Unforgotten

Peter McGinn

This is one of a handful of current British police procedural programs that I think of as elite, nearly perfect. (Think Versa, think DCI Banks, think Shetland.) I don’t mean literally perfect: every show disappoints at times or drops the ball briefly, but you don’t notice or care. The show is a slow burner, for obvious reasons. There are no serial killers on the loose, no hostage situations or thrilling car chases. The cases Cassie’s team investigates are old. They are hindered by the fact that before they can question witnesses, research possible suspects or persons of interest, they need to identify the identity and cause of death of victims who were p=killed, 10, 20 or 50 years before. The investigative team works together well, and the ensemble cast take turns helping the cases with their hard work. And as in the shows I listed above, their work and our attention are not distracted by the hot mess of a personal life of their leader. Cassie, Vera, DCI Banks, they have personal issues that come up, but they are the kind of problems we might all have. As soon as I have time (If such an exalted event occurs, I will want to watch the series again to get more out of it, but for now we must merely enjoy them as they roll out of production.