Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980

If you want a crime drama that treats its mystery as more than a puzzle, Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980 is available in the US on Amazon Prime Video and fuboTV, and in the UK on Netflix right now. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Paddy Considine leads a cast that carries the story without ever feeling mechanical. Available now on Amazon Prime Video — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980 arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. At its heart, Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980 understands what makes crime drama work — character first, plot second. After 6 years of brutal murders, the West Yorkshire Police fear that they may have already interviewed The Ripper and let him back into the world to continue his reign of terror upon the citizens of Yorkshire. Assistant Chief Constable of the Manchester Police, Peter Hunter, is called in to oversee the West Yorkshire Police's Ripper investigation and see what they could have missed. Paddy Considine and Warren Clarke lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2009. What makes Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980 hold up is that the resolution matters less than how the characters get there. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Viewers who think they have seen every crime drama tend to find Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980 proves them wrong. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Paddy Considine's performance is the kind that shows up on best-of lists years later. If you have been looking for something to fill the gap left by a recently finished story, this is a reliable answer.