After the Flood

While Jo is no Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire’s inimitable character in Happy Valley), neither is she meant to be. Mackie, however, is shaping up to be a villain every bit as skin-crawling as James Norton’s Tommy Lee Royce.

With an interesting blend of high-drama and genuine comment on the defining issue of our time, After the Flood is an entertaining, rewarding watch.

It settles into the aftermath of the disaster, introduces us to folk, conjures a real town and real relationships swiftly and convincingly.

The opening sequence, shot on the River Tees in Co Durham, was grimly striking. .... What is slightly less so is the plot. .... But it deserves credit for being a drama that for once doesn't centre on a raped/mutilated/murdered young woman. It is different, and by no means a damp squib.

They’ve tried to make it Happy Valley-lite. The location (actually filmed in Derbyshire, but could easily pass for Calderdale), the small community, even the theme music are similar. But we’re not in the same league. Sarah Lancashire would wipe the floor with this lot.

Some terrifically written (and performed) scenes of Jo’s home life, besieged by her husband’s terrible sister and family, bumped up against extremely clunky exposition elsewhere, most notably when Jo relayed the entire Lift Man case to her climate activist mother.

We wish After The Flood would concentrate on one story instead of the handful it has to juggle, because the talent in front and behind the camera is so good. But the show continues to be messy and muddled, and really hard to connect with.