New Blood I'd best describe as a gritty, stylish, at times tongue in cheek crime drama.
Mark Strepan stars as Stefan Kowolski, a competitive, adventurous and slightly cocky serious fraud officer. He finds himself teaming up in an unlikely partnership with Arrash 'Rash' Sayyad (Ben Tavassoli) a fresh young police detective in the making. Rash is ambitious but struggles to project himself and comes across as inexperienced, not so different from many young adults these days trying to climb the career ladder. He is though sensible, resourceful and intelligent. The series is set in our very metropolitan capital city and features Polish construction workers, Russian Oligarchs, London gangsters, greedy businessmen, unscrupulous politicians, and many other hallmarks from our modern times. Our leads are at times completely in over their heads and it's often their sheer pluckiness and resolve which see them through.
I'd not heard of Mark Strepan or Ben Tavassoli before, but both are fantastic, new blood indeed. I'm glad the BBC took a risk and didn't just go for the tried and tested actors who seem to be in nearly everything new thing they make. The dialogue and banter between the two are one of the strongest aspects of the programme and really give it a sharp edge. Kowolski is a bit mouthy at points until he faces real danger. He is though very willing and volunteers himself for lots of undercover missions. Kowolski also has a bit of a thing for his new friend's sister, much to Rash's ire and discomfort. So many British crime dramas feature old experienced leads, Taggart, Foyle's War, Morse, Midsummer murders, Agatha Christie, A Touch of Frost, to name but a few. It's nice then to have something a bit different here, Rash and Stefan's inject a great deal of energy and flair to the series while their enthusiasm and naivety also add a nice touch of humour too. Each story is much grander and wider in scope than your standard affair. The series seems to have been filmed in the winter and quite a lot of it takes place at night giving the locations a slightly harder edge. Sure some of the plot lines are a bit far fetched or implausible (Rash's sister just happens to become involved in his case) but I'm sure that's the point, the series is pure escapism and it makes the work of the serious fraud office appear exciting, action packed and dangerous. Going out after 9pm also allows for swearing and harder violence when needed, again giving it a tougher, more realistic feel.
Mark Strepan stars as Stefan Kowolski, a competitive, adventurous and slightly cocky serious fraud officer. He finds himself teaming up in an unlikely partnership with Arrash 'Rash' Sayyad (Ben Tavassoli) a fresh young police detective in the making. Rash is ambitious but struggles to project himself and comes across as inexperienced, not so different from many young adults these days trying to climb the career ladder. He is though sensible, resourceful and intelligent. The series is set in our very metropolitan capital city and features Polish construction workers, Russian Oligarchs, London gangsters, greedy businessmen, unscrupulous politicians, and many other hallmarks from our modern times. Our leads are at times completely in over their heads and it's often their sheer pluckiness and resolve which see them through.
I'd not heard of Mark Strepan or Ben Tavassoli before, but both are fantastic, new blood indeed. I'm glad the BBC took a risk and didn't just go for the tried and tested actors who seem to be in nearly everything new thing they make. The dialogue and banter between the two are one of the strongest aspects of the programme and really give it a sharp edge. Kowolski is a bit mouthy at points until he faces real danger. He is though very willing and volunteers himself for lots of undercover missions. Kowolski also has a bit of a thing for his new friend's sister, much to Rash's ire and discomfort. So many British crime dramas feature old experienced leads, Taggart, Foyle's War, Morse, Midsummer murders, Agatha Christie, A Touch of Frost, to name but a few. It's nice then to have something a bit different here, Rash and Stefan's inject a great deal of energy and flair to the series while their enthusiasm and naivety also add a nice touch of humour too. Each story is much grander and wider in scope than your standard affair. The series seems to have been filmed in the winter and quite a lot of it takes place at night giving the locations a slightly harder edge. Sure some of the plot lines are a bit far fetched or implausible (Rash's sister just happens to become involved in his case) but I'm sure that's the point, the series is pure escapism and it makes the work of the serious fraud office appear exciting, action packed and dangerous. Going out after 9pm also allows for swearing and harder violence when needed, again giving it a tougher, more realistic feel.