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Paranoid tv show11/12/2022 ![]() But the meat of the drama is slow-cooked and satisfying.Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what to disclose in a review. Yes, there's at least one murder and hints of a conspiracy that emanates from the dark heart of pharma corporations in Germany. Time passes and not much happens apart from somebody becoming even more introverted. There is great pleasure in watching these characters – none of them striking or charismatic – reveal themselves in all their ordinary neuroses and doubts. Suresh supposes, wrongly, that the two of them are up to something. The only one who recognizes his suffering is that witness to the murder, Lucy. Senior cop Bobby Day (Robert Glenister) is secretly suffering panic attacks and violent headaches that he hides, and none of his colleagues seem to notice. "But I want kids," she shouts at his retreating, shrugging back, to no avail. Indira Varma (from Game of Thrones) is excellent as the brittle, angry, motormouth Detective Nina Suresh, the woman dumped by her boyfriend. Here, in Paranoid, the deepest mystery is anchored in the main characters. network thrillers, The Blacklist and Blindspot, and I was reminded again how much time is taken up with elaborate shootout scenes, car chases and people screaming. That slow pace of revelation and character development remains a strength of British productions. What it does have going for it is its slow-burning depiction of the British cops whose ordinary, messy lives are put under great strain by this one murder case. Paranoid is far from being at the level of River or Happy Valley. As soon as you get a handle on the dead man's job you can figure where this thriller is going. A cheery German officer is sent to find him and, well, discovers him dead and floating in a swimming pool. The man, long gone from the victim's life, lives in Dusseldorf, Germany. Somebody sends videos to the police station with statements such as, "You don't know what you're up against." Then, when the former husband of the murder victim needs to be informed, things get twisted. People interviewed say, "That other detective talked to me last night." Of course, the detectives know nothing about the other cop. The cops in Marshwell discover that a "ghost" cop has also been investigating the case. Case closed.īut with another seven episodes to come, nothing can be closed. Then, he's found dead, a possible suicide. A suspect, a local man suffering from paranoid schizophrenia with a history of violent outbursts, is sought. She's incredibly calm about everything.Įvents unfold in a predictable manner for a while. She's also the one who grabbed the victim's son for safety. The best witness to the murder is Lucy (Lesley Sharp), who saw the hooded figure arriving but didn't see his face. A man in a hoodie walks up and stabs her to death. Local family doctor Angela Benton is playing with her three-year-old son, Luke, on the swing. Things open in a kids' playground on a pleasant fall morning in the small fictional town of Marshwell. The latter would be our old friend, Big Pharma. What makes it truly interesting is the ordinariness of the cops, and the villain at the heart of the eight-part series. There are times when Paranoid – it's actually a British/German co-production – feels like an upmarket Coronation Street, and times when it reaches for more – a conspiracy-theory drama about dark corporate maneuvres. A speech she makes includes the declaration, "I'm 38 years old, my arse is starting to sag." One of the main characters is a 38-year-old female police officer whose boyfriend of many years dumps her in Episode 1. Some are even sad-sack middle-aged chaps with issues they don't want to talk about. Cops who aren't handsome, beautiful people with great hair. Paranoid (now streaming on Netflix) is good, not brilliant, but it's an excellent distraction. I know what many of you are like – I'm aware of your tastes and inclinations. You want a good British thriller to binge-watch. On these cold, grey days, I know what you want. ![]()
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