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When “bad” King John retreated during the First Barons’ War, he reached the Wash, a tidal estuary in central England, and fell into chaos. As he crossed the river, the crown jewels were washed away, and he died soon after at Newark Castle in Nottinghamshire. John’s evil may have been punished by Nottingham’s topography, but his image was captured in local mythology. This is a land that rejects authority, challenges the rich, and is littered with lost treasures – all themes that appear in season two. James Grahamof Sherwoodthe show will return to BBC One.
In and around Ashfield, rumours swirl of plans to reopen a mine in Nottinghamshire’s coal belt, bringing new Sheriff Lisa (Lia Zmitrovic) head-on into a confrontation with dastardly tycoon Franklin Warner (Robert Lindsay). But while that may be the main story, more pressing issues arise between local crime families, when drug-addled thug Ryan (Oliver Huntington) summarily executes the son of a rival dynasty, sparking an all-out turf war. A quick trigger finger brings in a host of returning characters – including David Morrissey’s Detective St. Clair, Lesley Manville’s grieving widow Julie and Lorraine Ashbourne’s officious matriarch Daphne – as well as a host of new characters, played by a host of British TV stars: David Haywood, Monica DolanSharlene Whyte and Stephen Dillane.
First series Sherwood It’s a story of a community dealing with intergenerational trauma. Old wounds from mine closures are reopened, alongside a very modern story of disenfranchisement. While the premise isn’t afraid to fall into cliché – the Archer’s crime spree in the Nottinghamshire woods is hardly a novel idea – it has a sense of urgency that’s all too rare in primetime crime dramas. This is Chapter Two SherwoodYet Nottingham is struggling to recapture that sense of freshness. “After years of deindustrialisation. Other places are creating jobs in technology or science. Can’t we invest in those?” the sheriff argues of the prospect of reopening the mines. But the link between not buying new computers for local schools and the Nottingham coast shootings seems never to have been fully explored.
No doubt Sherwood Desire Responsibilitiesthe specter of which hangs over all BBC primetime thrillers. Writer James Graham has plenty of experience in political drama, and this series reflects that. Yet the second season is at its best in its focus on the human impact of street violence. The attempt to shoehorn in contemporary politics – a critique of the doomed “equality” agenda – rings hollow. Lisa is a “very modern” lesbian chief constable of Nottingham, which will no doubt appeal to certain viewers, but her lines are genuinely clumsy. “It feels like a gimmick,” she tells Lindsay’s cartoonish, goateed Baron. “Throw some red meat at the red wall.” Perhaps when conceiving the second series, the commissioners didn’t foresee the Tories already tumbling into electoral Siberia.
Real, boring, tedious issues — like the complexities of decarbonizing the grid while maintaining energy security, or the economic challenges of balancing growth with tax hikes — are not given priority. Instead, the show is about three families. The Sparrows are still dealing with the aftermath of season one; the Bransons are led by the terrible Dolans and Dylan; and the Warners are landowning class and possibly in on Thatcherite shenanigans. While the season starts out as a shaky retread of the first season, it’s not long before the guns are drawn and the blood is flowing. If this show wants to be a “tough on crime, tough on its causes” series, it’s going to have to be that. Responsibilitiesthe end result is more like Top Boy for guardian reader.
That’s not a bad thing. The chain reaction of a single crime – spreading out in concentric circles, growing in size – makes for an exciting backdrop. Even if the politics are simplified, the politicking between the clans is not. “Come on to Nottinghamshire,” Lindsay roars, “the outlaws are back and thriving here!” Graham captures the feel of this outlaw country perfectly with his bloody, brutal tone.
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