Broadchurch (Series 3) | Review

The third, and final, series of ITV’s hit programming Broadchurch is set three years after the end of series two. The eight-episode arch follows the investigation the sexual assault of Trish Winterman. The final series brings back the original cast of character, including the Latimer family, in a secondary role, with David Tennant and Olivia Colman leading the show as the head detectives on Trish’s case. 

This new series of Broadchurch lacked the charm and intrigue of the original series. Trish’s story fell flat compared to the high-pressure stakes of the previous two series. This new story lacked the tension that Broadchurch so effortless executed in the past, leaving me uninterested in returning for the next episode. Not only was the storyline bland, but the dialogue was board line (and sometimes over the line) preachy. The show runners did more preaching this season than Reverend Paul. 

To continue to add more fuel to this burning series, the new characters were placid, one-dimensional, and, quite frankly, unpalatable. None of the characters were likable; they are all so excoriatingly annoying, they became a parody of every bad murder mystery suspect. Then, the show runners continued to shove the Latimer's down our throats, even though their story had clearly ended last series. The Latimer family had run their course on this show and including them as main characters again this series was a mistake. Personally, I was bored of them and felt nothing for their persistence woes. I would have preferred their storyline to be replaced with something new and interesting, like more of Hardy’s domestic life.  

The shining star of this series continued to be the brilliant chemistry between Tennant and Colman. Their characters continued to be the driving the force behind the otherwise boring episodes. What was most intriguing about this series was the unknown: what happened between Ellie and Alec in those three years since the trial. The tension and atmosphere between the characters in these episodes suggest a history that we were devoid of. There definitely was a new aura surrounding the show's protagonists, and the screenwriters missed a valuable opportunity to create something entertaining by exploiting the pair’s past. But this series is a testament to the talent and craft of Colman and Tennant because they were able to hold the entire episodes all on their own. 

This season of Broadchurch missed the mark on numerous levels, but that’s only because the previous series were so well crafted, it had a lot of live up to. The only thing that kept me coming back each week was the nostalgia of the amazing score and my obsession with having to know who dunnit.