Chasing Shadows - Series 1 Episode 1 - ITV 1 - 04/09/14

Another year, another ITV dram season, another police-serial-killer show. ITV's latest offering, 'Chasing Shadows' would have to try very hard to make it a cut above the rest in order to stand out. British television has seen some incredible police dramas recently, including BBC's 'Happy Valley' and ITV's 'Broadchurch' and 'Scott and Bailey' amongst many, many others. So the question is, did 'Chasing Shadows' make it work?

I'll be honest, I was first intrigued to 'Chasing Shadows' because of the stellar cast. Doctor Who alumni, Noel Clarke and Alex Kingston and the genius writing and acting talent that is Reece Shearsmith. I have to admit, they really made the show, the actors and their respective characters. Were it any other unknown actors in the role, I doubt this show would have worked in the way that it did. In itself, 'Chasing Shadows' didn't really offer anything different or anything we haven't already seen a million times before in TV police dramas. The general plot goes something like this, someone goes missing, usually a teenager, and there is a hunt to the find the serial killer (sorry multiple murderer).

But that's not to say this show wasn't good, because it was hugely enjoyable. The best thing about it was that it was funny. Mostly ironic humour it has to be said and it almost left you wondering if you should be laughing at all due to the seriousness of the content of the show. This brilliant humour was mostly due to the superb acting relationship between Reece Shearsmith's character Sean Stone and Alex Kingston's Ruth Hattersly. Shearsmiths character had an almost 'Sherlock' quality to it, removed from the rest of the world, preferring to do things by himself, much to the humorous exasperation of Kingston! Though the best scenes of the show came from these two characters, it did feel that Noel Clarke's character Carl Pryor was underused, but there is hopes that he may be shown and used more in later episodes of the series.

Overall, the opening episode failed to reach the dizzying heights of drama and suspense that other police dramas of recent times have done this year, giving us only one really tense moment, approximately as a cliffhanger to the episode. But if you remove the thought of previous shows that are in a similar vein, 'Chasing Shadows' is a hugely enjoyable, witty, if forgettable ITV drama. The only thing to keep me tuning in each week would be the cast, which is brilliant and who really make this show, 'good'.