MaryLand

At its core, it’s a family drama that brings in questions of forgiveness, the tricky relationship between the past and the present, and the human hunger for being both bound and free. It’s also a great opportunity to admire two of the finest actors from across the pond.

What follows is a low-key study of family dynamics, particularly the relationship between Becca and her sister, Rosaline (Eve Best). Both women put in fine performances but Best has the more vibrant role.

Maryland has just enough bite to break the mould. It won’t be a Tuesday night revelation but, in what is proving to be a Golden Age for middle-aged female actors on the small screen, Maryland is neatly packaged and infinitely watchable.

Maryland confounds your expectations and is all the better, all the more credible and all the more moving for it.

When MaryLand concentrates on Becca and Rosaline re-bonding while seeking answers about their mother, the series works the best, thanks the performances from Jones and Best. The rest of the stories surrounding the sisters feel like filler that won’t really have much to do with the general direction of the series.

At times, Maryland goes a bit too heavy with the “restrained anguish” on stony beaches and blustery hillocks; it’s much livelier when Becca and Rosaline get spicy with the sisterly spats. That said, it’s well performed (Jones and Best share the acting laurels) and feels almost radical in the way it conducts its non-sensationalist postmortem of hidden family dynamics.

In tackling issues around grief, trauma and familial bonds with such nuance and grace, the drama builds up a lot of good will. It is therefore somewhat a shame that the ending feels a bit of a letdown.