10 Seriously Overlooked British TV Shows

River was a thoughtful and deftly constructed drama, mixing its genre elements together in a decidedly unsensational fashion. That may be why it has gone overlooked since its broadcast in 2015, despite its undeniable quality.

Stellan Skarsgård plays DI John River, whose guilt after the death of his former partner DS Jackie Stevenson (Nicola Walker) manifests as her ghost talking to him. Across the six episodes of River, John investigates other cases whilst also delving into the circumstances of Jackie's death.

More people should watch River simply to see more Skarsgård; he is consistently magnificent across the six hours here. Likewise, the quality of Abi Morgan's writing is to be commended as well, with the central conceit of a detective essentially conversing with a ghost never feeling silly or even remotely ridiculous.

It seems that River is to be a self contained limited series, and though it would be good to have some more, as it stands, it is stellar work and deserving of far more attention than it currently receives, especially considering how well the critics took to it at the time.