Two stone-cold cases of murder test the wits of crime-solving duo Detective Chief Inspector Cassie Stuart and Detective Sergeant Sunny Khan, played by Nicola Walker (Last Tango in Halifax) and Sanjeev Bhaskar (Indian Summers), in two seasons of the critically acclaimed UK crime series.
The Telegraph (London) called “Unforgotten’s” opening episodes “the gateway to a labyrinth of absorbingly interconnected lives,” adding that Walker and Bhaskar portray “two of the most credibly ordinary cops currently on the TV beat.”
The Australian (Sydney) singled out screenwriter Chris Lang as “a cunning master of parallel plotting. Compelling stuff.” And The Independent (London) lauded the remarkable supporting cast of “unforgotten and unforgettable actors.”
Joining Walker and Bhaskar is Peter Egan (Downton Abbey), who appears as Cassie’s father and Tom Courtenay (Little Dorrit), who won a best supporting actor BAFTA for his role in the series. Guest stars in Season 2 include Badria Timimi (Syriana), Mark Bonnar (Line of Duty), Lorraine Ashbourne (Jane Eyre), and Rosie Cavaliero (Little Dorrit).
Season 2 starts innocently enough with a routine river dredging operation. When the scoop brings up a soggy, old suitcase, the workers open it and find a corpse sealed up so long that the tissues have turned to a soapy substance. Gruesome forensic work identifies the victim as David Walker, a businessman missing for twenty-five years.
Cassie and Sunny locate Walker’s wife, Tessa Nixon (Ashbourne), now remarried. A hard-bitten DI herself, Tessa reminds her fellow police officers that “sixty-three percent of all murder victims are killed by their partners.”
“You’ll be thinking that, won’t you?” she says. “I would be.”
But Cassie and Sunny have other suspects to consider. A pager found with Walker’s remains leads them to Sara Mahmoud (Timimi), a Muslim teacher who wishes she’d never heard of David Walker. Other clues connect Walker with Colin Osborne (Bonnar), a gay attorney in the process of adopting a young girl with his partner; and Marion Kelsey (Cavaliero), a harried nurse in a children’s cancer ward.
The puzzle pieces won’t fit together—until, as The Telegraph admiringly notes, Cassie has an inspiration that climaxes in “the perfect ending.”
“Unforgotten” is a Mainstreet production for ITV. Chris Lang is the creator and writer. Andy Wilson is the director. The executive producers are Sally Haynes, Chris Lang and Laura Mackie. The producer is Tim Bradley.
“Masterpiece Mystery Unforgotten Season 2” Blu-Ray-$39.99
“Masterpiece Mystery Unforgotten Season 2” DVD-$34.99
