Jenna Coleman is a formidable central presence in new four-part BBC series The Jetty. It’s a sinister detective drama with a great deal to say about some of our most pernicious social ills, writes Amelia Berry.
The Jetty: Season 1
What price would you pay for justice? Would you break the law, alienate your colleagues, go against the wishes of your friends and family? When you’re in so deep you can’t turn back, how can you be sure that you’ve made the right choice?
No, it’s not some ancient Greek tragedy. This is The Jetty—the latest dark thriller miniseries from the BBC.
In a small, lakeside town in Lancashire, an up-market waterfront property has been burned to the ground. Detective Constable Ember Manning (Jenna Coleman) is assigned to investigate, but soon finds herself caught in a web of the town’s sordid secrets—misogyny, teenage sexual exploitation, threats, and disappearances. But hot on her heels is podcaster and journalist, Riz (Weruche Opia), determined to uncover the truth, with or without the police’s help.
It’s a classic ripped-from-the-headlines gritty crime drama—shocking, sad, dark, and grimly familiar. At the same time though, The Jetty is a deep meditation on girlhood and growing up. Throughout the four episode series, we’re faced with the pain and awkwardness of being a teenage girl—the terrifying freedom of adulthood and the grim vulnerability of childhood.
Speaking to The Radio Times, series writer and creator Cat Jones spoke about her inspiration for The Jetty.
“A couple of my friends got involved in relationships with grown men,” Jones said, “At the time, we all thought it was very exciting that these older guys were interested in our younger friends, but of course when you reflect upon that later, you realise that it was actually illegal and abusive. [I’ve] always been interested to know how those girls feel about that situation in the future. Is it something they look back on and think, ‘We were in love, it was fine,’ or do they look back and say ‘that wasn’t okay’?”
The teenage relationships in the show have an authenticity that’s often uncomfortable to watch. After meeting in detention, wild Amy (Bo Bragason) and introverted Caitlin (Laura Marcus) quickly fall into a kind of tortured and intense friendship that will be familiar to many viewers. As a secondary storyline, it builds a fascinating resonance against our often solitary lead, Ember.
Best known for her roles in Emmerdale and Doctor Who, Jenna Coleman is a formidable central presence in The Jetty. Ember is a solo mum, raising her teen daughter after the recent death of her husband. She’s also struggling at work, still only a Detective Constable at 34 and surrounded by superiors half a decade younger than her. It’s a lot to juggle, but Coleman renders the character with an easy charm, moving effortlessly between wry mischief and panicked intensity.
As she begins unravelling the mystery and finds the arson linked to a local sexual predator and the decades-old cold case of a missing teenager, Ember starts finding uncomfortable connections closer to home.
“It’s complicated,” says Coleman about her character, “We all look at our past through a certain lens, and when Ember’s lens gets shifted, she has to re-examine who she is. I’m always interested in a detective thriller when the case becomes personal. It’s an awakening, really dense and nuanced.”
Ember’s relationship with her stoic daughter (played by Ruby Stokes) and precocious hippie mother (Amelia Bullmore) gives the show an emotional anchor, but her real chemistry is with her anxious fellow detective, Hitch (Archie Renaux from Shadow and Bone).
While they’re both rookies in way over their heads, Hitch’s puppydog stare and soft-spoken dedication to playing by the books makes him the perfect foil to Ember’s hot-headed drive for justice. As their partnership is tested through the course of the series, Hitch’s wide-eyed credulousness takes on compelling new shapes.
Another stand-out from the supporting cast is Ralph Ineson (The VVitch, The First Omen) as police big boss DI Morgan. While he doesn’t get a lot of screen time, Ineson is such a commanding and oddly sinister presence that he makes every moment count.
For those craving a satisfying mystery, The Jetty delivers a double helping of twists and turns. Right from the first episode, complications, reveals, and resolutions are doled out at a generous pace, taking our central characters to some dark and shocking places while never losing sight of the show’s central problem.
At the same time, this is a television show with a lot to say about contemporary social and political issues. Questions of consent, exploitation, guilt and forgiveness, are central. Never presented didactically, The Jetty makes a point of their thorniness, their difficulty.
“It’s about asking an audience to find what resonates in that extreme behaviour,” says Cat Jones, “and what we can learn about our own lives from the circumstances in the story.”
The Jetty is a sinister detective drama with a charming central performance and a great deal to say about some of our most pernicious social ills. If you can stomach the darker elements (violence, misogyny, sexual exploitation) then you’re in for a rewarding exploration of womanhood, growing up, and the nagging horror of living and loving in an essentially unjust world.
