“It pretty swiftly escalates to a place of high drama in the last couple of episodes, particularly.”
After the tension of its premiere episode, it’s really anyone’s guess as to how Better will end.
The five-part series kicked off last night (Monday 13th February) and the BBC One drama quickly put us in the morally compromised world of Lou (Leila Farzad) and Col (Andrew Buchan).
It’s set to be a series that interrogates corruption, loyalty and the power of human conscience. But it’s only set to get more tense as the episodes progress.
Episodes air weekly every Monday evening but for those keen fans among us, the series is available to stream as a boxset on BBC iPlayer now.
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/02/BBCBetterSamVincentJonathanBrackley-2d402fd.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C412" "\"\"")
As the drama unfolds, we’ll see how Lou has to embark on a tumultuous journey towards redemption, facing up to the fact that she’s helped her long-standing friend and brother figure to progress to the top of the Leeds criminal underworld.
According to Sam Vincent, co-creator, writer and executive producer, we reach a place of undeniable high stakes drama.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com with Brackley, Vincent revealed: “Well, it pretty swiftly escalates to a place of high drama in the last couple of episodes, particularly, because these two characters have a lot of stuff bottled up.
“A lot that they’re not quite dealing with, and they eventually will be forced to confront everything and each other. Their souls are on the line, their lives on the line. And yes, not everybody makes it out alive this season.”
He added: “We do get to a place where the stakes couldn’t really be much higher for our characters in the show than towards the end. It’s really exciting.”
Read more:
- Better star Leila Farzad watched Happy Valley to prepare for role
- Better cast and writers on inspiration and why it’s “not a typical cop show”
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/11/BETTER-1-a0afe62.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"\"")
When asked about filming those final moments of Better, Buchan also described going into them with a “healthy amount of respect”. He said: “It’s nice as an actor if you’re a little bit afraid of what’s to come, because therein lies most of the challenge.
“I think if you’re going into a day afraid and not quite knowing how this thing’s going to play out or what you’re going to do, that’s the joy of it. If you feel like you’ve broken through something or challenged yourself, that’s the reason to do it. You don’t do it for the easy day.”
And on the final episode itself, Buchan teased: “It’s quite an oddly frayed ending.”
We already know that this is a series that will leave us questioning our own morality, as well as not really knowing what party to side with. One thing’s for certain, though – the ending is likely to be one that we won’t be expecting, especially seeing as there’s a death in the mix.
But who will make it out alive? The tense first look at Better showed us a glimpse of a showdown between our two leads so all bets as to who will be “better” and have the ultimate redemption tale are off the table.
Better airs continues on Monday 20th February on BBC One, with the series also to stream as a boxset on iPlayer.
If you’re looking for something else to watch in the meantime, check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide visit our dedicated Drama hub.
Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.