The Darkest Part of the Night, Kiln Theatre - issues-led drama has its heart in the right place

★★★ THE DARKEST PART OF THE NIGHT, KILN Issues-led drama has its heart in the right place

The didactic vies with the dramatic in Zodwa Nyoni's incident-packed new play

Music plays a big part in the life of Dwight, an 11-year-old black lad growing up in early 80s Leeds. He doesn't fit in at school, bullied because he is "slow", and he doesn't fit in outside school, would-be friends losing patience with him.

But he does fit in at home, loved unequivocally by a protective mother, somewhat enviously by a bickering sister, and rather reluctantly by a preoccupied father. Like the records he plays on the gramophone, his life is about to spin – and he'll have to hold on to the warmth of family love in a cold world.

Suspect, Channel 4 review - a stylised remake of a Danish psychological drama

★★★ SUSPECT, CHANNEL 4 James Nesbitt stars in stylised remake of a Danish psychological drama

James Nesbitt returns as another troubled policeman with a dark back-story (and matching eyebrows)

Suspect has a simple premise: a detective goes on a routine visit to a mortuary where an unidentified young woman has been taken after being found hanged. Suicide is the initial judgment: the cop, Danny Frater (James Nesbitt), grills the pathologist (Joely Richardson, pictured below) about the case and starts to leave. Then he pauses, policing instincts a-twitch, and uncovers the body’s head.

We Own This City, Sky Atlantic review - 'The Wire' creator David Simon is back on the Baltimore beat

★★★ WE OWN THIS CITY, SKY ATLANTIC 'The Wire' creator David Simon is back on the Baltimore beat with a gruelling saga of institutionalised police corruption

Gruelling saga of institutionalised police corruption

It has been 14 years since The Wire, David Simon’s labyrinthine epic about crime and policing in Baltimore, reached the end of the line. Yet it seems he couldn’t let it lie, because he’s back on the Baltimore beat with We Own This City (made by HBO, showing on Sky Atlantic). This time, the series is based on the eponymous non-fiction book by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton, with crime novelist George Pelecanos sharing the “Creator” credit with Simon.

DI Ray, ITV review - Parminder Nagra battles killer gangs and cultural stereotypes

★★★ DI RAY, ITV Parminder Nagra battles killer gangs and cultural stereotypes

Cops afflicted by sexism, racism and box-ticking mediocrity

Somehow or other, fictional representations of the police have become an off-the-cuff index of changing times and evolving values. Dixon of Dock Green’s cops were stern father figures who knew right from wrong and considered it their duty to give villains a clip round the ear. The Sweeney weren’t quite so sure about right and wrong but gave everybody a good kicking anyway, while risking a bollocking from the boss for their blatant rule-bending.

The Responder, BBC One review - the loneliness of the long-distance copper

★★★★ THE RESPONDER, BBC ONE Martin Freeman rides alone through the existential night

Martin Freeman rides alone through the existential night

Cops on the box… don’t we just love ‘em? From Jimmy Perez and Ted Hastings to Inspector Reid from Ripper Street and Stella Gibson from The Fall the list is endless, but obviously we need more. The copper seems to have become the battered Everyperson we can dump all our fear, loathing and anxiety onto.

Blu-ray: Deep Cover

★★ DEEP COVER Early '90s American action movie takes on drug trade & police racism

Early '90s American action movie takes on the drug trade and racism within the police

Bill Duke’s 1992 thriller Deep Cover receives the Criterion restoration treatment, and certainly the neon noir lighting looks luscious and fresh. It’s a shame the screenplay, the directing, and most of the acting hasn’t stood the test of time. 

Professor T, ITV review - whimsical tales of boffinly detection

★★★ PROFESSOR T, ITV Whimsical tales of boffinly detection

Ben Miller illustrates the power of mind over matter

ITV’s new detective mystery, Professor T, is an adaptation of a Belgian series of the same name, and was filmed in Belgium and Cambridge. Which is a bit weird since all the action supposedly happens in Cambridge.

Baptiste, Series 2, BBC One review - powerful comeback for the sorrowful French detective

★★★★ BAPTISTE, SERIES 2, BBC ONE The sorrowful French detective is back

Another knotty missing-persons mystery from Harry and Jack Williams

Baptiste (BBC One) has two powerful weapons in its armoury, in the shape of its stars – Tchéky Karyo as the titular French ‘tec, and Fiona Shaw as the central character in this second series. Both of them are astonishingly persuasive at conveying unfathomable depths of pain and loss, and it looks like they’ll have plenty of opportunities to prove it across these six episodes.

The Beast Must Die, Britbox review - a crime story which plumbs psychological depths

★★★★ THE BEAST MUST DIE, BRITBOX Jared Harris stars in Isle of Wight-based mystery

Jared Harris seizes centre stage in Isle of Wight-based mystery

They all laughed when the streaming service Britbox declared that it wanted to become a sort of UK-orientated Netflix, because so far it’s been mostly a back catalogue operation which plunders the BBC and ITV archives. You really want to pay a subscription to watch Are You Being Served? and Rosemary and Thyme?

Line of Duty, Series 6 Finale, BBC One review - crafty ending leaves wriggle room for a sequel

★★★★ LINE OF DUTY, SERIES 6 FINALE, BBC ONE Jed Mercurio's harsh verdict on police corruption gives no grounds for optimism

Jed Mercurio's harsh verdict on police corruption gives no grounds for optimism

WARNING - CONTAINS SPOILERS

Half the fun of this series of Line of Duty has been the crescendo of conspiracy theories surrounding it, fuelled by the way creator Jed Mercurio has skilfully kept tapping into the LoD mythology built up over the preceding five seasons. Craig Parkinson, aka the evil Dot Cottan from earlier series, has been hosting the Obsessed With… Line of Duty podcast, exploring secrets, theories and myths surrounding the show.