# Happy Valley (2014)

> A hard-working Yorkshire police sergeant, still raising her grandson after her daughter's death, is pulled back into the crime that scarred her family.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/54613

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 18
- Episode runtime: 59 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama, mystery
- Created by: Sally Wainwright
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Sarah Lancashire, Siobhan Finneran, James Norton, Rhys Connah, Charlie Murphy, Karl Davies, Shane Zaza, Joe Armstrong
- TMDB rating: 8.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3428912/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: bleak, dark humour, tense, intimate, gritty, wistful

## What critics say

Critics and audiences broadly acclaim Happy Valley as a gripping, emotionally raw crime thriller carried by Sarah Lancashire's performance and Sally Wainwright's writing.

## Synopsis

Happy Valley (2014-2023) is a British crime drama series created by Sally Wainwright for BBC One. Sarah Lancashire plays Catherine Cawood, a dedicated sergeant on the West Yorkshire police in the Calder Valley, a bereaved mother raising her orphaned grandchild while she works the rough streets of her hometown. Siobhan Finneran plays her sister Clare Cartwright, and James Norton plays the calculating criminal Tommy Lee Royce, whose path keeps crossing hers. The engine of the series is Catherine's relentless pursuit of justice against men who have wronged vulnerable people, while her personal life frays around her. Across three seasons of six episodes each, the show plays out as one continuing story, with each season's crime threading into the next. Its tone is dark, funny and deeply human, with bleak northern atmosphere, sharp local wit and moments of tenderness. Fans of Broadchurch, The Killing and Line of Duty will find resonance in its gritty realism and morally complicated lead.

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