Eternal Law — A taut supernatural mystery from Life on Mars creators

Review by C.J. Bunce

The Dresden Files meets Good Omens and Family Law? It looks strange enough on paper, but Eternal Law, now streaming on Prime Video and Tubi, is quite the lost gem. An easy pick for our list of favorite one-season wonders that were criminally canceled early, it comes from the mind of Life on Mars creators Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham. Its story follows two angels, a senior angel played by All Creatures Great and Small and Mr. Selfridge star Samuel West and young Ukweli Roach (Humans, Annika) as the newly tapped angel–think Clarence in It’s a Wonderful Life, but updated for life’s trials of the 21st century. They’re on Earth as part of a mission that spans millenia, with the charge of helping people. And this duo has the unusual assistance of Star Trek Picard, Bosch: Legacy, and The Foreigner actor Orla Brady in another great performance as an angel-turned mortal. The duo takes on the role of lawyers in York, often defending the accused in complex cases, winnowing out the good in humans currently stuck in a downward spiral as they face clever opposing forces in the form of a cloaked fallen angel bent on opposing their every move.

It’s nothing like Life on Mars, and yet the themes and production quality are similar, Pharoah and Graham writing the show on the heels of the unparalleled Life on Mars follow-up Ashes to Ashes and the Jason Isaacs-led police procedural Case Histories. First broadcast in 2012 on ITV, Eternal Law is one of the finest, most tightly written overlooked British series, ticking all the boxes for fans of the urban fantasy, supernatural, and crime genres, a perfect freshman season like we saw most recently in the short-lived supernatural series Dead Places (reviewed here).

The vibe of the show will be familiar to fans of the short-lived TV series The Dresden Files, which followed Paul Blackthorne as a wizard and private eye for hire. The supernatural is felt more than it is seen. Samuel West plays Zak Gist, whose existence seems to cross all time. He’s irked to take an an apprentice angel, Ukweli Roach’s Tom Greening. Their association with Orla Brady’s Mrs. Sheringham keeps them in focus, although she lost her wings years ago, making a deal with heavenly boss Mr. Mountjoy to live out a mortal life with a man, but in exchange she must give up her wings. But that doesn’t include her service to Mr. Mountjoy.

The very survival of Earth is at stake, and a literal Doomsday Clock arrives as a reminder. Mr. Mountjoy provides moments within each episode that could be coincidence, but Zak interprets them as reminders of his place and the rules: Angels cannot interfere with the path of man. Angels are only there to encourage and help humans along. The angels serve Mr. Mountjoy as a force who never makes a physical appearance, but is felt with every move, foreseen or unforeseen. Tobias Menzies (The Terror, The Night Manager) plays Richard Pembroke, another barrister of York who always ends up on the opposite sides of cases (in England lawyers can serve on the prosecution in one case and the defence in another). Unlike Mrs. Sheringham, Pembroke has wings still, but he is a fallen angel, and in constant service of the idea that angels no longer serve a successful purpose for man or God. If only Pembroke can get Zak to give up, maybe seek to become mortal like Mrs. Sheringham, he believes Mr. Mountjoy may give up his plan and forever walk away from mankind for good.

Pembroke doesn’t have far to push Zak. He has prompted a woman from one of Zak’s past incarnations to reappear in Zak’s daily life. That’s Hattie Morahan (The Bank Job, The Golden Compass, The Bletchley Circle) as Hannah, who seemingly stumbles into town to take a job, only to get the job pushed off by Zak, and then to be brought in as counselor under Pembroke’s wing. Zak–although unrecogniable to Hannah in his current form–is still enamored with Hannah. Hannah, in turn, is attracted to the same qualities in Zak as she was with that would-be romantic partner who one day stepped out of her life forever.

One case finds Zak and Tom defending a man alleged to be a sniper in a shooting at a wedding. In another they defend the husband in a custody case. In another they defend an old man accused of poisoning a man at a care home. Then they defend a woman who killed a man entering her home–was he really her stalker? Another finds them on a nearby military base defending a soldier accused of desertion. Finally, they must work through what happened to three brothers, one who ends up dead seemingly by his brother’s hand. The variety of cases in this format could continue for years.

Pembroke is slithery, seething in his ability to pull the blocks out from under all of Zak and Tom’s assembled efforts to do good. The season finale sets up what could have been more fun, more conflict ahead. Every episode lays the foundation for seasons of interesting subplots.

Equal to the Zak and Hannah’s push and pull, and Zak and Tom’s partnership to defeat evil, is Orla Brady, completely immersed in the role of Mrs. Sheringham. She’s the house mother of sorts keeping the men in line, but she’s also researching the Doomsday Clock that mysteriously arrived. Is the ticking clock literally counting down the end of days? Why did Mr. Mountjoy deliver it to her? The man she gave up immortality for died shortly after her wings were removed. Suddenly the brother of that man arrives, and the memories flood back. Pembroke harps on the idea that she should move ahead and enjoy the rest of her life as a mortal. But something keeps pulling her back to the high road.

Guest stars include Harry Potter’s David Bradley, The Rings of Power’s Sam Hazeldine and Charles Edwards, Dune: Prophecy’s Sam Spruell, Vigil’s Stephen Dillane, and Doctor Who’s Jennifer Hennessy.

The supernatural is seemlessly incorporated into the modern world. The legal procedural elements surpass the drama of Law & Order: UK. From British network ITV, Eternal Law sadly was a one-and-done series, its unusual subject matter explains why it only lasted the typical UK six episodes and then didn’t garner a second season renewal. But what a great second or third season could have looked like! These stories, like many one season series, need to take on a second life in tie-in novels (it’s worked for Firefly!). For fans of Ashley Pharoah, Life on Mars, urban fantasy, and the great cast, stream all six episodes of Eternal Law now on Tubi and Prime Video.

Eternal Law debuts high in our comparative rankings. Catch up with our reviews of other quality British TV series (including Australian and New Zealand shows you’d find on PBS, BritBox, Acorn TV, and Hulu) beginning with our Top 10: Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes, Zen, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, Mr. Selfridge, Guilt, The IPCRESS File, The Hour, The Gentlemen, Case Histories, and Shetland (especially the first seasons). You could stay pretty busy with our full list of top British TV recommendations: Deadloch, Eternal Law, Black Doves, The Artful Dodger, Van Der Valk, Sherlock (especially the first season), Troppo, Legends, This is Going to Hurt, Black Snow, Mystery Road: Origin, Humans, Death Valley, Dept. Q, Bodkin, The Bletchley Circle, Good Cop/Bad Cop, Grace, Steeltown Murders, Hinterland, Glitch, Mystery Road, Culprits, Harrow, Annika, Young Sherlock, The Day of the Jackal, Code of Silence, Luther, Professor T, and Supacell.

After you’ve seen all of those, try Marchlands, Lightfields, State of Play, After the Flood, I, Jack Wright, Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, Population 11, Sunny Nights, Protection, Traces, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Scrublands, The Survivors, Ordeal by Innocence, Unforgotten, The Bay, Wild Bill, Quirke, The Hatton Garden Heist, Requiem, The Gloaming, The Clearing, The One, The Tourist, The Tower, Collateral, Gone, Roadkill, Stay Close, The Salisbury Poisonings, and A Confession.

Other British series across genres that are worth checking out (a few still to be reviewed here) include fun romps like Monarch of the Glen, Para Handy, Cranford, Viva Blackpool, and As Time Goes By, and cozy mysteries Rosemary and Thyme, Father Brown, Hetty Wainthropp, and Death in Paradise. One of the best of all British productions is the reboot of All Creatures Great and Small, which is in our British Top 10 (and the original is good, too). Of course there’s always Doctor Who for your sci-fi fix (and spin-offs Torchwood and Class), The Watch for your fantasy fix, Truth Seekers and Sea of Souls for your supernatural fix, and Spaced for more sci-fi fun, and we really should add House, MD, for Brit lead Hugh Laurie’s one-of-a-kind performance. (We’ve also reviewed but don’t heartily recommend so much Dublin Murders, The ABC Murders, The Pale Horse, Reef Break, The One That Got Away, The Silence, The Five, The Missing, Thirteen, or Broadchurch, as well as No Offence, which could have merited a review for its first season but, like Sherlock, its later episodes were a disappointment).