Blackshore — Moody Irish police procedural comes to AMC+

Review by C.J. Bunce

The 2024 police procedural Blackshore has found its way to AMC+. The series has a promising cast led by Mobland’s Lisa Dwan as Fia Lucey, a Dublin detective sent down to the rural backwater town of Blackwater–the town where she grew up–to help find out what happened to missing local Róisín Hurley (Clara Fitzgerald). American viewers may be familiar with actor Stanley Townsend (Andor, The Gentlemen) as the town’s long-time man behind the curtain Bill McGuire and Aiden McCardle (Ella Enchanted, Sherlock & Daughter, Humans) as Charlie Reid, manager of the hotel where Róisín worked. Fia hasn’t been back to her hometown in 15 years, mainly because her parents and brother were found dead there back in 2004, a case still unsolved. Blackwater is a dark and grimy town where the locals aren’t too welcoming, seeing Fia as an outsider now, poking her nose around where it doesn’t belong. Can Fia solve the case of the missing woman, and maybe figure out once and for all the secret behind her family’s death, too?

This isn’t the first case of a detective returning home to the scene of an old crime, digging up skeletons from the past. Dwan never veers away from a serious posture for her detective. Fia’s efforts are thwarted at every step, and her efforts at friendship and camaraderie only go so far. For a moment it seems like we may get a glimpse at the detective in touch with something personal, like seeing her initial comfort of landing at the house where she was raised by aunt Sandra and uncle Donal (played by Ally Ni Chiarain and Andrew Bennett) along with her cousin Emma (played by Lisa Dwyer Hogg). But where even the most serious Brit police show would have the lead show some glimpses personality or humor, it’s never going to happen with Fia, which makes her seem like one serious cop, but it also makes her difficult for viewers to want to return to with each new episode.

Fia first starts sparring with her assigned partner, Cian Furlong (played by Rory Keenan). It seems nearly everyone in town knew something secret about the murder of Fia’s family, and anyone could have been involved in the murder, so the viewer is basically waiting six episodes to learn what happened. Anyone could have done it, and it could have been some kind of conspiracy. Mucking it all up for Fia is the assumption by most of the locals that Fia’s dad committed a murder-suicide. Why? Because a local teenaged girl was missing at the time, a case also never solved, and with no suspects the fingers were pointed in his direction. This led Fia to feel guilty her entire days in Blackwater. The teen’s parents (played by Ingrid Craigie and Barry McGovern) are still around and not happy to see Fia return.

From day one all signs point to Bill McGuire, owner of the distillery and co-owner of the hotel, and who knows what else. Townsend is practically typecast as that kind of archetype villain, the only thing missing is the twirl on his moustache. Keep an eye out for Amy De Bhrún as Furlong’s wife, who gets a good episode when she realizes boss McGuire isn’t who she thought he was.

Fia is almost artful with her use of profanities, as are the rest of the townies, and you may be reminded that course language of the Irish teens in Derry Girls was grounded in a similar reality. With interesting characters and a committed cast, Blackshore should have had what it takes to make it to a second season, and the possibility is raised in the finale. But the show’s heroine is stuck in the same kind of place as the lead in After the Flood (reviewed here). The characters and setting might have fared better in a “mystery of the week” format. But there’s nothing new to see here. It moves too slowly, and even with two unsolved murders in the past, one missing woman in the present, another murder, and two dead bodies, the script isn’t strong enough to make it all come together.

If you’re looking for a new location for your police show, the always cloudy town of Blackwater may be your next destination. A big plus is peeking in on the unique ways Ireland law enforcement differs from England. And if you’re looking for the next promising actors, Dwan and Keenan may be enough to stick around for. Originally airing in Ireland in 2024, Blackshore, from creator Kate O’Riordan, is now streaming on AMC+ in the States.

Catch up with our reviews of other quality British TV series (including Irish, Australian, and New Zealand shows you’d find on PBS, BritBox, Acorn TV, AMC+, Netflix, 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, Blackwater, 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, Broadchurch, and No Offence).