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Wentworth, Frontier and 15 TV hidden gems on Netflix

By Michael Bibbins

Frontier - Credit: Netflix
Frontier - Credit: Netflix /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 21: Actress Sarah Lancashire poses after she was awarded an OBE by Duke of Cambridge during an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on November 21, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Yui Mok-WPA Pool/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 21: Actress Sarah Lancashire poses after she was awarded an OBE by Duke of Cambridge during an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on November 21, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Yui Mok-WPA Pool/Getty Images) /

14. Happy Valley

Happy Valley is the first of what will be a few British crime dramas we want to make sure you aren’t missing out on.

While a lot of the successful U.S. based crime shows are set in large cities, across the pond the small-town crime shows flourish. Happy Valley has won the British Academy Film and Television (BAFTA) award for Best Drama Series for each of the two seasons currently released so it is a heavyweight overseas, but for our primarily American based viewers, it may be floating under the radar.

Happy Valley is set in West Yorkshire and is led by Sarah Lancashire who is brilliant as police officer Catherine Cawood. She also won a BAFTA for best lead actress for the second season of the series.

While she has some personal drama to deal with when there is a kidnapping in the town, things get very serious very quickly. She knows almost everyone in the town, so that adds to the drama of the investigation as she’s having to question people she considers friends. This is truly the appeal of small-town crime shows.

To add to the frustration of the investigation for the viewer, Happy Valley lets us know who the kidnappers are early. While our police struggle to put the clues together, we see how our kidnappers are handling the situation as well. There are close calls, tragedy, and a real investigation into the way people react to the most extreme situations. A third season should be on the way so there couldn’t be a better time to get into the show.

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