Sherwood season 2 review: James Graham has struck gold with this anthology

Well, all of those pre-release jitters aside, Sherwood season 2 has all the makings of what is already shaping up to be a stellar anthology series. Not that it necessarily needed it, but new characters, storylines and dynamics breathe new life into the series which is set in the present-day and hones deeper into some of the family rivalries that seek to tear this Nottinghamshire community apart.

Unlike season 1, which was loosely based on real-life events, this season is entirely fictionalised and showcases James Graham's knack of penning beautifully rich scripts time and time again – proving that Sherwood has all the makings of a hit anthology series.

This time round, the focus is most certainly on the Sparrows. We learnt that Daphne (Lorraine Ashbourne) was one of the undercover 'spy cops' who came into town decades earlier and went on to forge a new life for herself with husband Micky (Philip Jackson) by her side. Their two children, Rory (Perry Fitzpatrick) and Ronan (Bill Jones) couldn't be more different, with the older Rory taking control of their criminal business and Ronan remaining 'clean' despite his family's reputation.

But when tragedy strikes in the first episode, the Sparrows are plunged into the spotlight and really – without giving too much away – it also brings together a delicious new dynamic between Lorraine Ashbourne and Monica Dolan, who plays a similarly confident criminal matriarch, Ann Branson. Together, they provide some of the most hypnotising, tense and gloriously stripped-back scenes that will leave you laughing but in true Sherwood fashion, on the edge of your seat.

Almost like two lions circling each other, Daphne and Ann are simply captivating, exchanging passive aggressive quips about roasted parsnips, Skegness family holidays and how they care for their offspring.

In TV, the term "3D characters" can get bandied about a bit to describe a role that has meat on its bones and depth to it but here, Graham shows that he knows how to write multi-dimensional female characters. It's something that, quite frankly, many male screenwriters simply overstate and claim to know how to do, but within Sherwood – like with the tender season one scenes between Lesley Manville and Claire Rushbrook – Graham allows characters like Daphne, Ann and even Lisa Waters (Ria Zmitrowicz), Stephanie Bottomley (Bethany Asher) and Pam (Sharlene Whyte) to be messy, complicated and heartfelt.

Directed by Clio Barnard, the first episode of Sherwood season 2 gets off with such a bang that it almost feels as though you don't know how the series will pace itself with five more episodes left to go. But having lapped it all up, the series continues to sustain itself as it puts its characters and sense of place front and centre. While the series is still somewhat undefinable with its thriller, crime drama and even comedy elements at times, it still honours its Nottinghamshire setting as one of its main characters and boy, is it a sight to behold.

This season not only focuses on social services, drugs and gangs but also sees the community bandy together to obstruct the plans for a new mine, a storyline that sees light being cast on the systems of local government, wealthy families and the arguments around 'levelling up' in former mining towns.

Plucked from pertinent recent headlines, this corner of the series is the only part of the new season that I felt could've benefitted from further fleshing out. Where the first episodes have Facebook groups, community talks and debates dotted around, the plot line sort of fades into the distance with the Sparrow vs Branson rivalry and even with the season one theme of 'spy cops' once again rearing its head.

I guess it’s natural, but when it's one of the plot points that is drawn from current affairs, it would’ve been nice to have seen it given a little more thought and attention nearer the end of the series.

In a similar vein of blink-and-you-may-miss-it developments, the heartwarming budding relationship between Julie (Lesley Manville) and Ian (David Morrissey) unfolds quite unexpectedly. Sure, Sherwood isn't exactly a romcom, but it would've been nice to have seen those butterfly feelings develop consistently throughout the six episodes, seeing how they both navigate romance in the face of loss.

Small quips about the series aside, the great and often unexplainable thing about Sherwood is how much it cares for its characters and its sense of place, something that is ingrained in a series like this. While you may think there are villains and good guys, your opinions may change thanks to searingly sympathetic performances from the likes of Oliver Huntingdon, who plays Ryan Bottomley.

With rising unemployment in the area and in the wake of his father's death, Ryan's path is a downwards one where he finds solace in drugs, guns and intimidating those around him. It's easy to discount him as one of the bad people at the centre of Sherwood season 2, but by the end of the series, he's yet another victim of a system that he's gotten lost in. A testament to the stellar acting and writing of this series, Ryan and his sister Steph's regular "I love you mate" sign-offs may just leave you with a lump in your throat by the end of the season.

Like any good follow-up, Sherwood season 2 feels especially heightened this time round. It's a season that was written and is now being released under an entirely new government, with many of this new season's themes and conversations reflecting some of the country's most topical issues in a way that holds no bars in condemning the failings of politics and policing.

All of that aside and simply looking at it as a six-part series, though, you'll be far from wanting with a season like this as it packs emotional blow after blow, surprises round every corner and is the kind of drama you simply won't be able to get enough of.

Sherwood season 2 launches with a bank holiday double bill on Sunday 25th August and Monday 26th August at 9pm, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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