Traces, Alibi review - pedigree cast battles implausible plot

★★★ TRACES, ALIBI Pedigree cast battle implausible plot

Dundee-set forensic thriller has too many coincidences for its own good

Alibi is usually your one-stop shop for re-runs of Father Brown or Death in Paradise, so well done them for commissioning this new murder mystery. It comes with a glittering pedigree, having been created by actor-turned-writer Amelia Bullmore (Scott & Bailey etc) and bestselling crime novelist Val McDermid, but despite a cracking cast it struggles to pass the credibility test.

Giri/Haji, Series Finale, BBC Two review - a thriller, but much more besides

★★★★★ GIRI / HAJI, SERIES FINALE, BBC TWO A thriller, but much more besides

Bravura climax for Joe Barton's ingenious drama

Happily, Joe Barton’s tinglingly original thriller (BBC Two) finished as smartly as it began, not by any humdrum tying-up of loose ends but by giving free rein to the story’s ambiguities and impossible choices. If indeed they really were choices.

The Sinner, Series 2, BBC Four review - a white-knuckle ride into spiritual darkness

★★★★ THE SINNER, SERIES 2, BBC FOUR A white-knuckle ride into spiritual darkness

Bill Pullman returns as detective Harry Ambrose, investigating a murderous child

The first series of The Sinner in 2017 starred Jessica Biel as a disturbed woman who seemingly inexplicably stabbed a man to death on a beach, then could remember nothing about the crime. This second season on BBC Four finds Biel on board as executive producer, but this time the story is of a young boy who seemingly inexplicably poisons a couple, and admits to doing it.

Vienna Blood, BBC Two review - psychoanalysis and murder in turn-of-the-century Vienna

★★★ VIENNA BLOOD, BBC TWO Psychoanalysis and murder in turn-of-the-century Vienna

Set in a thrilling era, Steve Thompson's adaptation of Frank Tallis's Liebermann novels fails to excite

“Talking cures and exploring the darkness of men’s souls – are you sure this is a career for a gentleman?” This is Vienna, 1906. Freud is exerting an influence, to the disapproval of many, including the father of cool-as-a-cucumber Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard).

The Crown, Series 3, Netflix review - if you want binge TV, there's none finer

GOLDEN GLOBES 2020 Olivia Colman crowned for 'The Crown'

Peter Morgan's royal saga has a new cast as the Windsors negotiate the turbulent 1960s

Although it conforms to a realistic chronology of events, this third season of Peter Morgan’s remarkable voyage around the House of Windsor (on Netflix) has the feel of a sequence of standalone dramas, linked together by its interrelated characters and their shared history.

The Accident, Series Finale, Channel 4 review - ambitious mini-series leaves many unanswered questions

★★ THE ACCIDENT, SERIES FINALE, CHANNEL 4 Ambitious mini-series leaves many unanwered questions

Jack Thorne’s tragic drama aims to give us closure, but is hampered by flat and unconvincing characters

Channel 4’s The Accident closed with a bang and a whimper. Jack Thorne provided a definitive answer to his series’ central question, but his characters and subplots petered out in the meantime.

Gold Digger, BBC One review - Julia Ormond tackles those mid-life blues

★★★ GOLD DIGGER, BBC ONE Julia Ormond tackles those mid-life blues

Marnie Dickens's family drama asks if life can begin again at 60

A tip of the hat to Julia Ormond for boldly going where many an actress might have chosen not to. In this new six-parter by Marnie Dickens, she plays Julia Day, a mother of three who’s just divorced her husband and is turning 60. Dickens’s objective, we may surmise, was to drive away the fog of invisibility which can descend irrationally upon mature women, however capable they may be, and demonstrate that age can indeed be just a number.

World on Fire, BBC One, series finale review - may this fine war drama fight on

★★★★ WORLD ON FIRE, BBC ONE Peter Bowker's ambitious series ended on a cliffhanger

Peter Bowker's ambitious series ended on a cliffhanger, with viewers waiting to learn its fate

A bit like all those people on the home front in 1940 (but only a little bit), we sit and nervously wait for news. Is World on Fire (BBC One) still listed among the living? Or even now is someone typing up the letter and sticking it in a brown envelope? “Fell bravely in the field … did its country proud etc…” Please may this ambitious Sunday-night drama live to fight another day?

Dublin Murders, Series Finale, BBC One review - eerie detective drama grips tightly

★★★★ DUBLIN MURDERS, SERIES FINALE, BBC ONE Eerie detective drama grips tightly

Adaptation of Tana French novels exerts a supernatural allure

You wouldn’t expect a drama called Dublin Murders (BBC One) to be a laugh a minute, but the cumulative anguish, menace and torment of this eight-parter made it almost unbearable, even if viewers were thrown a tiny scrap of hope in the final frames.

Pose, Series 2, BBC Two review - satisfying return for one of TV's most triumphant dramas

★★★★★ POSE, SERIES 2, BBC TWO Satisfying return for one of TV's most triumphant dramas

Ryan Murphy’s excellent series about 1980s ball culture is getting grimmer, but it’s still a whole lot of fun

Pose offers something that is really rare in the TV world: it’s a show that manages to be both darkly sombre and completely uplifting. The drama, which is about New York City’s 1980s ball culture, focuses on the lives of trans women and gay men competing for glory in the ballroom while fighting for their lives on the streets.