nick elsom

Season 1 was good, well conceived, written and acted. However, until I saw season two pop up on iPlayer, I’d completely forgotten about it. Good TV should stay with you. And so far - three episodes in - season two will do that. Everything has gone up two or three notches. The creepy paranoia, the lack of a distracting affair between Grainger and Miles that seemed to make him slightly buffoonish, something he’s shaken off in S2, the introduction of Paapa Essiedu as an MP you can like, and the increasingly sociopathic Lia Williams. It feels like a story with depth and weight, and well worth watching. And lastly, despite some commenters trying to work themselves into a Daily Mail, bloody-libBBC lather, there’s not a scrap of ‘wokeiness’. The various issues raised are important story threads. The challenges a black MP faces, Grainger’s ambition and frustration fuelling a proper pummelling of a clearly inferior guy. And why shouldn’t a smart and capable woman be able to beat a man? Billie-Jean King did it, and I for one wouldn’t fancy getting in the ring with Nicola Adams. Just watch the show for what it is; great, high quality, thought provoking telly.