Virdee achieves what countless other detective dramas attempt – with a marked difference

Adding to the television canon this February is the BBC's latest glossy offering, Virdee. Following Harry Virdee (Staz Nair), things start to descend in his stomping ground of Bradford when tension between rival gangs threatens to bubble over into an all-out turf war that could take the city by storm.

While Harry is very much preoccupied with that pretty major gang investigation, we discover that the titular detective actually has some ties to this underworld of his own. Namely, that one of the city's most successful businessmen (and head of one of the gangs in question) is none other than his brother-in-law and childhood friend, Riaz (Vikash Bhai).

The first episode kicks off with Harry tailing a suspect, experiencing quite the close-call with a train in the process. Dusting himself off and donning a suit, there's a fleck of Bond about the whole tonal shift of it all. And while the air of mystery continues to loom large throughout the series, we then flit to a vibrant wedding reception where the sound of music and dhol drums ring out.

Harry's wife, Saima (Aysha Kala), is waiting patiently for her husband to finish work so they can go inside to enjoy – because they're not simply going to a wedding, they're also set to face Harry's parents for the first time as a couple.

Despite being married for years and having a young son together, the tensions of the Virdee family run deep. So much so that despite having been disowned by his parents – namely, his father – Harry still wants to impress them, even if it's to the slight detriment of his own relationship.

Before entering the hall, he tries to shift Saima's saree so that it will cover her religious necklace. Because, as we come to learn, Harry's father Ranjit (Kulvinder Ghir) doesn't approve of Harry's marriage as Saima is Muslim.

And so, the foundations are laid out for quite the tense start to the series – in more ways than one.

It's not necessarily new or innovative to have a detective drama with vignettes into their personal lives. Often, the main characters of these shows are steely for reasons initially unknown to viewers, with fans warming to them as the episodes go on and we come to learn more about their past stories or motivations for "joining the force".

But Virdee takes that plot device and completely turns it on its head, in a way that truly is one-of-a-kind. Where some other dramas have tried incessantly to humanise even the most dislikable detective characters – and others have gone to the other end of the spectrum and given us practically nothing to build off of – Virdee throws us into Harry's personal family drama as much as it does with the intricate case at the heart of the series.

Rather than just getting glimpses into Harry's life as a father and husband with his family acting merely as side characters, Virdee sets up the story in a well-crafted and meticulous manner so as to get insight into each family member's thoughts and feelings. It's no easy feat to get all of that richness into six episodes but AA Dhand pulls it off in spectacular style.

With a South Asian-led cast and a central premise that revolves around interfaith marriage and prejudice, it's fair to say that Virdee is unlike anything within the detective drama genre. The series doesn't feel as if it's trying too hard to say anything, simply placing the viewer into this world and delivering thought-provoking moments galore, as well as some truly excellent action-packed drama.

Dhand said of his titular character that he was aware the detectives we regularly see on TV are often divorced or womanisers. Speaking to Radio Times magazine, the author and series creator said: "Virdee is a love story wrapped around a crime thriller. I wanted a detective whose family life was the strongest thing in his world.” And that it is.

Not only is Harry constantly considering Saima and their son Aaron, but the grief he feels for his still-living wider family is something that haunts him in each episode.

Centring a thriller like Virdee on Harry's family life and love story is quite the risk, especially when many prefer the cyclical nature of a procedural drama where they have a case and solution in each episode. This new BBC series gloriously chucks the rule book out the window, though, providing an added weight to an already complicated crime story that is not only integral, but important.

Last year's summer riots continue to be a blight on recent UK history, showing how Islamophobic and anti-immigration sentiment manifested into a period of time where many people of colour felt unsafe to leave their homes.

It's stark, then, when scenes of Bradford's 2001 riots play out in Virdee, giving crucial context to Harry's childhood. But really, the flashback scenes also beg the question of how politics and the social climate has been shaped more than 20 years on. With far-right sentiment at what seems to be an all-time (and chilling) high, Virdee holds a mirror up to society in a variety of ways.

The racism from Harry's Sikh father, which is directed at Saima simply because she is Muslim, is also part of that same vein, demonstrating the fact that bigotry can and will tear families apart, as we see happening to Harry.

By making Harry's family story such a seamless focal point of the series, Virdee doesn't suffer from the trope of simply having side characters there to better the protagonist. Saima isn't simply a wife who stares longingly at a clock wondering where her husband is. She's her own character, having to reckon with the guilt she feels related to Harry's parents and her own complicated family relationships.

Similarly, Harry's niece Tara (Nina Singh) signals a new generation of the family, intent on living in her truth and taking risks in her career. Riaz too is also one hell of a complex character, demonstrating the lengths someone can go to in order to better the city they've grown up in.

There's no wasted dialogue here, no scenes that feel as though they're dragging or the feeling that too much has been crammed into this series. Instead, Virdee delivers on bringing all the kinds of action and twists you'd expect in a high-budget blockbuster, along with the kind of heart you wouldn't quite expect from the TV genre – and it's all the better for it.

Virdee airs Mondays at 9pm on BBC One and is streaming on BBC iPlayer now.

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