Tonight sees the start of the long-awaited terrestrial airing of The Wire on BBC2. But over on BBC4, with rather less fanfare, the cult French crime-drama Spiral starts a re-run of its much-admired first series, in anticipation of the second.
Critics were effusive when the tense Paris-set thriller (aka Engrenages) first showed on the channel in 2006, likening its mix of grisly autopsies, political intrigue, glamorous cast and moody atmosphere to Silent Witness, State of Play, "CSI directed by Jean-Luc Godard" – and even calling it France's answer to The Wire (clearly this show is the benchmark for all gritty urban TV drama).
Gareth McLean called it "exceptional". Sam Wollaston confessed to finding the whole thing "utterly baffling and slightly annoying" but was very taken with the "beautiful, moody, jealous and miserable" French police. Jim Shelley thought it was the best French programme since Belle & Sebastian in 1967, and noted approvingly that it was full of men wearing scarves, with their jackets draped over their shoulders. He thought deputy public prosecutor Pierre Clément (played by Grégory Fitoussi) was "the most handsome man ever to investigate a crime on television".
What did you make of Spiral and how do you rate it in comparison with The Wire?
