Happy Valley
Seen it?2014 | 3 seasons | 59 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Saturday SpecialWhy it’s a Saturday Special
It collected a shelf of major awards and it's still drawing plenty of interest, despite a short run with a modest audience. A strong pick for the weekend.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for crime-drama fans and anyone who likes to be kept guessing. If you loved Law & Order: Special Victims Unit or A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, start here.
- The mood
- Tense, dark and gritty.
- The pace
- 3 seasons: a few weeks of evenings, hour-long episodes, about 18 hours in all.
- What might put you off
- Rated TV-MA: meant for adults.
Happy Valley is a dark, funny, multi-layered thriller revolving around the personal and professional life of Catherine, a dedicated, experienced, hard-working copper. She is also a bereaved mother who looks after her orphaned grandchild.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
- AudiencesSolid
8.0 out of 10
- AwardsVery strong
Won 3 BAFTAs: BAFTA Television Awards: Best Actress, BAFTA Television Awards: Best Drama Series, BAFTA Television Craft Awards: Best Writer: Drama. Won 1 Peabody Award: Peabody Awards: Best Drama Performance. Also nominated for 4 more BAFTAs. Plus 19 other awards.
- Reach & staying powerBelow par
Ran for 3 seasons and reached a modest audience
- Buzz & cultural impactStrong
About 449K people sought it out in the past year
Season by season
The show overall is a Saturday Special. Here's how each season stacks up; Series 3 is the high point.
- Series 12014 · 6 episodes · 7.7 out of 10Saturday
- Series 22016 · 6 episodes · 7.8 out of 10Saturday
Series 32023 · 6 episodes · 8.3 out of 10Friday
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Created by Sally Wainwright
- Sarah LancashireCatherine Cawood
- Siobhan FinneranClare Cartwright
- James NortonTommy Lee Royce
- Rhys ConnahRyan Cawood
- Charlie MurphyAnn Gallagher
- Shane ZazaShafiq Shah
- George CostiganNevison Gallagher
- Rick WardenInsp Mike Taylor
- Vincent FranklinDSU Andy Shepherd
- Mollie WinnardJoanna Hepworth