Latest Nordic-inspired grim cop drama River débuts with 3.9m on BBC One
Just in case there wasn’t enough miserable and slow burning post-Killing police procedurals littering up the TV schedule, last night saw BBC One attempt to squeeze in one more Scandinavian-influenced bleak-fest for good measure.
The past few weeks alone have seen both BBC One and ITV launch From Darkness and Unforgotten, respectively, two shows that feature a haunted copper attempting to go about their work in atmospheric, greyed-out and unforgiving backdrops, adding to the pile of Anglo adaptations of the genre that audiences can scarcely escape from.
Last night saw River (9pm) launch on BBC One, the first of six episodes about a mentally troubled purveyor of justice who is struggling to cope with the death of a colleague while navigating the dark and moody streets of London.
Suitably, the moody drama stars Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard, who’s taking a break from his increasingly hectic Marvel Studio’s roster (who seemingly have ownership on his soul), as the damaged detective, with Spooks and Unforgotten‘s Nicola Walker popping up just because she’s in everything else at the moment.
While the crime drama didn’t exactly pull in Doctor Foster levels of interest, the adventures of a man moodier than Wallander and Morse put together secured the 9pm slot for BBC One.
3.9 million viewers tuned in to see John River’s attempt to make amends with the past end in disaster, resulting in a 19% share.
[advert position=”left”]Giving the sad-faced detective a run for his money over on ITV was Lewis (9pm), a show with a similar set-up but with a polar opposite execution.
Instead of the grimy tear-stained streets of London, viewers were invited to the charming surroundings of Oxford as DI Lewis and his young Padawan, DI Hathaway, were tasked with wrapping up last week’s modern art murder in the second episode of the ninth series.
Launching last week up against the final-ever episode of New Tricks with 3.5 million viewers, last night saw another 3.5 million viewers tune in to ITV for the current story’s conclusion, resulting in a 17% share.
On BBC Two, The Naked Choir with Gareth Malone (9pm) saw the heat turned up on the five remaining acapella groups, with 1.6 million viewers tuning in for more criticis-induced tears, resulting in an 8% share.
Fabricating real life into a easy-to-digest drama was the final episode of Educating Cardiff (9pm) on Channel 4, which coincidentally featured preparations for a very TV-friendly school cabaret.
Attempting once again to reach the heights of the much-lauded ‘Musharaf moment’ of Educating Yorkshire, 1.1 million viewers tuned in to see staff attempt to pull a shy and sensitive pupil out of his shell by forcing him on stage and in front of a national audience, resulting in a 5% share.
This figures exactly mirrors Educating the East End‘s finale last year but lags behind the last episode of 2013’s Educating Yorkshire which secured 2.6 million viewers.
Channel 5 was up to its old tricks, once again mixing historical fact and sensationalism in Witch Hunt: A Century of Murder which still makes a nice change from the deluge of knock-off welfare programming. 610,000 viewers tuned in to see hysterical 17th century child-slaying, netting a 3% share.
At 8pm, Holby City (BBC One) secured 4.4 million viewers (a 22% share) while the thrilling prospect of watching Gregg Wallace visit farms in Harvest 2015 on BBC Two brought in 2.3 million viewers and an 11% share.
On ITV, very healthy humans battled it out on Eternal Glory (8pm), which was watched by 1.8 million viewers and a 9% share while Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners (Channel 4) netted 1.3 million viewers and Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet 1.1 million.
At 7pm, Emmerdale (ITV) took the day’s number two spot, with 5.7 million viewers and a 30% share, while BBC One’s EastEnders took the top spot, with Ben Mitchell’s and Kathy Beale’s plotting securing 6.3 million viewers, a 31% share and Tuesday’s top spot.
Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks and key multi-channel stations. Overnight data supplied by TRP are based on 15 minute slot averages. This may differ from tape checked figures, which are based on a programme’s actual start and end time.
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