In London, a politician faces a strange path in his life when he is suspected of an issue. The naive young politician becomes a suspect when his aid and mistress are killed in a serious accident, as he faces a strange turn in his life. Now, a political investigative journalist friend and his team are unveiling a government conspiracy that might turn things around.
You may as well try and make heroes of a bunch of City lawyers than make a journalist the moral centre of a drama... It shouldn't be good, really. Except, it is. In fact, it's bloody magic.
This is television at its best, taking full advantage of its length without introducing a speck of fat... and offering a vision of the truth as an endless unfolding of character and power.
There's Paul Abbott's slick script, adroitly linking the mysterious, seemingly random murders of a purse snatcher and a political researcher... And there's David Yates' adrenalized direction.
State of Play spirals so rapidly and with such fascinating writing and acting that episodes conclude in a frustrating rush, the sure sign you're onto something uncommonly good.
The real star of the show in the newsroom is Nighy, as newsroom editor Cameron Foster. This role feels tailor made for Nighy's talents, requiring smarts, sarcasm, and just a little bit of oil.
The characters all have a pungent psychological edge. Abbott has a knack of finding what is unexpectedly interesting in real people's lives and putting it into his scripts.
It is at once harrowing and funny and involves friendship and betrayal, love and adultery, government conspiracies and personal jealousy and the overlapping business of the police and the press.
