Under Salt Marsh

If you watch a lot of terrestrial television and visit freely accessible networks that aren't tied to streamers, you're probably well aware of the kinds of police and detective dramas that often make their arrival. In the UK at least, every evening seems to offer the next episode of an acclaimed and beloved series or the premiere of something ground-breaking, but if you study this trend at a macro level, there's no denying that each and every one of these shows is constructed using the same formula. It's safe and people know what to expect from them (while being surprised by their typical twists and turns) and so the format works even if it can be hard to get excited for new ones, from my perspective at least. And yet here I am about to gush and tell you that {Under Salt Marsh} is worthy of a watch...

Again, this is a show that is pretty much birthed directly from that formula. We follow a detective assigned to a case in a rural Welsh village, the death of a child under suspicious circumstances, a body discovered by a local teacher who just so happens to have deep and conflicting connections to the village, its people, and the detective on the case. From here, we find the traditional trials and tribulations as granular information and details are drip-fed to the viewer on an episodic basis, where each episode tends to end with a revolutionary and polarising and shocking development making you desperate to see what comes next. It's nothing revolutionary at all, but {Under Salt Marsh} does at least have the extra dimension of the village in question being located on the Welsh coast in a very high risk flood area, made much worse by the imminent arrival of a huge transatlantic storm that will wash away any evidence and essentially render the case insolvable.

So our intrepid heroes do at least find themselves racing against the clock in a situation that doesn't revolve around the genre traditions of other lives being on the line. It's a slightly fresher perspective and premise, not a revolutionary one in any sense, but that's fine because where {Under Salt Marsh} truly shines is in its performances and the razor sharp narrative.

For one, Kelly Reilly is brilliant as the lead character of Jackie Ellis. She steals the spotlight and delivers a performance that is nuanced and emotionally deep. It's a character that has been created to have layers that are frequently unravelled to present compelling new details, and this is reflected in her male lead counterpart of Rafe Spall's Detective Eric Bull. Secrets upon secrets, that's the dynamic these two offer the viewer and it's a dynamic that will have you desperate to know more and eager for additional episodes.

Likewise, the narrative and the way it's structured is incredibly tight. There's the key harrowing death at the centre but it's tied to a miserable past mystery that rocked the village, and bolstered by hidden connections and relationships that bring together the town's inhabitants in unexpected ways. Again, it's a story that never once betrays its secrets, never once makes you feel as though you've cracked the code, and it works this well because of the limited number of episodes and the balanced pacing.

So while you might watch the opening 20 minutes of {Under Salt Marsh} and feel as though you've been here before, this doesn't come across as a generic and familiar crime thriller series as every part of it just feels as though it was sculpted and tweaked to a fine degree. You won't be disappointed by this gripping drama series.