Marcella

 It ain't that bad a series, but it ain't extremely captivating or fascinating either. The titular character, Marcella, is a detective who had temporarily left the police force to cope with the death of her child. She's had a troubled life - estranged husband and two disconnected children. In season 1 she had to deal with a cold case she worked on. In season 2, now that she's back on the workforce, she's dealing with the disappearance of her son's friend, the discovery of his body, and the uncover of a serial killer.

I wouldn't say it's a bad series, but it certainly is pecular. Marcella is not your typical smart detective. She's antithesis of the typical police fictional character - she's smart, but her impulsiveness triumphs more and is obviously more dominant. She's mentally medically ill and she's leading a dysfunctional life and is not enjoying a stable, blossoming romantic life. But she remains sharp, although largely guided by her impulsiveness so it hadn't been always been receptively entertained.

The good thing about the series, like a typical British series, is that the emphasis of the character's personal growth is secondary to the main theme of the show. You'll be spending more time watching the crime rather than the drama of the character's lives. The bad thing is that Marcella is disturbed and I'm not sure how a person like her actually is a model representation of a hero even though it's obviously fictional.

Nonetheless, I've watched season 1 and season 2, with season 3 next. I know that the online consensus seems to favour season 2 over season 1, but I happened to like season 2 more than season 1. I'm not sure why, but I thought season 2 is underappreciated. The complexity of the crime is obviously few notches higher than season 1's, and the crime itself is just more interesting.

I'll look forward to season 3, but Marcella proves to me that British series has always been better than American series.