BRITISH CRIME DRAMA. “After the Flood,” Season 2. / “From Darkness.” / “The Control Room.” / “Viewpoint.” / “Wired.”

“After the Flood” (Britbox) Season 2. British crime mystery thriller. Stars Sophie Rundle as a police officer investigating the death of an unidentified man after a flash flood strikes a small English town. 

       The six-part second series/season follows Detective Jo Marshall as she investigates a baffling double murder following a catastrophic flood. 

       With global warming as the larger narrative, the plot threads that weave around pursuit of DS Phil Mackie's string of crimes is the provocation and attraction of this show's second installment. A typical British police procedural but “After The Flood” is low-key, dramatically restrained, but focused. Topmost credit goes to Sophie Rundle, whose PC/DC Joanna Marshall evokes persistent charm, warm vulnerability, and unswerving insistence. 🎥💻📽

“From Darkness” (Britbox) British psychological crime drama. A former police officer, who moves away to the remote Western Isles in an attempt to escape the violent past that still haunts her, finds herself pulled back into an investigation she thought she had left well behind. 

       This series, although it exudes a police procedural vibe from the get go, isn't really that. The focus is on (supposedly retired) cop Claire Church as he pursued a case (or cases) that went unsolved until she quit and moved away to a faraway idyll, and started a family. Then there's a romantic past that she wades along with, as he engages the antagonist in a psychological “duel,” although she isn't really dwelling.

       That's the intrigue of “From Darkness,” and Anne-Marie Duff delivers Claire with “quiet” aplomb, playing “cat and mouse” with vulnerability and commitment. 🎥💻📽

“The Control Room” (Amazon Prime) British thriller. About a Glasgow ambulance emergency call handler whose life is upended when he receives a distress call from a woman who knows him from his childhood. 

       The performances from both Iain De Caestecker (as “control room” employee Gabe) and Joanna Vanderham (as Gabe's troubled childhood friend Sam) are compelling. The backstory rendered enough emotional energy to their closeness in the present time.

       Only three tightly-narrated and finely-crafted episodes. 🎥💻📽

“Viewpoint” (Amazon Prime) British police procedural drama. A tense police surveillance investigation into a tight-knit Manchester community explores whether it is ever possible to observe the lives of others with true objectivity and zero effect.

       This is a neatly-done thriller, featuring Noel Clarke as DC Martin Young, a surveillance detective, and Alexandra Roach as Zoe Sterling, a single mother. Their chemistry is quietly electric as interwoven in an almost methodical narrative.

       I didn't like how it ended though. 🎥💻📽

“Wired” (Amazon Prime) British crime drama. A single mother and bank employee finds herself blackmailed by a former bank employee with documents revealing that she and a former partner stole £3,000 from a former employer. 

       The plot is predictably soap-operatic but the acting is remarkable, notably Jodie Whittaker as beleaguered single mom Louise Evans, and Riz Ahmed as bad guy Manesh Kunzru. 🎥💻📽