No Offence

Paul Abbott gave us, with the second series of No Offence, his latest instalment of what could justifiably be termed Manc noir. The term's more relevant than it might look: subtitles were surely co-opted around much of the country, if only to net all of the glorious one-liners.

It's fast, furious, scabrous and all terrific, dirty fun, played out amid gang wars and exploding body parts, chiefly by the phenomenal Joanna Scanlon as DI Viv. She's angry, believable, and serenely unafraid to show her wobbly bits. This opener had less obvious humour than the first series - quite a few people died, quite horribly - but Abbott's gnarly ear for quick wit, as really spoken, remains... can an ear be head and shoulders above? The collective warmth of Viv's team beams from the screen in a rare way, as if the actors actually like each other in real life, and there's also the teeing up of a huge backstory regarding the death of Viv's husband. Bring it shamelessly on. It's Man City personified: blue in tooth and claw.

No Offence review

You might not have much idea what's going on in the return of this blackly comic Manchester cop drama, but you'll have a good time anyway.

The return of Paul Abbott's entertaining, comedy-tinged procedural drama sees Joanna Scanlan's Viv come back from extended leave only to be plunged right into, er, the thick of it. As the extraordinary circumstances of an attempted murder at a funeral (an explosion, no less) become clear, a vicious set-to shapes up between rival gangleaders and their families. Paul Ritter's forensics expert is a particular delight amid the carnage.

Preview - No Offence

No Offence was one of the surprise comedy hits of 2016. Paul Abbott's fly on the wall style crime-fighting comedy is full of sharp dialogue and strong visual humour shot not so much on the mean streets but on the less salubrious 'burbs of Manchester.

We've reached peak cop drama

With Death in Paradise guilty of crimes against TV, it's lucky No Offence and Unforgotten make for arresting viewing. How far can we push this creaking genre?

No Offence review: crime drama is back with a bang!

While it's still far too early to say if No Offence's second series is going to be a success or not I feel that Paul Abbott and the team are off to a good start.