The Responder

The Responder is a British police procedural series set in Liverpool, written by former Merseyside Police officer Tony Schumacher and starring Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo, Ian Hart, and MyAnna Buring.[1] It aired on BBC One on 24 January 2022. Schumacher has said that the character has "a lot to do" with him and the struggles he faced as a police officer, but that the storyline is fictional.[2]

The Responder
GenrePolice procedural
Created byTony Schumacher
Written byTony Schumacher
Directed byTim Mielants
Philip Barantini
Fien Troch
StarringMartin Freeman
Adelayo Adedayo
Warren Brown
MyAnna Buring
Emily Fairn
Josh Finan
Faye McKeever
Philip S McGuinness
Mark Womack
Rita Tushingham
Ian Hart
ComposerMatthew Herbert
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes5
Production
ProducerRebecca Ferguson
Running time60 minutes x 5
Release
Original networkBBC One
Original release24 January 2022 (2022-01-24) –
present

In late March 2022 the series was officially renewed for a second season.[3]

Synopsis

Chris Carson is a police officer, in a fictional constabulary covering Liverpool, who has been demoted from his position as an inspector and undertakes a series of night shifts in central Liverpool. His work scenes are interspersed with scenes of him at therapy, at home, and with his mother in a nursing home. He is partnered with Rachel Hargreaves, an inexperienced and still idealistic officer who wants to play by the rules. Carl Sweeney is a mid-level drug dealer whose stash of cocaine has been purloined by Casey, a local "baghead". Chris is trying to help Casey and, in doing so, crosses Carl. Other major characters include the naïve local scally Marco, who finds himself out of his depth.[4]

Carson is a conflicted and compromised man, with somewhat divided loyalties, a desire to do good but violent aggressive streak brought on by childhood trauma exacerbated by his experience in the police. He has been demoted from an inspector and is pursued by the officer responsible as part of a corruption probe, whose motives may not be entirely honest. The effects of the jobs and Chris' mental state take a toll on his family.

The series will be shown by Canal plus in France.[5] Various other deals will see the series shown around the world.[6] In Australia, Series 1 aired on SBS TV and SBS On Demand. The series is set for its USA debut on BritBox on 24 May 2022.[7]

Cast
  • Martin Freeman as Chris Carson
  • Adelayo Adedayo as Rachel Hargreaves, a probationary police officer
  • Warren Brown as Raymond Mullen, a demoted officer with an axe to grind
  • MyAnna Buring as Kate Carson, Chris' wife
  • Emily Fairn as Casey, a drug addict
  • Josh Finan as Marco, Casey's friend
  • Philip S. McGuinness as Ian, Carl's henchman
  • Mark Womack as Barry, Carl's henchman
  • Ian Hart as Carl Sweeney, a drug dealer
  • Rita Tushingham as June Carson, Chris' mother
  • Philip Barantini as Steve, Rachel's boyfriend
  • David Bradley as Davey, a local homeless man
  • Kerrie Hayes as Ellie Mullen, Raymond's wife and Kate's best friend
  • Faye McKeever as Jodie Sweeney, Carl's wife
  • Philip Whitchurch as Joe, Casey's grandfather
  • Christine Tremarco as Dr. Diane Gallagher, Greg's sister
  • Amaka Okafor as DI Deborah Barnes, Chris' boss
  • James Nelson-Joyce as Greg Gallagher, a drug lord
  • Elizabeth Berrington as Lynne Renfrew, Chris' therapist
  • Victor McGuire as Trevor
  • Dominic Carter as Sgt Bernie Wilson
  • Matthew Cottle as Father Liam Neeson
  • Dave Hill as Billy
  • Sylvie Gatrill as Mary
  • Sonny Walker as Stevo Marsh
  • James Ledsham as Enno
  • Connor Dempsey as Kyle
  • David Ayres as Andy
  • Kieron Urquhart as Paul
  • Harry Burke as Liam

Release

The series premiered on BBC One on 24 January 2022.[2] It aired in Australia in six episodes on SBS from 16 March 2022.[8]

The original soundtrack, created by Matthew Herbert, was released by Accidental Editions in March 2022. There are 18 tracks.[9]

Reception

Critical response

As of April 2022 review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the series a 100% approval rating, with an average rating of 8.7/10, based on 15 reviews. The critics' consensus reads, "The Responder is unrelentingly dark and inescapably absorbing, with Martin Freeman's hangdog performance carrying the drama”.[10] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim”.

References
  1. "The Responder: Meet the full cast of Martin Freeman's BBC drama". 24 January 2022. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  2. "The Responder's cast and creator discuss the new drama about life on the front line of British policing". BBC Media Centre. 20 January 2022 [19 January 2022]. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  3. "Four of the BBC's biggest dramas The Tourist, The Responder, Vigil and Time to return for a second series on BBC One and BBC iPlayer". BBC Media Centre. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  4. "La revue Responder – Martin Freeman est magnifique dans le tour de police | Télévision & radio". 24 January 2022. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  5. "The Responder - Bande-annonce".
  6. "Responder heads to BritBox US and Canal+".
  7. "The Responder: BritBox Sets US Premiere Date for Martin Freeman Drama – the British TV Place".
  8. "One of the best new dramas of the year The Responder arrives tonight on SBS". TV Blackbox. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  9. "'The Responder' soundtrack album released". Film Music Reporter. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  10. "The Responder". Rotten Tomatoes. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.


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