Showtrial season 2 review: Adeel Akhtar and Michael Socha wow in nuanced drama

Here's hoping that those who weren't certain of legal drama Showtrial in its first incarnation, which starred Tracy Ifeachor and Céline Buckens, give it another go this time around, and those who perhaps didn't catch the first season feel they can still jump on without having to go backwards – to be clear, no background knowledge of the first season is needed.

This is because writer Ben Richards has here crafted not only a superior second season, but a gripping standalone tale in its own right.

Showtrial season 2 stars Adeel Akhtar as Sam, a defence solicitor suffering from insomnia alongside wider personal issues, but who has a reputation for winning the cases of what are seemingly "lost causes".

While struggling to keep himself afloat, Sam is approached by Justin Mitchell (Michael Socha), who reveals himself to be Officer X – a police officer who the force have been searching for as the prime suspect in a murder case.

The case in question revolves around the hit and run death of Marcus Calderwood (Barney Fishwick), a divisive climate change activist and author who was hit down on his bike, and named Justin as his killer before he died.

Sam decides to take Justin's case, despite anyone and everyone warning him away from it – but did Justin really kill Marcus and will justice be served either way?

The decision to make Showtrial an anthology has turned out to be a canny one, not only because it suits the format exemplified in the first season, but it also gives the opportunity to cast more powerhouse duos in each season, like Ifeachor and Buckens in the first run.

Akhtar and Socha's performances are the real highlight here, with each giving a turn which could be argued as career highlights.

Akhtar's Sam could easily have been another grouchy voice of reason that we've seen in procedural dramas before, and in many ways he is that.

However, a tragic backstory and a vulnerable performance from Akhtar help to elevate the character, making him a fully rounded foil for Socha's Justin, a lens through which we, the audience, are able to understand the complexities at the heart of the debate being had.

Meanwhile, Socha is utterly captivating as Justin, anytime he's on screen. On one level he's charming, funny, relatable - we understand him, we want to be his friend and we want him to succeed.

On another level, he's arrogant, abrasive, flippant and, perhaps most damningly, dangerous – there's an understanding, rightly or wrongly, that he could turn on a dime at any moment, giving the scenes he's in a real thrill factor, a sense of dread.

This is partly heightened by the fact that, like the first season, the series treads into murky, contentious and highly charged ground thematically. Issues surrounding climate change, protest, policing, the justice system, and more fall into question, in ways which preachy, pandering or unnecessarily inflammatory.

Not everything is given equal prominence or the same level of exploration, and some subjects, such as the debate around climate change activism itself, feel a little glossed over. However, for the most part, Richards seems dedicated to having nuanced discussions about issues which are so often presented as toxically dichotomous and insurmountable.

Crucially, the 'issues' aren't the entire driving force of the drama and there is strong character work going on here. It's not just the thematic discussions the show is having that are nuanced and complex, but also the interpersonal relationships between the characters.

Sam's relationship with his son Mani is particularly richly developed. In many ways, the parental structure is flipped, with moments in which they are friends, moments in which Mani is the voice of reason. However, there's still the underlying truth that Mani needs his dad to be just that, and Sam, on occasion, fails to step up to the mark.

Meanwhile, Nathalie Armin plays Leila, the CPS lawyer leading the case against Justin. The glimmers we see of her relationship with Sam are also fascinating, although a subplot exploring a dispute with her half-sister feels strangely undercooked and extraneous, as though the show is trying to tackle one hot-button topic too many.

The exploration of the legal process is nothing particularly new. It's proficient and well-executed, but you're unlikely to learn anything particularly new, and some of the ways in which the case advances aren't as remarkable as some of the editing might suggest.

However, you certainly don't feel as though you're being talked down to, or that these scenes are fantastical or disingenuous.

Like with so much of the drama, these scenes are brought to life by the efforts of the cast, including supporting players such as Joe Dempsie, Tom Padley and Kerrie Hayes.

The series does run out of steam somewhat towards the end, and there's no denying its best moments come in the early episodes. Like with so many dramas with a mystery at their core, there is always going to be a level of disappointment if the answers aren't quite as interesting as they might have been.

However, what Showtrial does well is manage to eschew these processes by focusing on themes, so even if something is less dramatic than expected, it can still be resonant and work within context.

Some of the choices are certainly bold, even if they don't all quite land – plus, the show always has the scenes with Sam and Justin to rely on, which remain electric throughout.

If you're not a fan of legal dramas on the whole, then this is unlikely to win you round. However, if you're not averse to the genre, but were simply turned off by the first season, then this second run is still worth a shot.

The pacing is well executed, it asks interesting questions of both its characters and its viewers, and it tells interesting, personal stories, particularly for its two central figures.

Even if the story leaves you cold or fails to spark the level of interest it is aiming for for you personally, then you'll still be getting to see some fantastic, tense and oftentimes funny sequences between two actors operating at the height of their powers.

Showtrial will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 6th October.

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