Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Happy News of “Happy Valley”

(Above) A fan-made trailer for Happy Valley, Series 1.

Progress toward a third series of the British TV crime drama Happy Valley has been so sluggardly, that many people—nay, most people—probably thought its actual appearance would never come.

The first two seasons of that award-winning program, starring Sarah Lancashire as West Yorkshire Police Sergeant Catherine Cawood, debuted in the UK in 2014 and 2016. Then in 2019, The Killing Times (which had named Happy Valley as one of its top crime shows of the 2010s) reported that a third series “has now been greenlit.” But since that time, there’s only been more quiet. Surely, the COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t have helped this situation, as many TV and film productions were shut down to help prevent the virus’ spread.

Today, however, The Killing Times brings this update: “[T]he BBC has confirmed that the Sally Wainwright-created series will be returning in 2022 for a third and final six-episode run. Sarah Lancashire, Siobhan Finneran and James Norton (yes, James Norton) will all be returning for the series.” The site provides a brief Series 3 overview:
The BBC says: “When Catherine discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir it sparks a chain of events that unwittingly leads her straight back to [rapist/kidnapper] Tommy Lee Royce [Norton].

“Her grandson Ryan is now sixteen and still living with Catherine, but he has ideas of his own about what kind of relationship he wants to have with the man Catherine refuses to acknowledge as his father. Still battling the seemingly never-ending problem of drugs in the valley and those who supply them, Catherine is on the cusp of retirement.”
Those new half-dozen episodes are expected to begin filming in northern England next year. There’s no estimation yet of when they might air, but hearing that they’re actually going to exist should bring ssmile to the faces of Happy Valley fans.

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