The Bill Season 12

If you want a crime drama that treats its mystery as more than a puzzle, The Bill Season 12 is available on streaming right now. The show says what it needs to say in a single season, no filler. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Watch Simon Rouse work — the performance is a masterclass in restraint. Available now — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, The Bill Season 12 is worth clearing space for. At its heart, The Bill Season 12 understands what makes crime drama work — character first, plot second. The twelfth series of The Bill, a British television drama, consisted of 156 episodes, broadcast between 2 January and 31 December 1996. On 6 February 2013, The Bill Series 12 Part 1 & 2 and The Bill Series 12 Part 3 & 4 DVD sets were released (in Australia). The show aired the death of PC Cathy Marshall early in the series, actress Lynne Miller departing after seven years in a mysterious plot that saw her drown whilst chasing a suspect, but it was never confirmed if she was pushed or slipped off a riverside barge during the pursuit. Simon Rouse and Andrew Paul lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was aired in 1996. The plot mechanics of The Bill Season 12 never overwhelm the human cost underneath them. 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 The Bill Season 12 proves them wrong. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. A contained run means every episode is doing real work. Simon Rouse anchors it, but the writing does the real work. If you are going to commit to one crime drama this month, make it this one.