The latest season of ITV's "Unforgotten" was on the Guardian's top 50 shows of 2021, however, I'd not seen any of it before, so I went back to this first season, originally released in 2015. Ordinarily, I'm not much of a fan of Police procedurals, but the shows Cold Case twist and some excellent performances really elevated it.
Remains found in the basement of a former lodging house in London lands on the desk of DCI Cassie Stewart (Nicola Walker) and her team begin the gruelling task of trying to identify who the body is and when the crime was committed. Determining that it took place in the late 1970's, the case eventually draws a seemingly disparate group including Father Robert Greaves (Bernard Hill), wheelchair bound Eric Slater (Tom Courtney), inner city football coach Lizzie Wilton (Ruth Sheen) and business magnate Sir Phillip Cross (Trevor Eve).
I enjoyed the story of this season of "Unforgotten". The initial improbability of determining even who the body belongs too is worked through well and from there the case opens up and follows through in a logical fashion. The performances are really good. The standout is probably Tom Courtney, who was rewarded with a BAFTA for his role as Eric Slater, rather doddering old father and husband, who shows other darker sides to his personality the longer the season runs on.
I do agree that there were some aspects of the story that could have been clearer. Without spoilers I'll just say that the victim's interactions with some of the rest of the suspects could have been made clearer. That's nit-picking at the story though which had much to say about the long term effects of burying the truth for decades and, as I say, the performances really are first rate.
Looking forward to moving on to season two.