Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Sherwood’ Season 2 On BritBox, Where A Murder Might Set Off A Turf War In Nottinghamshire

The first season of the BritBox series Sherwood was popular because it took a well-known story that happened in Nottinghamshire in 2004 and reset it in 2022. The second season isn’t as location-specific, but it still promises a lot of interesting twists and turns.

SHERWOOD SEASON 2: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: An arial shot that zooms over a thicket of trees. We then see heavy equipment rolling over dark piles of earth.

The Gist: A new coal pit is being dug in Ashfield, in the county of Nottinghamshire. The idea is that a developer is looking to reopen the coal mine, decades after it initially closed and devastated the economics of the area.

Ian St. Clair (David Morrissey) is no longer a cop, but he’s an “anti-violence czar” for the county, trying to develop and connect programs to keep youth from getting involved in gangs and drugs. He’s also been critical in the press of how his former police colleagues conduct investigations and treat witnesses and suspects.

Julie Jackson (Lesley Manville) seems to be moving on, as well, putting her house up for sale after her husband’s murder a couple of years prior. A friend calls her and tells her people are anticipating her coming to a meeting about the new pit, though she wonders why her opinion is any different than anyone else’s.

Lisa Waters (Ria Zmitrowicz) is a county council member, and is vehemently opposed to the new proposed mine. She has just been given the job as the Sheriff of Nottingham, and she consults with St. Clair about his youth program ideas. In addition, she leads a support group containing families who have suffered from trauma. Included in the group is Pam Bottomley (Sharlene Whyte) and her brother Denis (David Harewood), as well as DCS Harry Summers (Michael Balogun) of the Nottinghamshire police.

Pam is there because her son Ryan (Oliver Huntingdon) has just gotten out of prison and they are trying to keep him away from his little sister Stephie (Bethany Asher). As it is, Ryan has gone right back into dealing, as we see when he encounters Roan Sparrow (Bill Jones) at a roller rink; he’s there to meet Rachel Crossley (Christine Bottomley), a sister he only just learned he had. He tries to sell them something when Nicky Branson (Sam Buchanan) confronts him; Ryan is treading on Branson family turf and he knows it. Ryan leaves after a shoving match but comes back with a gun, just as Nicky tries to usher Roan and Rachel out the back; Ryan shoots Nicky twice in the chest, right in front of both Roan and Rachel.

DCS Summers is sent to the scene, and even though he is told that Roan witnessed the entire thing, the Sparrow family isn’t exactly amenable to helping the police. But after the Bottomley house is shot up by members of the Branson clan, Ryan pretty much turns himself in — though he brings a gun to police headquarters. Roan surreptitiously goes to the station and picks Ryan out of a lineup. But Nicky’s parents, Roy and Ann Branson (Stephen Dillane, Monica Dolan), pay the Sparrow’s an unannounced visit; despite the differences between the two criminally-oriented families, the Bransons want the Sparrows’ help to make Ryan pay for killing Nicky — but not with a “cushy” life in prison.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? We maintain that Sherwood reminds us of other British “based on true events” crime dramas, like The Murders At White House Farm.

Our Take: Just like during the first season, there is a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode of Sherwood that says that the story is based on an incident that happened in the town where creator James Graham grew up. There’s a montage at the beginning of the show containing news footage that indicates that, at the very least, a new mine was proposed for the area of Nottinghamshire that Graham is from. But it’s hard to say what parts of the turf war story were from real life or not.

For some reason, it doesn’t feel as location-specific a story as the first season’s mystery does. The first season’s story had everything to do with the lingering feelings that affected Nottinghamshire four decades after a miners’ strike split the populace’s loyalties. This story sounds like a murder is about to set off a turf war that the area hasn’t seen in years, just as St. Clair is trying to change the culture in the area.

That kind of story could be told just about anywhere, and while the new mine being a backdrop to this story helps make things more specific to the region, the conflict itself feels more generic.

What we’re not sure about is what the role of the returnees from Season 1 — aside from the Sparrows, who are always in the middle of everything illegal in the area — will be. Because St. Clair isn’t an active cop anymore, will he be assisting DCS Summers, or will he be involved in another way? How will Julie Jackson integrate into the story? Is she just there because of the new mine or will she hook into the turf war side of things?

Season 2 just doesn’t feel as integrated as Season 1 does, and when we’re introduced to the new characters, we’re not given a clear picture of who exactly they are. This is especially apparent with the Bottomley family; Pam adopted Ryan and Stephie, the kids of her late husband. But you have to pay really close attention to make that connection. Then there’s the Warner family, who is certainly interested in the mine going forward, and how they’ll clash with Lisa in her role as sheriff.

Just like in Season 1, there’s a lot going on, but it’s not as clear that these stories will flow together as well as they did during season 1.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: Roan and his mother Daphne (Lorraine Ashbourne) stare into space, contemplating what the Bransons have asked of them.

Sleeper Star: Ria Zmitrowicz’s character Lisa Waters will be pretty heavily involved in this season, and we liked what we saw of her in the first episode.

Most Pilot-y Line: Here’s another example where you may need to turn on subtitles, not for the the accents, but for the slang. The slang makes some scenes inscrutable to American ears.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Despite a story that feels more generic in Season 2, and characters we’re unsure have a place in that story, we still like the performances in Sherwood, which is what will keep us streaming the series.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.