A cop show with a difference: DQ gets to grips with Cuffs
From booby-trapped cannabis factories to dog-napping and fighting naturists, new crime drama Cuffs promises to give viewers a new look at frontline policing. Michael Pickard reports. With crime and justice continuing to be staples of drama, each new series is challenged with coming up with new and innovative ways to hook audiences that may be tiring from stories about cops and robbers. But for their latest production, executives at Tiger Aspect were not only tasked with refreshing the traditional police drama but also making the first drama commissioned by BBC1 for its 20.00 slot in eight years. The result is Cuffs, an eight-part series that introduces viewers to a cast of colourful characters putting their lives on the line to protect members of the public. It stars Ashley Walters, Peter Sullivan, Amanda Abbington, Shaun Dooley, Paul Ready, Eleanor Matsuura, Alex Carter and Jacob Ifan. The series, which launched this Wednesday, is distributed by Endemol Shine International. Writer and creator Julie Gearey describes it as an ensemble cop show, which was brought to screen after several years of research that included talking to serving officers and joining them on ride-alongs. “It’s different from other cop shows because what we’re striving to do on Cuffs is to make it a very character-led drama,” Gearey says. “So even though they’re police stories, they’re driven by our characters’ wants and needs, and that makes it quite distinctive compared with a lot of cop shows that are very plot-driven. “Another big difference is the level … Continue reading A cop show with a difference: DQ gets to grips with Cuffs
