It’s been six years since we last saw Sally Wainwright’s genre-defining crime drama Happy Valley, and things are looking a little different this time around. Rhys Connah’s Ryan is looking – and acting – a lot more grown up, and Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) is just a stone’s throw away from retirement.
Things seem to be on the straight and narrow. Ryan has matured a lot in the last few years and has stopped bringing up his father at home. While still quick to jump down anyone’s throat over the slightest misstep, Catherine also seems to have mellowed and is ready to start the next phase of her life. She even tells her sister Clare (Siobhan Finneran) just how easy things have become for them all. But if I know Happy Valley like I think I do, it definitely won’t be staying that way.
