DRAG MY BAD NAME DOWN (THE RESPONDER)

It's been billed as the anti-'Line of Duty' - an eye catching label to slap on a new British police drama.

Written by a former beat cop, a lot has made of the authenticity of Tony Schumacher's five part BBC1 thriller 'The Responder'.

However Schumacher's hard hitting Liverpudlian drama feels like it also owes a lot to Abel Ferrara's 1992 movie 'Bad Lieutenant', even if Martin Freeman doesn't quite go to the extremes of Harvey Keitel.

Freeman plays Merseyside officer Chris Carson who is forced to work night shifts as a Bobby on the beat following a demotion from his previous role as an inspector for misdemeanours.

Since his fall from grace, Chris has fallen out of love with the job and is undergoing counselling.

His family life is disintegrating, with his wife, MyAnna Buring's Rachel having had an extramarital affair with a former colleague, Warren Brown's Ray Mullen.

An old childhood friend, Ian Hart's Carl Sweeney is helping him out.

However Carl is a low level criminal.

Chris, who is prone to flashes of temper and panic attacks, knows he has lost his mojo and his moral compass.

He confides this to his therapist, Elizabeth Berrington's Lynne Renfrew up to a point.

Trying to keep his head straight, he is contacted one night by Carl while on duty who wants him to track down Emily Fairn's drug addict Casey.

Carl is under pressure because he has gone all in on a cocaine deal, only for Casey to swipe a holdall containing the consignment.

Casey has plans of her own of what to do with the drugs - hoping they could be her fast track out of a cycle of poverty.

The trouble is she's an addict.

Using his knowledge of the streets, Chris tracks down Josh Finan's scally, Marco who knows where to find Casey.

However when it becomes clear that Carl and his muscle, Mark Womack's Barry and Philip S McGuinness' Ian mean to do serious injury to Casey, Chris pulls out of delivering her to his friend.

At his own risk, he drops her instead at a train station and urges her to get out of Liverpool.

Casey, of course, ignores Chris's appeal for common sense.

Now on a collision course with an increasingly anxious and desperate Carl, Chris is also being watched closely by Ray Mullen who is convinced he is a dirty cop.

Ray approaches Adelayo Adedayo's by the book novice police officer, Rachel Hargreaves to spy on Chris and provide information that could incriminate him.

Partnered with Chris after her supervisor is injured on the job, the idealistic Rachel is initially shocked by his approach to policing but she becomes increasingly conflicted as they bond.

Can Chris avoid retribution from Carl and his gang?

Will his marriage keep intact?

Will Ray succeed in exposing Carl's corruption?

Schumacher's drama is a taut affair, anchored by a career best performance from Martin Freeman.

Comfortably mastering the Scouse accent and vernacular, he is terrifically twitchy and engages our sympathy as the waters rise around Chris and threaten to engulf him.

Somehow keeping Chris afloat for much of the run, Schumacher and his lead actor work hard to ensure we are invested in Chris despite his flaws.

They take time from the off to ensure we understand his motivations and appreciate his struggle with his mental health.

While his behaviour is odd, we begin to realise as the drama progresses that Chris is his own worst enemy and much greater forces are also at play than Carl.

While Chris doesn't quite plumb the depths of corruption and depravity of Keitel's 'Bad Lieutenant', he is, like that character, a tortured soul who suddenly finds himself swimming in a shark infested sea of corruption.

Like Keitel's Bad Lieutenant, he is also worn down by the job.

Damaged by the criminality he witnesses, his methods are questionable and unconventional but ultimately he tries to do the right thing.

Freeman relishes taking on such a complex role and he doesn't come up short.

Skilfully directed by Tim Mielants, Fren Troch and Philip Barantini of 'Boiling Point' fame, Freeman also benefits from having a supporting cast who are on top of their game.

Wearing a Terry McDermott-style wig, the ever reliable Ian Hart is wonderful as Carl - a low level criminal who is in way over his head.

There's a Joe Pesci quality to his performance that sits somewhere between the Scouse equivalent of Pesci's 'Lethal Weapon' character Leo Getz and Tommy de Vito from 'Good Fellas'.

Although the dial probably points much closer to Leo Getz.

Adelayo Adedayo really grows into her part as a wet around the ears police recruit who is shocked and at times repulsed by Chris' approach to the job.

Rachel is initially wary of a colleague who she perceives as a loner but she grows to appreciate his pragmatism on the streets.

She also struggles with issues of her own.

MyAnna Buring is effective as Chris' wife who is struggling with a marriage that is drifting apart and is troubled by the guilt of having had an affair with her best friend's husband.

Warren Brown is on top form too as Chris' obsessed fellow officer Ray Mullen who is harbouring a massive grudge against him.

Ray will stop at nothing to expose Chris' wrongdoing but as the series wears on, Brown ensures we realise he is damaged too.

Emily Fairn and Josh Finan turn in heartbreaking performances as naive young people out for a fast buck who lack the street smarts to rise to the top.

Seduced by the notion of a life of crime, neither Casey nor Marco seem to have any idea of the danger they are placing themselves in and they repeatedly put themselves at risk.

Mark Womack and Philip S McGuinness bring a comic sensibility to the roles of Carl's henchmen who turn out to be more inept than you might expect.

Christine Tremarco pops up as a sinister doctor with underworld connections and she doesn't disappoint.

Veteran actress Rita Tushingham sheds important light on Freeman's character as Chris' elderly mum.

Faye McKeever is wonderfully blousy and streetwise as Carl's wife Jodie, while Kerrie Hayes is effective as Ray's betrayed wife Ellie.

Amaka Okafor turns in a solid performance as Chris's concerned former colleague Detective Inspector Deborah Barnes, while Elizabeth Berrington's psychiatrist doesn't quite turn out to be as helpful as you might expect.

David Bradley turns in another memorable supporting performance as a tramp with dementia who is picked on by dopeheads.

James Nelson-Joyce briefly appears as a sinister underworld figure, while other Liverpudlian actors who have featured in Scouse shows over the years like 'Bread,' 'Brookside' and 'GBH' pop up.

Victor McGuire, Thomas Sweeney and Philip Whitchurch surface alongside English television veterans like Dave Hill and Matthew Cottle and deliver strong cameos.

As well as directing the show's final episode, Philip Barantini appears onscreen and is really disturbing as Rachel's fireman boyfriend Steve.

As the series unfolds, you could be really flippant and start playing a game of Scouse and cop drama bingo - ticking off the catchphrases, the crime clichés and the Liverpudlian character actors that appear.

However neither Schumacher, his directors nor the cast miss a beat and the show rapidly becomes a tense, absorbing affair.

Any sense of skittishness on the part of the viewer is quickly abandoned.

While comparisons to Freeman's character and the 'Bad Lieutenant' are inevitable, 'The Responder' feels like it is cut of the same cloth as some the best US cop dramas to grace our screens.

'The Responder' shares the same DNA as streetwise shows like 'Homicide: Life On The Street,' 'The Wire' and particularly 'The Shield'.

It definitely has their flair for gritty realism.

Schumacher's drama also lacks the bombast of 'Line of Duty' too and, believe me, that is a massive plus.

('The Responder' was broadcast on BBC1 in the UK from January 24-February 2, 2022)