndicate made up of drug traffickers.
The road trip plot strings the eight-episode drama together, but each individual episode still has a moment in the spotlight.
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