46 minSeason 1 • Episode 3
LatestMax suspects the death squad is being protected and funded by the front man of The Validus Group, Donald Hagan. The Validus Group is a hugely successful US private equity corporation and one of the world’s biggest investors in the arms industry.
Disgraced journalist Max Raban is reduced to raking though bins for celebrity stories, a thankless task that suits him because of his phobia of daylight. His condition has already driven his wife and daughter away and he's desperate for a real story. When he uncovers the murder of two Iranian cousins, Max starts to suspect that there is a death squad at work, targeting pro-Islamists and backed by an organisation bent on waging perpetual war. Is Max an investigative journalist at last?
Acting
Nesbitt's sweaty desperation in every fluorescent-lit scene
Direction
Drury makes daylight feel actively hostile
Writing
Kane's script assumes you're smart enough to connect dots
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Aired in 2008, this channels post-7/7 British anxiety about surveillance and Islamophobia that feels queasily predictive.
Peter Capaldi shot this between The Thick of It seasons—Trevor's suppressed rage is basically Malcolm Tucker gone to seed.
GB
