Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. In this blog, I will be talking about some more TV recommendations which I watched during the summer, all of which are ITV shows. It may have been a while since I did another one of these, but these recommendations are certainly ones you need to get onto ASAP.
Malpractice:
My first recommendation is Malpractice, casted by the brilliant Daniel Edwards and his team, directed by Philip Barantini and featured Adei Bundy from The Actors Workshop Nottingham.
This show stars Niamh Algar as Dr Lucinda Edwards, who loses a patient due to an opioid overdose, which is then launched into an investigation, which includes her conduct on that night. This may have not been a true story, but I recently found out that this has been inspired by real-life experiences from former NHS doctor Grace Ofori-Attah, who moved to screenwriting after a 15-year medical career. What a decision that was, but she told her story through Lucinda beautifully.
This show got me attached for so many reasons. Not only for the drama but for the reality our doctors in the NHS deal with. Again not to give anything away, but the real reason why Lucinda is addicted to the drugs she’s on was yes maybe not excusable but understandable. And I’m hoping that we as a society should appreciate doctors more given the strikes they're currently facing in todays news. Fingers crossed for another series.
And I also have to give some credit to Adei Bundy. She played the role of Kathy Miller, a team member of Dr George Adjei (played by Jordan Kouame) who takes on the investigation of what happened on that night. Her role was integral to a show like this, as not only does it add to the atmosphere of the room, but it also makes the leader of the investigation looks good. In this case, her responses to what George wanted to ask her were spot on. Well done Adei.
Overall I would give this show a 4.5. This is mainly the fact that we never got to see the answers Lucinda gets at the end.
Without Sin:
My second recommendation is Without Sin, set in the heart of Nottingham starring the legend that is Vicky McClure.
The story follows grieving mother Stella, who gets a call from the man who is accused of killing her daughter, which then leads her on a journey to getting the justice she deserves. I think I mentioned this in a previous weekly highlight addition back in the summer, but I was due to be a part of this show as an extra. However due to restrictions of the pandemic at the time and also catching Covid myself, it was near impossible. However that didn’t stop me from showing support to the rest of my Actors Workshop Nottingham crew, who had the opportunity to be extras in some scenes.
This show kept giving all the drama by the minute, with the ending being the most dramatic of them all. I really don’t want to say what, but all I will say is be prepared to be shook. I really had no downsides to it, other than I wanted a second series. However with the ending they gave out I wasn’t sure if it was doable. But regardless if it is coming back for a second series or not, it was a really good watch and I would definitely recommend.
Vicky McClure was once again a woman of many talents. Previously you would mostly see her as authority figures, but this time I saw a different light to her. She showed her more vulnerable side, and her friendship with old friend Remy (played by Johann Myers), was a special one. even though they had a brief moment, the way Remy handled the situation without making it awkward for Stella was so lovely. A true friend who yes may like her more than that, but wanted to do it the right way. And that’s something so special to watch!
Overall this show gets a solid 5. I know I’ll probably be biased as it’s set near where I live, but I know good drama when I see it. As mentioned before, the ending in particular got me by surprised the most.
Ridley:
The final recommendation in this blog today is Ridley, starring the legend that is Adrien Dunbar.
This series follows Alex Ridley, a retired police officer who gets pulled back into a case by former protegee, Carol Farman, when a murder occurs. I had mixed opinions on this show. Firstly it may have been 4 episodes, but they were all 2 hours long, which in turn was the equivalent of 8 1-hour episodes. I’m not sure why it’s set out like that but sometimes it’s good to have something different where it’s not just one case throughout the series. And whilst I’m on the subject of different storylines, that’s one positive thing I’d like to add into this. As usually with crime drama you have to wait until the end of the series to find out who the culprit of each crime was (and some of them were shocking and I was not expecting for a minute), but with something like this you have to wait until the end of each episode.
I feel that this show was also a positive because as it was a different crime per episode, different characters came into the scene. This could then be a real opportunity for actors like myself to gain their first TV credit in a show like this, either as the culprit themselves or as a witness to the crime (which is more suitable for me), as with most series the possibility of getting a first the role is very slim. It’s not unheard of but also rare. But as it's also not a continuing drama, it may be difficult to get those small parts, but that doesn't mean to say that it's possible. Another thing that stood out to me that whilst there were different crimes, it keeps having the re-occurrence of what happened to Ridley’s wife and daughter, who died before the events of the show took place. I won’t get too much away, but but the end of season 1 (because as I’m writing this film it for season 2 has begun), a shocking revelation had been made linking to his family!
And one final thing I must say is a huge congratulations to abstain Dunbar himself. At 61 this is his first named role. You're probably thinking "No its not, the first one was Line of duty", when in fact it’s quite the opposite. Line of Duty is a different layout as yes he was one of the main characters but it wasn't focused on him entirely. Because this show's main focus was on him, it's a completely different layout. He was also many things which I wasn't expecting which brought out a different side to him. A talented singer, which I wasn’t expecting, and can still charm the ladies. Don’t know why I mean? Watch episode 3 to find out!
Overall I would give this show a 4. It was a slow burner at first (for me personally), and you do have to break it down into chunks for each episode, but once you get stuck in, you'll be taken on for a ride and for those who are looking for their first TV credit, this could be your chance.
And those are my TV recommendations fore this blog. More will be on the way very soon, so keep your eyes peeled...
See you soon for another blog. Until next time…
This is the autistic actress signing off :)
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