Broadchurch season 3: Is It a Sensitive Evocation of Sexual Violence?

By Jivika Last updated Oct 15, 2022

The British television series created by Chris Chibnall, which enjoyed enormous popularity and acclaim between 2013 and 2017, concluded with a spectacular third season that expertly addressed the extremely tough subject of sexual assault. The third season is now accessible on POLAR+, much like the first two.

Table of Contents

A Predator on the Loose

There is clearly no entitlement to any break for the made-up town of Broadchurch. After Danny Latimer’s murder of an 11-year-old boy in season one and the terrifying trial of the killer in season two, Patricia Winterman (Julie Hesmondhalgh) is attacked and sexually assaulted at a party. A coworker of hers hosted a large-scale birthday celebration.

Investigators Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) rapidly come to the conclusion that this conduct was intentional and that a sexual predator is consequently present. Unfortunately, the investigation is challenging because there were numerous males invited, creating a large number of suspects to question.

Additionally, the victim’s trauma and unavoidably greatly impaired psychological state hamper the investigations because he finds it extremely difficult to regain his memories and communicate the facts to the authorities.

Fortunately, she has Ellie’s support and sympathy, who was really moved by this unusual relationship in the church, as well as Beth Latimer (Jodie Whittaker), the mother of young Danny, who works at the center for victims of sexual assault while still grieving her son’s death, three years ago.

Production Approval

Chris Chibnall planned for his tale to be told as a trilogy when he conceived and wrote the first season of Broadchurch in 2012. However, the first season had to be self-contained in case the program did not perform well in the ratings and a second season was not ordered. He proposed series two and three at the same time he pitched series one to ITV in the autumn of 2012.

A number of media outlets stated that ITV had ordered a third season of Broadchurch on December 1st, 2014.

David Tennant and Olivia Colman would also return for the third season of Broadchurch, according to ITV, which repeated the phrase “Broadchurch will return” during the final credits on February 23, 2015.

In series three, Jane Featherstone and Chris Chibnall remained the show’s executive producers, while Dan Winch took Richard Stokes’ place as the producer for the last season. Chibnall is the primary author.

Writing

The third series started filming in May 2016 and went on air on February 27, 2017. Miller and Hardy are followed in the concluding series as they look into a violent sexual assault. Chris Chibnall, the creator, said: “We’ve got one more tale to tell, one with both old and new faces.

I’m hoping it will be a heartfelt and gripping send-off for a world and show that means a great deal to me.” Throughout the development of the screenplays, Chibnall received assistance from The Shores, the Dorset Rape Crisis organization, the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), and a number of police advisors.

Broadchurch season 3

Casting

The first two cast members whose participation in the third and last season was confirmed were David Tennant and Olivia Colman. Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchan, Arthur Darvill, Carolyn Pickles, and Adam Wilson will all be back to reprise their roles as Beth Latimer, Mark Latimer, Rev. Paul Coates, Maggie Radcliffe, and Tom Miller in the third and final season, ITV formally announced on April 12, 2016. Joe Sims tweeted a confirmation of his comeback as Nigel Carter. The absence of Charlotte Rampling’s Jocelyn Knight QC was explained in the second episode as the result of her involvement in a significant trial in London, which Rampling confirmed she will not reprise.

Mark Bazeley, Georgina Campbell, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Charlie Higson, Sarah Parish, Lenny Henry, Roy Hudd, Sunetra Sarker, Sebastian Armesto, Becky Brunning, Jim Howick, Chris Mason, and Deon-Lee Williams are all recent additions to the Broadchurch community.

Awards

In the early months of 2018, Broadchurch won the National Television Awards for best Crime Drama. In its inaugural year, Broadchurch faced off against Sherlock, Line of Duty, and Little Boy Blue for the prize.

Is It a Sensitive Evocation of Sexual Violence?

Broadchurch season 3 has stood out for the way it tackles the subject of rape. Chris Chibnall deliberately chose this theme for this third season because of the rise in such crimes in the UK. The main reason we watch Broadchurch is obviously the duo formed by its main performers, Olivia Colman, and David Tennant. Julie Hesmondhalgh upsets us in the role of Patricia, the rape victim of this season.