Honestly, most "prestige" crime dramas feel like they were assembled in a factory. You know the drill: a grizzly murder, a brooding detective with a drinking problem, and a rainy town where everyone looks suspicious. But Sherwood Season 1 is different. It’s prickly. It’s uncomfortable. It doesn't just want to tell you a "whodunnit" story; it wants to tear the scab off a forty-year-old wound that never actually healed.
James Graham, the creator, grew up in the area where the show is set—the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire. You can feel that insider knowledge in every frame. It isn't just a TV show; it’s a reckoning with the UK's industrial past.
If you haven't seen it yet, the premise sounds straightforward. Two shocking killings in a small mining village spark a massive manhunt. But here’s the kicker: the murders aren't related, at least not at first. They just happen to occur in a place where people still remember who stood on which side of the picket line during the 1984-85 miners' strike.
The tension is thick. You could cut it with a knife. Or, more accurately, an arrow.
The Reality Behind the Sherwood Season 1 Murders
It sounds like fiction—a killer lurking in the woods of Sherwood Forest with a literal bow and arrow—but Sherwood Season 1 is loosely based on two real-life murders that happened in 2004.
The first victim in the show, Gary Jackson, played by Alun Armstrong, is a staunch trade unionist. He’s the kind of guy who still keeps a list of "scabs" (the men who went back to work during the strike) in his head. When he’s killed, the immediate assumption isn't "random act of violence." It’s "political assassination."
The real events involved the murders of Robert Nettleship and Chanel Taylor. While Graham takes massive creative liberties to protect the families and turn the story into a broader social commentary, the core of the drama—the way the police flooded a village that already hated the police—is 100% authentic.
I remember reading about the Metropolitan Police "invading" Nottinghamshire back in the 80s. In the show, when the Met arrives again to help with the manhunt, the older residents look at them like an occupying army. It's visceral. David Morrissey, who plays DCS Ian St Clair, captures that perfectly. He’s a local lad caught between his duty as a cop and his history with the neighbors he’s supposed to protect.
Why the 1984 Strike Still Dictates the Plot
You can't understand Sherwood Season 1 without understanding the strike.
It's been decades. Yet, in this village, time has basically frozen.
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The show does this brilliant thing where it jumps back and forth, showing us the fallout of a community divided. In Nottinghamshire, unlike in Yorkshire or South Wales, the strike was a mess. Some pits stayed open. Some men went to work. Others stayed out. This created a "scab" vs. "striker" dynamic that literally split families in half.
Take the characters of Daphne and Cathy. They are sisters, played by Lorraine Ashbourne and Claire Rushbrook, who haven't spoken in years because of the strike. Their husbands were on opposite sides. It’s heartbreaking. It’s not just about money or politics; it’s about betrayal.
The show also introduces the concept of "spycops." These were undercover officers sent into activist groups and mining communities to gather intel. In Sherwood Season 1, the mystery of who the "spy" was becomes just as important as the murder investigation itself. It adds a layer of paranoia. Anyone could be a plant. Your neighbor, your friend, even your spouse.
A Cast That Actually Looks Like Real People
There is something refreshing about the casting here.
No one looks like a movie star. They look like people who have worked hard lives. Lesley Manville is, as always, a powerhouse. She plays Julie Jackson, Gary’s wife, and her grief is messy and loud.
And then there’s Robert Glenister as DI Kevin Salisbury. He’s the outsider from the Met. He’s haunted by his own actions during the strike, specifically a fire that he may or may not have been responsible for. His chemistry—or lack thereof—with Morrissey’s St Clair is the backbone of the procedural side of the show. They represent two different ways of policing: the local who knows the names of everyone’s kids, and the outsider who just wants to get the job done and leave.
The show doesn't hand-hold. It assumes you’re smart enough to keep up with the shifting loyalties.
The Haunting Imagery of Sherwood Forest
The forest itself is a character.
We think of Robin Hood when we hear "Sherwood." We think of heroes in green tights. But Graham flips that. Here, the forest is a dark, oppressive place. It’s where the killers hide. It’s where the past is buried.
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There’s a scene where the police are using thermal imaging and drones to search the woods, and it feels like a high-tech version of an ancient hunt. The juxtaposition of modern technology and the primeval forest is striking. It reminds you that no matter how much we "progress," we’re still driven by the same tribal instincts that caused the original rift in the village.
Addressing the "Spycop" Controversy
The subplot about the undercover officer living a double life for decades is one of the most controversial parts of the series.
Is it realistic?
Well, look at the real-life Undercover Policing Inquiry in the UK. Officers did exactly what is depicted in the show. They took on identities of deceased children. They entered long-term relationships and even had children with the people they were spying on. It’s one of the darkest chapters in British policing history. By weaving this into Sherwood Season 1, James Graham forces the audience to confront the fact that the state wasn't just a neutral observer during the industrial unrest; it was an active participant in breaking the community.
Why People Get the Ending Wrong
I’ve seen a lot of chatter online about the finale.
Some people wanted a more traditional "action" ending. They wanted a shootout. But that’s not what this show is. The resolution of the murder mystery is almost secondary to the emotional resolution of the village.
The identity of the undercover cop is revealed, and it’s not who you’d expect. It’s someone who has become a fundamental part of the community fabric. When the truth comes out, it doesn't bring peace. It brings more questions. Can you forgive someone who lied to you for thirty years? Can a village ever really move on?
The final images aren't of handcuffs; they’re of a community bonfire. It’s a moment of symbolic purging, but the smoke still lingers.
Critical Reception and Impact
When it first aired on the BBC, Sherwood Season 1 was an instant hit.
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Critics praised it for its "theatricality" and its refusal to simplify the politics of the North. It wasn't just another "misery porn" drama about the working class. It was a sophisticated, multi-layered Greek tragedy set in a cul-de-sac.
- Rotten Tomatoes score: Consistently high, usually sitting in the 90s.
- BAFTA wins: Adeel Akhtar won Best Supporting Actor for his incredible, twitchy performance as Scott Rowley.
- Cultural impact: It reignited conversations about the legacy of Margaret Thatcher and the long-term psychological effects of the 1980s on coal-mining towns.
Actionable Takeaways for Viewers
If you’re planning to dive into this series or rewatch it before Season 2, here’s how to get the most out of it:
1. Do a quick 5-minute search on the NUM (National Union of Mineworkers) vs. the UDM (Union of Democratic Mineworkers). The show mentions these a lot. Knowing that Nottinghamshire miners mostly formed the UDM (who kept working) while the rest of the country stayed with the NUM is the key to understanding why everyone is so angry.
2. Watch the background characters. A lot of the storytelling happens in the peripheral. Look at how people react when they see a police car. Look at the boarded-up shops. The set design tells the story of economic neglect better than the dialogue ever could.
3. Don't expect a hero. There are no "good guys" here. Everyone is compromised. Everyone has a secret. If you go in looking for a Sherlock Holmes figure, you’ll be disappointed. This is about collective trauma, not individual brilliance.
4. Listen to the score. The music is haunting. It uses industrial sounds and folk-inspired melodies that ground the show in its geographic location. It’s unsettling for a reason.
Sherwood Season 1 remains a masterclass in how to write about class without being patronizing. It’s a show that respects its audience's intelligence and its characters' pain. It proves that the scariest thing in the woods isn't a man with a bow—it’s the person living next door who remembers exactly what you did forty years ago.
For those interested in the real-life context, the BBC documentary The Miners' Strike 1984-85 provides an excellent companion piece to the fictionalized events of the show. Watching both gives you a terrifyingly clear picture of how a government can successfully dismantle a community from the inside out.
The next step for any fan is to track down James Graham's other work, specifically Quiz or Brexit: The Uncivil War. He has a knack for taking complex British history and making it feel like a thriller. Sherwood Season 1 is simply his best work to date because it's his most personal. It’s a ghost story where the ghosts are still alive and walking the streets of Nottinghamshire.