Must Watch reviews: Death Valley
Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week, Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell take a look at the 蜜芽传媒’s new comedy-crime drama Death Valley, filmed entirely in Wales and starring Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth.
Death Valley is a 蜜芽传媒 comedy-crime drama set and filmed entirely in Wales. The series follows an unlikely detective duo—played by Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth—as they navigate quirky cases and dark secrets in a small town. With sharp wit and offbeat charm, the series delivers a fresh, character-driven take on the classic detective genre.
What do the Must Watch reviewers make of it?
Naga: Hayley, must watch?
I really wish that the jokes were better
Hayley: Not for me. It's a bit too cutesy. This is going to be one of those reviews where I'm like, “this is so much like other stuff that if you like that kind of thing, you'll probably like this also”. But if you are allergic to cutesy stuff where there's no peril, where the crimes always seem to happen in June when the roses are out in the cottage gardens, or everything is tied up in a neat bow at the end of the episode, you'll probably be as bored as I was. It also does something that's becoming a pet hate of mine, as in something that truly doesn't matter, like bus routes in shows set in London. This doesn't matter and yet, it bothers me every time…
Naga: She’s riled!
Hayley: It’s full of little jokes about people being “cancelled” or using the term “safe space” in a jokey way. And it feels like an older person has written a script to kind of take the mickey out of younger people and I think in a script that's been revised loads of times, read by loads of people before it even gets to the set, I really wish that the jokes were better than just the most basic stuff you see on social media. It annoys me. I do think Spall is good, especially…
Scott: I was about to ask whether you were going to come with a compliment there.
Hayley: Yeah, I do have one.
Scott: OK, good.
Hayley: When he's making fun of pretentious actor nonsense, like when he becomes overwhelmed in the cafe and says, “oh, it's exhausting getting into the psyche of other people.”
People have been comparing it to Ludwig"
Scott: He reminds me a lot of Hugh Grant in Paddington 2.
Hayley: Yeah, I think that is fun. But I didn't like this. People have been comparing it to Ludwig in its softness and I preferred that show to this one because that one was more about characters and it wasn't really about solving crimes because it didn't give you enough to solve them.
Scott: That's what annoyed me.
Hayley: That annoyed you. No, just let it go, because it was all about watching David Mitchell playing an anxious man and I could watch hours of that.
Scott: You can already in many things he’s been in.
Naga: Also you had Anna Maxwell Martin as well.
Hayley: You did.
Scott: Oh sublime!
Hayley: So yeah, this one's not for me, but I don't think it was ever going to be for me, because it's pitched at the exact point of stuff I don't really like.
It knows what it is trying to do, and doing it well"
Scott: I think it is a must watch for the reasons that Hayley disliked it, because remember the time and I'm sorry if you've still got PTSD from this, the time when I really liked the show The Marlow Murder Club?
Hayley: No, I've absolutely wiped that from my brain.
Scott: It was a twee show on UKTV about a detective who lives in a lovely flat when murder takes place in June, you've still got a…
Hayley: Lovely garden
Scott: A completely blank facial expression, and it's all wrapped up.
Hayley: Did they go antiquing at some point?
Scott: They did, yes, there was a whole antique caper, but I gave it a must watch at the time because it was a show that knew what it was trying to do, knew exactly what it was trying to do and did it well and this is a show that I think knows what it is trying to do and doing it well. But there is a trend at the moment towards sort of ‘cosy crime’ and I felt that this provides that. That's why it's that place in the schedule on Sunday night.
There's no real high stakes, you don't want there to be high stakes because every other police procedural on TV provides that, this is the antidote to that. I think the weird thing is, it is a bit like, and this has been a recent trend on Must Watch, two shows coming on air very close to each other that are feeling very similar to each other that you end up comparing and contrasting. And I just…
Naga: Maybe because there's a demand for it.
Scott: Maybe there was a demand. The ratings for Ludwig stand for themselves. This is one of those shows in which I kept comparing Ludwig to this. But I found it not necessarily like, “oh, go out of my way for it”, but I was like, “yeah, great performances.” It was quite a dead pan. I quite like the fact that when there is this- I don't know if it was too much, but there was a murder scene at the start and they're admiring more about the kitchen island in the other room.
Hayley: You just love shows with kitchen islands.
Scott: I think I was actually, I was at a kitchen island at a friend's party the other day and they had a great kitchen island there.
Hayley: Did you talk about it?
Scott: I did, at length.
Hayley: Of course.
Scott: So is that a review? I'm not sure whether that's a review of the show.
Naga: I think it's really interesting that it's a must watch for you because… I mean Timothy Spall is amazing…
I do actually think that people will enjoy it.
Scott: He was the reason why I suggested we would review it because it's him, it’s Timothy Spall for goodness sake.
Naga: I like Gwyneth Keyworth as well, she's funny.
Scott: And the good dynamic between the two.
Naga: Yeah, she annoys him the whole time.
Scott: Because he is so annoyed about being famous that he is a recluse.
Naga: Oh, he's not.
Scott: Well, I mean, but he's a recluse, he doesn't like being...
Naga: Do you know what? I'm so with Hayley on this, in the sense that, you watch it, and it's all those kind of cliches, like, “oh, he wants to be a recluse, but he can't help but be drawn in, and there's a soft side to him, and they're going to become really good friends, and he's going to really support her, and she's going to bring him out of his shell.”
Scott: But that’s… it’s predictable.
Naga: It’s just so old.
Hayley: But we’ve seen it before.
Naga: We’ve seen it before.
Scott: But people have seen it before, but it does it well and this is the thing ,that's the reason why it's a must watch. It's not because of its originality. It just knows what it's doing and it's doing it well.
Naga: I do actually think that people will enjoy it. I do, you know, I watched it. It felt like homework for a bit and then I just thought, I'm just going to embrace it and not be so sneery at it while I'm watching it, which you know I do when I have to watch some things. I get quite angry that I'm watching rubbish and watching my life. I do it because I want to be part of the conversation as well.
All six episodes of Death Valley are available to watch on 蜜芽传媒 iPlayer now.
But before all that, why not contact Scott and Hayley with the shows you’ve been loving, loathing or both on mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.
As always, we like to include your reviews - on shows you love, loathe or lament.
Message @bbc5live on social media using the hashtag #bbcmustwatch or email mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.
We had an email from Rebecca on Chris Packham’s Inside our Minds documentary...
"I wanted to say how insightful and important I thought Chris Packham's documentaries so far in this series have been.
I myself have dyslexia and this helped me to be able to show my husband how it affects me day to day, but all of the episodes have also been very helpful for me in my professional role in which I work as a coach with people who are neurodivergent to overcome difficulties they face."
Here’s another recommendation from Jane...
"Just wanted to recommend a programme I just watched on Netflix called ‘The Quilters’.
It’s a short documentary about prisoners in America making quilts for foster children in care. It’s just a really simple idea about restorative justice but the benefit the inmates get from it is really good to see.
They don’t shy away from their crimes, they are just trying to give a bit back and what they make is really creative. The reaction they get from hearing that the recipients love their quilts is lovely. I think it’s worth a watch."
