Murphy's Law

An undercover officer has to make people trust him while remaining capable of betraying that trust professionally. Murphy's Law follows Tommy Murphy through assignments that increasingly expose the difficulty of separating the role from the person performing it.

James Nesbitt is the reason the character remains involving. His humour can make Murphy approachable, but it does not remove the strain or make his judgment reliable. A convincing performance within an assignment is not the same as being in control of what it is doing to him.

The programme becomes darker and more sustained as it continues. Its strongest material lets a situation develop long enough that the relationships acquired undercover have weight. This is less about a clever disguise than about living with the people an investigation needs.

For a British crime drama with a substantial lead performance, it is worth revisiting. Luther is more outwardly theatrical; Murphy's Law often gets its tension from somebody appearing to cope while his ability to do so is being worn away.