REUNION (BBC1)
'Shockproof,''Straight Time,' 'Mona Lisa,' 'The Limey,' 'Carlito's Way,' 'King of New York' and 'The Shawshank Redemption' all addressed it on the big screen.
TV dramas about the pitfalls after release for ex prisoners are, however, harder to come by.
Written by William Mager, the BBC1 series 'Reunion' not only tries to tackle that but it puts a new spin on it.
Not only does Matthew Gurney's hotheaded Daniel Brennan have to navigate an outside world wary of him because of his murder conviction, he's also deaf.
Jailed for the murder of his childhood friend, Ace Mahbaz's Ray Mokhtar, he encounters Olive Gray's probation officer Anna before his release who has not been informed of his disability and has come to meet him without a sign language interpreter.
Outside jail, Daniel's wife has died and his daughter, Lara Peake's Carly is struggling and nursing a lot of resentment.
Ray's widow, Ann Marie Duff's Christine and his daughter Rose Ayling-Ellis' Miri are also rattled by the news of his release, while the former's new ex-cop boyfriend Eddie Marsan's Stephen enthusiastically assumesthe role of their protector.
Daniel also has an itch he has been dying to scratch while in prison - a traumatic secret from his past that can shed light on the circumstances that led to his friend dying and him going to prison.
Directed by Luke Snellin, 'Reunion' could be a routine BBC1 thriller but it is boosted by the fact that its writer, lead Gurney, Ayling-Ellis and other cast and crew members are deaf.
Sign language is used extensively and the show goes to great effort to convey how the outside world seems to its deaf characters.
This gives the show several layers of authenticity.
With a run of just four episodes, it doesn't feel padded out or overstay its welcome.
Gurney, Peale, Duff, Marsan, Ayling-Ellis and Gray all turn in strong performances, along with Joe Simms as another probation officer Joe Summers.
It's efficiently directed
'Reunion' is exactly what you want from a primetime public service broadcast drama.
It's solidly made, well acted, intelligent in how it handles trauma thrilling and groundbreaking in the way it depicts to a non hearing impaired audience what it is like to experience the world as a deaf man or woman.
Hats off to whoever commissioned it.
('Reunion' was broadcast on BBC1 from April 7-15, 2025 and was also made available for streaming in the UK on the BBC iPlayer)
PROTECTION (ITV)
Some TV shows are only watchable because of the lead actor.
That is certainly true of ITV's six part police conspiracy drama 'Protection' - a wannabe 'Line of Duty' thriller set in the world of witness protection.
Siobhan Finneran of 'Happy Valley' and 'Rita, Sue and Bob Too' fame is the main reason to watch the show as her Detective Inspector Liz Nyles comes to terms with the gunning down of witnesses under her protection.
Kris Hitchen's Jimmy McLennan was due to give evidence against Alec Newman's local gangster Edward Crowther.
Just to add to Liz's woes, her married colleague Barry Ward's DS Paul Brandice, who she is having a fling with, was shot at the scene along with Jimmy McLennan and his wife, Catherine Tyldesley's Christine.
Brandice is in a coma but the victims' daughter Tilly Kaye's Amy McLennan managed to hide from the masked assassins and needs protection.
Noting Brandice was not supposed to be at the safe house, Katherine Kelly's internal affairs DCI Hannah Wheatley is interested in his activities and eager to speak to him if he comes out of his coma.
However she's also intrigued by Nyles' evasiveness around her dealings with Brandice.
Also hovering in the background are Nadine Marshall's DCI Amanda Kelman - who may not be all that she seems - and Nyles' boss Ace Bhatti's DCI Arun Kapoor who feels the pressure from Wheatley's investigation.
'Protection's' Aussie showrunner Kris Mrksa and his fellow writers Gary Madden, Polly Buckle and Giula Sandler also throw into the mix that cop show standard - a chaotic domestic life for its lead character as Liz copes with a dementia suffering ex-policeman dad, David Hayman's Sid and a stroppy daughter in the shape of Jodie Price's Jasmine.
Vigorously directed by Simen Alsvik and Sasha Ransome, the show ultimately trips itself up by reaching for 'Line of Duty' levels of murky conspiracy that veer into the ridiculous.
While Finneran elevates the show in a rare outing in lead role, Mrska and his writers fail to make a convincing case for another outing for Nyles and her put upon witness protection team.
'Protection' is like a lot of British cop thrillers that are desperate to impress with their complexity but which ultimately sag under the weight of too many convoluted plot twists.
('Protection' was broadcast on ITV in the UK between March 16-31 2025, is available on the ITVx streaming service on March 16, was made available on Britbox in the US and Canada on December 29, 2024 and on Stan in Australia on January 10, 2025)
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