By Megan Bull
Copyright hellomagazine
Accused, the chilling anthology series starring Motherland’s Anna Maxwell Martin, is currently trending in the Netflix TV charts, after snagging the number four spot. First released in 2010, the crime drama, which spawned two seasons, united British acting royalty with Christopher Eccleston, Benjamin Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Andy Serkis, Marc Warren, Naomie Harris, Sean Bean, Stephen Graham, Olivia Colman and Anne-Marie Duff cast in the series. Created by Jimmy McGovern, the esteemed screenwriter behind BBC hits Time and Unforgivable, each episode follows a different character as they face trial for a crime. Currently, both seasons are available to stream on Netflix.
What is Accused about?
Anna Maxwell Martin, who appears in the season two finale alongside Robert Sheehan and John Bishop, has reflected on her role as prison officer Tina. Speaking with the BBC, she said: “I felt I’d never really played anyone like Tina before. She’s a prison officer at a youth detention centre and someone who really has limited choices in life, and these become increasingly apparent as the story unfolds.
“I read the script and felt really excited. It’s the story of an ordinary woman’s struggle to do the right thing by her family, look out for those in her professional care and eventually follow her conscience, which is her salvation.”
“I’ve always wanted to work on a Jimmy McGovern project for artistic reasons. Then, practically, this shoot was very short, and I have two little children. So to be involved in such a high calibre piece of work with a limited time commitment was a great opportunity and really fortunate,” she concluded.
Regarded as a critical success, Accused may have run for only two seasons due to its low ratings in the UK, but later led to the creation of French and American adaptations, the latter of which starred Rachel Bilson, Jack Davenport, William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman and Debra Winger.
Anna Maxwell Martin’s other shows on Netflix
Accused isn’t the only crime drama starring Anna Maxwell Martin on Netflix right now, as season one of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder has also been added to the streamer. Led by Wednesday’s Emma Myers, the six-part thriller follows Pip Fitz-Amobi, a teenager living in a quiet English village, who becomes obsessed with solving the disappearance of a local schoolgirl named Andie Bell. Rounding out the cast, Anna stars as Pip’s mother, Leanne, and she’s expected to return for season two, which is currently in production.
Also on Netflix, fans can binge all three seasons of Motherland, a light-hearted sitcom about the perils of parenting. “Julia, who I play, is – like everyone I know – trying to juggle work and home life, and the practicalities of childcare, pick-ups, drop-offs…” Anna told Radio Times in 2017.
