Broadchurch is an ensemble show that follows the lives of a select few. So, how did our season 2 newbies fit in?
It’s hard being the new kid on the block in a TV series. You’ve got to find the rhythm of the new show so your portrayal doesn’t stand out in a bad way. It’s even harder to do this when the show you’re on is a smash hit.
Last night, Broadchurch came back to our screens in the U.S.A, and we’ve got several new faces who are going to be playing major roles in the new series. Among the “newbies” there are three who really stood out this episode. How did they rate with you?
Charlotte Rampling as Jocelyn Knight
American audiences probably best remember Charlotte Rampling from her stint on Dexter as Dr. Evelyn Vogel. Aside from that role, Rampling has been a staple of the film industry who can count Paul Newman among her famous co-stars.
In Broadchurch season 2, Jocelyn Knight comes out of retirement, and takes on the role as the lead prosecutor for the Crown at the request of the Lattimer family. It’s certainly a different system than the U.S.A. where the District Attorney assigns an ADA to prosecute a case. It will be interesting to see if American audiences will be intrigued by, or put off by the differences in the judicial systems. At the very least there may be some confusion and scurrying to Wikipedia to figure a few things out.
Eve Myles as Claire Ripley
Okay, Doctor Who fans, how cool was it to see the 10th Doctor on screen with Gwen Cooper? Okay, right, now that we’ve got that out of our systems, non-Whovians need to know what we’re going on about. Eve Myles is best remembered by American audiences for BBC costume dramas such as Little Dorrit, and as the tough-as-nails, leather-clad Gwen Cooper in Torchwood.
Talk about skeletons in the closet, Alec Hardy (Tennant) has a whole person in his closet…er…house. Apparently he’s been hiding Claire Ripley away from her ex-husband Lee Ashworth (James D’Arcy). She testified against him in Hardy’s botched Sandbrook case, and now she fears for her life because Lee is a free man.
It was interesting to see Myles play a bit of a damsel in distress, a very different turn from her Gwen Cooper character. A fun trivia fact: Myles was quite the fan of the first series, and lept at the chance to be in season 2 when showrunner, and former Torchwood writer/director, Chris Chibnall, offered her a role. Myles began work only weeks after giving birth to her second child.
James D’Arcy as Lee Ashworth
Well, Agent Carter fans don’t have to worry. They can get their Jarvis fix, sort of. James D’Arcy, who plays the consummate butler of Howard Stark on Agent Carter, couldn’t be more unlike Jarvis in Broadchurch if he tried.
Lee Ashworth is the prime suspect in Alec Hardy’s botched Sandbrook case,and he’s a free man due to the bungling of the key evidence on Hardy’s part. Technically it was on the part of Hardy’s now ex-wife, but suffice it to say, everyone blames Hardy.
D’Arcy definitely brought the creepy and ominous factor to the show. He’s effortlessly found Hardy and his ex-wife, so what is his next move? Does he want revenge on one or both of them? Is he a murderer who will strike again? What is his agenda?
Broadchurch airs again next Wednesday, at 10 p.m. on BBC America. Check out our top five reasons to love season 2.
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