This British Crime Show Walked So ‘Mare of Easttown’ Could Run

When it was announced in early 2019 that one of our greatest living film actresses, Kate Winslet, would star in the HBO series Mare of Easttown, fans were excited to see her portrayal of a small-town detective. While Winslet deserves praise and accolades for her role, the show stands in the shadow of another gritty female detective drama that set the standard five years earlier.

Happy Valley is a three-season BBC crime drama created by prolific and beloved British television writer Sally Wainwright that aired its first season in 2014. The show follows Sergeant Catherine Cawood, played exquisitely by Sarah Lancashire, the whip-smart, sarcastic police officer. Like Mare, she adores her family but is also grieving the loss of a child. Immediately, audiences are drawn into Catherine’s world and can’t help but fall in love with her.

What is ‘Happy Valley’ About?

Each season of Happy Valley starts the same way as audiences are immediately thrust into Catherine’s life at work, policing in the gritty world of West Yorkshire. In the first few minutes of Episode 1, viewers get a real taste of who she is: “I’m Catherine, by the way. I’m 47, I’m divorced. I live with my sister, who’s a recovering heroin addict. I have two grown-up children, one dead, one I don’t speak to, and a grandson.” She says this while trying to coax a young man off a playground and from setting himself on fire after a bad drug trip. The way Lancashire delivers this line is nothing short of brilliant. It’s totally monotone as if she’s dealing with someone she sees all the time, which immediately sets the tone for the entire show.

Season 1 is centered around Tommy Lee Royce, played chillingly by James Norton, the man Catherine believes is responsible for the death of her daughter. She committed suicide after being raped by someone, and according to Catherine, all fingers point to Royce. He also happens to be the father of Catherine’s grandson, Ryan (Rhys Connah), a fact she desperately wishes weren’t true. Catherine is determined to bring Royce to justice, not only for her daughter but for other heinous crimes he’s committed. When he’s finally put in prison, Catherine is ready to move on and give her grandson a normal life, but in Season 2, Royce finds a way to contact Ryan from prison, leading to further turmoil for Catherine and her family. In Season 3, Catherine is nearing retirement but learns that Ryan and Tommy have actually been seeing each other, which turns her world upside down.

While the police work in each season is compelling and surprising, the core of the show is this sort of cat-and-mouse chase between Catherine and Tommy. Lancashire and Norton have incredible chemistry as two characters who absolutely despise each other. Tommy is easy to hate for the first two seasons and, while not ever fully vindicated, has a different side to him brought to light in Season 3. It leads to one of the most anticipated and shocking scenes between Royce and Cawood at the end of the season.

Catherine’s sister Claire (Siobhan Finneran) also plays a huge part in the series. Complicated in her own right, Clare loves her family but struggles with addiction. Both Ryan and Clare bring out Catherine’s maternal and loving side, which is a great contrast to her brash side at work. While Happy Valley can certainly have its dark moments, there are moments of levity infused throughout that help relieve some of that tension, giving the show a truly authentic feel in each episode.

Location and Characters Play a Major Role in Both ‘Mare of Easttown’ and ‘Happy Valley’

Mare of Easttown was rightfully praised for its portrayal of small-town Pennsylvania and even made its way into the zeitgeist of pop culture. Yes, there was a lot of work done to make the accents authentic, but it went much deeper than that. The show shined a light on the economic realities of Easttown and didn’t shy away from battles with addiction that plagued the small town. Through an authentic lens, the show portrayed what it was like not only to live in the town but to police it.

Happy Valley also did this in a very real and rich way, only in small-town Britain. West Yorkshire, a seemingly bucolic place with rolling green hills, shot beautifully behind Catherine’s police cruiser as it drives through its winding roads. While it is visually stunning, there’s a dark underbelly that has its fair share of poverty, drug addiction, and violence. In fact, Happy Valley got its nickname from local police officers in West Yorkshire, particularly Calder Valley, because of the amount of drugs pouring into the area.

Like Mare of Easttown, Happy Valley leans into the difficulties of being a police officer in such a complicated environment. In the finale of Season 1, Catherine sadly explains that a significant part of being a police officer is dealing with kids on drugs who have been taken advantage of by greedy drug dealers. It’s easy to hear the pain and anger in her voice as she knows how many lives have been changed and unnecessarily lost from the circumstances of living in West Yorkshire. Like Mare, Catherine also has a personal connection to addiction with members of her own family, which adds a complex layer to the world these women live in.

Another huge difference between the shows’ locations is how police work is actually done in the US versus the UK. Audiences of American cop shows are used to seeing officers draw their guns or even engage in gunfire, which certainly can add a layer of action. However, in Happy Valley, Sergeant Cawood and her officers don’t carry guns when they question suspects or go down a dark alley. In many ways, the absence of guns creates more drama and, ultimately, requires police officers to lean more into their skills, especially when it comes to foot chases. One of the most heart-pounding scenes in Happy Valley comes at the end of Season 2 as Catherine closes in on a corrupt police officer. It’s safe to say that if guns were involved in this scene, it would make it less exciting.

Sarah Lancashire is the Heart and Soul of ‘Happy Valley’

Happy Valley certainly has an incredible ensemble cast, but the best performance comes from Sarah Lancashire. It’s easily one of the best TV performances of our time. It helps that the role of Catherine Cawood is perfectly crafted and seemingly an actor’s dream role. Wainright’s writing is always fantastic, but she especially shines in writing authentic and flawed women who are fully formed characters.

In this role, Lancashire plays the gamut of emotions, going from a rebellious, foul-mouthed police officer to a loving, nurturing grandmother, all under the umbrella of this immense grief she’s carrying with her every moment of the day. She also doesn’t shy away from an exhilarating foot chase, which can’t be easy with all that chunky police gear. She even gets into a physical brawl with the criminals she’s pursuing occasionally. There are moments when she’s composed or witty and hilarious but then puts herself into the deepest vulnerability.

While Catherine Cawood’s story has ended, fans are excited about the possibility of Mare of Easttown Season 2. With Winslet returning as Mare, audiences are in for a great performance, but it’s important to remember the greats that came before. Lancashire won two very well-deserved BAFTAs for her portrayal of Catherine Cawood, and U.S. audiences would be sorely missing out if they didn’t watch Happy Valley. Sergent Cawood is one of the best TV police characters of all time, thanks to Lancashire’s incredible performance, and she should be included among the greats.

Happy Valley is available to purchase on Apple TV in the U.S.