09-05-2025
The Trial review — could this parental nightmare revive the one-off drama?
What is this strange thing? A single, self-contained drama that is all neatly done and dusted in less than an hour? No flabbed-out eight-episode box set and then a blatant tee-up for a sequel? Let's hope it catches on, not least because the constant flood of multi-episode series makes heavy work for the poor, square-eyed TV critic. (I'm sure this was at the very top of your worry list.)
The Trial was the first of 5's new single-drama strand evoking, for those of us decrepit enough to remember, the BBC's Play for Today, a kitemark for quality writing. It's a great idea to revive a format that brought us such TV gold as Blue Remembered Hills, Scum and Abigail's Party, and this
