The jetty should come with a warning, because this new thriller could become your next TV obsession.
I hope you don’t have much planned for the next few days, because you’ll be busy watching Jenna Coleman in her latest thriller—and her first-ever role as a police detective.
The series, which will captivate you from the first episode, is set in a sleepy town in Lancashire. But although the scenery looks like something out of a picture book, the town harbors dark secrets from the past and present.
The first episode begins with a huge fire raging through a vacation home, and Detective Ember Manning (Jenna Coleman) must figure out how this arson is connected to a podcast journalist’s investigation of an unsolved missing person case and a forbidden love triangle between a man in his twenties and two underage girls.
But as Ember gets closer to the truth and begins to connect crimes from the past and present, it threatens to destroy her life – and forces her to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about her life and the city she always called home.
I have always been a huge Jenna fan, since her early career as Jasmine Thomas in Emmerdale in 2005. Since then, the British star has spent nearly two decades in film and television, starring in major shows such as Doctor Who, Victoria, The snake and most recently her gripping Prime Video thriller, wilderness (another show you absolutely must watch if you haven’t already – you won’t regret it!).
But somehow The jetty feels different. Although Jenna is used to taking on leading roles in major television series, this four-part thriller is her first role as a TV detective. But why has it taken her so long to take on the role that has seen so many actors have had great success?
In a recent chat, Jenna told us what sets this show apart from the rest… “My reluctance in the past has been because while I love crime novels, sometimes they become a vehicle that sets the plot in motion. But here, it just felt like I knew who Ember was. It felt as much like a human and emotional story as a crime novel. And having those two things side by side completely captivated me.”
And that is the point of The jetty – the series is not just a crime thriller, but also deals with themes such as subconscious trauma, blurred boundaries and sexual politics, all woven into the thrilling plot that will keep you hooked.
It’s also a story about women, about our relationships with the people around us, at work, with our friends and also in our family. About how well we really know them and how much we need them in our lives. Jenna told us that there were a lot of women on set during filming and you can feel that from the start – it’s a female-centric show and that’s what sets it apart from the crowd.
So if you do one thing this week, take four hours and watch The jetty – This is a show that everyone will be talking about.
All four episodes of The jetty are now available on BBC iPlayer.
