Lovers of series, especially in the detective genre, have always appreciated European shows. Unlike American ones, they are more atmospheric and memorable. So, the series “Murder on the Beach” received great popularity - the actors and roles in it, as well as the twisted plot, ensured him success.
The plot of the series
Ellie Smith is a police detective in the small English town of Broadchurch. Ellie goes to work from maternity leave with plans to increase, but suddenly finds out that her place was given to newcomer Alec Hardy. Not only does he have the image of a detective-loser attached to him, he also behaves very strangely and arrogantly to everything, and Ellie will have to work together with him.
Not having time to get along, the detectives go on a call: on the beach, at the foot of the hill, the body of a 11-year-old boy was found. The matter is complicated by the fact that the deceased Daniel Latimer is the best friend of Ally’s son, and their families have been friends for many years.
Ellie owes Beth and Mark, the parents of the deceased Danny, and she rushes into the investigation headlong. Hardy also intends to unravel the matter, but he has completely different motives for this. During the investigation, the most secret secrets of the inhabitants of the town and all the participants in the case emerge, but they not only do not help find the killer, but even more confuse the investigation.
“Killing on the beach”: actors and roles
For the main role in the series, the creators invited the star of the British serial world - the tenth Doctor Who David Tannant. He played the role of Detective Alec Hardy, who failed in the past in a high-profile case, after which he lost not only his family, but also his trust, and moved to Broadchurch to start all over again and never to repeat past mistakes again. In addition to the bad nature and obvious sociopathy, Hardy suffers from serious health problems, which does not prevent his keen mind from unraveling complicated matters.
The second main character is Ellie Smith, she was played by British actress Olivia Colman. She is quite famous in England and has several awards, including Bafta for her projects. Olivia's character is the exact opposite of Tennant's character. Her Allie lives all her life in a small town and knows literally everyone, that is, she thinks she knows. She is sociable, friendly and compassionate to everyone, which is what Hardy is trying to teach.
Also very dramatic roles of the parents of the murdered boy were played in the series by Jody Whitaker and Andrew Buchan. Their Beth and Mark at first glance - an ideal family with two children, but in the course of the investigation, secrets emerge that are better not known to anyone.
In addition to these characters, other residents of the town are present in the series, for example, hotel owner Becca Fisher (Simon MacAllay), Rev. Paul Cotes (Arthur Darville), husband Ally Joe (Matthew Gravel), correspondent of the local newspaper Ollie Stevens (Jonathan Bailey). They are connected in the most unexpected way, and many of these connections will play a role in a complicated case.
Interestingly, according to the idea of the director of the series “Murder on the Beach”, the actors did not know in advance who the killer was. And the one who played the killer was informed generally shortly before the filming of the final series. So it was possible to get from the actors the most sincere surprise and shock from revealing the identity of the killer.
“Murder on the Beach”, Season 2: actors and roles
Despite the fact that initially only one season was planned, the creators decided on a wave of success to continue. The actions of the second season are dedicated to the trial of the killer Danny Latimer, as well as events from the life of Alec Hardy.
The series “Murder on the Beach” was not complete without new characters. Actors of the first season again flashed in the frame, and in the new caste, the famous actress Charlotte Remping appeared, who played Jocelyn Knight, a lawyer and advocate, who retired, but agreed to help Danny's parents for the last time. Her opponent and former student Sharon Bishop was played by Marian Jean-Baptiste.
Also, the unfolding line of the past Alec Hardy gave the audience two bright characters - the suspect in the murder of Lee Ashworth and cornered Claire Ripley (James D'Arcy and Yves Miles).
Season 3 plans
An inscription appeared in the final credits of the second season, promising the audience a meeting in the future, and soon the creators of the show confirmed that the third season is planned in 2017, which will presumably consist of 8 episodes, like the previous two.
The plot of the third season will revolve around a completely new crime that will happen in the town of Broadchurch, but it is not yet clear whether we will meet old acquaintances of the series “Murder on the Beach”. The actors who signed the contract for the new season are not yet known.
Location
Of course, the actors “Killing on the Beach” provided great popularity. And the place of filming has underpinned success, since few series can boast of such landscape filming.
The action takes place in the town of Broadchurch, in the county of Dorset in England, but in reality there is no city with the same name. It was “played” by two places at once - the small fishing village of West Bay in Dorset and the city of Clevedon (Somerset County).
West Bay presented the series with one of the characters - a giant cliff on the beach, which rises by a gigantic wall. Incidentally, it is not just a local attraction, it is an object protected by UNESCO. All beach scenes were filmed here, which abound in the series “Murder on the Beach”. Actors, whose photos were widely distributed on the Web after the release of the film, repeatedly posed against the backdrop of this colorful cliff.
And in Clevedon, the sea and the beach are not so picturesque, so all city episodes were filmed here - Broadchurch streets, heroes' houses, police station, church, newspaper, hotel. More precisely, they filmed the exteriors of houses and scenes on the street, and internal filming was carried out in the pavilions.
TV series remake
Already no one is surprised when remakes in America with American actors are filmed on popular European shows. Sometimes this is a completely repeating plot (for example, as in the TV series “Bridge” or “Shameless”), sometimes only the denouement changes (as in “Murder”), and sometimes only a general outline remains (for example, as in “Homeland”). So, in America, the super-popular Broadchurch, or, in the Russian version, “Murder on the Beach”, was also re-shot under the name “Grosspoint”. Actors here are almost all American.
But it is interesting that the British invited Tannant to the main role, so that he actually plays the same Alik Hardy, only under the name of Detective Carver. Moreover, in the American version the same director and screenwriter. Despite the seemingly unnecessary remake, it was watched by many viewers who did not see the original, and fans of “Kill on the Beach” believe that this is a kind of exposition on the original with its interesting findings.
Awards
The series “Murder on the Beach” received many television awards. The most significant:
- Three Bafta awards: for Best Drama Series, Best Actress and Supporting Actor.
- Four Crime Thriller Awards: for Best Drama Show, Best Cast Actors, and Best Supporting Actor.
- Two Broadcasting Press Guild Awards: one for the best actress and one for the screenwriter.