Review: Gotham (S2 E20/22), Monday 30th May, Channel 5

Previously on Gotham… Theo Galavan, back from the dead and reprogrammed as assassin Azrael, has attacked GCPD, leaving Captain Barnes injured; Oswald Cobblepot has set out for revenge, and Ed Nygma has discovered the secret of Indian Hills, making him more determined to break out of Arkham.

Review: Wallander (S4 E2/3), Sunday 30th May, BBC1

(C) Left Bank Pictures – Photographer: Steffan Hill

Happily, we’re back to the rain-sodden streets of Ystad after last week’s stickily uncomfortable adventure in the heat of South Africa. On his home ground, Kurt seems to be more himself again – gloomy and negative. It doesn’t help that he’s mugged by motorbike thugs, then called out to the home where his father died. But he’s fit enough to collect his grand-daughter from school and tell her a joke about an elephant (which we’re sure wouldn’t work in Swedish).

AA Dhand’s Streets Of Darkness optioned for TV

I’m a bit late on this one but when I was reading The Guardian yesterday, I came across an article that compared a new novel – AA Dhand’s Streets Of Darkness – to, among other things, to Luther and The Wire. When someone does that you have to sit up and take notice, and that’s exactly what I did, because a later in the article it explained that the novel has been picked up by a production company for TV.

The 10 Best Crime Dramas This Week (Monday 30th May – Sunday 5th June)

So, are you hooked yet by BBC4’s French whodunit The Disappearance? If you are there’s another double bill next Saturday night to enjoy. Elsewhere, there’s a new Danish series called Dicte starting on More4, which stars Iben Hjejle as crime reporter Dicte Svendsen who has returned to her hometown of Aarhus following a divorce. She discovers the corpse of a young Bosnian woman, who seems to have bled to death following a c-section. Sounds interesting. And it’s Danish, too boot.

Review: The Disappearance (S1 E1&2/8), Saturday 28th May, BBC4

(C) Julien Cauvin – Photographer: Julien Cauvin

This French series – called Disparue in its native France – has attracted some big viewers in its home country, and some have even called it ‘the French Broadchurch’. It was inspired by Spanish series Desparecida, and has an-female production, writing and direction team, which gives it flavour and an interesting edge behind the camera. It only remained to be seen whether it matched the hype onscreen.

Hinterland secures free-to-air access in the US

The past few weeks has seen a resurgence in the popularity and topicality of Hinterland (Y Gwyll) – series two has recently finished on BBC4 and global viewers have, if our comments section is anything to go by, been engrossed in the saga thanks to its appearance on Netflix outside of the UK. So this next piece of news will delight our US readers…

The Killing Times’ Euro 2016 Of Crime Drama: The runners and riders

With the footballing equivalent of Euro 16 set to kick off on Friday 10th June, we thought we’d have a bit of fun here at The Killing Times and stage our own tournament, featuring the best crime series from across the continent as selected by us (well, me really). We’re expecting the ‘matches’ to be fiercely contested and to feature some of the heavy-hitters from across the continent. Here’s what’s going to happen…

Peaky Blinders renewed for fourth and fifth series

Well now. There’s a LOT of news about at the moment, mostly concerning some of the big hitters in crime drama. Another piece reaches us this morning, concerning one of BBC2’s most talked-about dramas – Peaky Blinders, that feral depiction of gangster life in early 20th-century Birmingham.

Third season of True Detective ‘unlikely’

The first series of True Detective – which seems like an age away – won our inaugural drama of the year back in 2014. Even though it was flawed and pretentious, not to mention neglectful and one-dimensional in its presentation of female characters, we hadn’t quite seen the likes of it before. Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey’s performances were what really lifted it from from the good to the excellent, but series two? Although it had its moments, it really didn’t hit the heights of the first series anywhere near enough. And yet we still want more. Sadly, it looks as though a third series might never happen.

Hans Rosenfeldt reveals ‘Halloween’ plot for season four of The Bridge; confirms Sofia Helin

Stop everything. Word reaches us via our friends at Scanoir.co.uk (who, in turn, quote The Local), that Hans Rosenfeldt has been speaking about series four of The Bridge on a podcast in Sweden. Rosenfeldt not only chatted away about the plot of that forthcoming series in nice detail but also confirmed that the key cast members had signed on for the fourth, and last, run.