In the fight against terrorism, authorities cultivate a pool of informers who move in the same circles as those people the police are hunting. In exchange for leads, these informants are given a break on their own lesser crimes. At least, that’s the rhetoric. Watch the trailer for Informer below.
The six-part British drama paints a much murkier picture of how counter-terrorism cops work. DS Gabe Waters (Paddy Considine) plays dirty when he recruits Raza Shar (Nabhaan Rizwan), pressuring him into cooperating even though Raza’s crime wouldn’t see him serve jail time. But when the stakes are so high, is it OK to abuse your power if it helps stop an attack?
That’s one of the questions posed by this jigsaw puzzle of a TV series. From the outset, we know Raza’s story will connect up with a terror incident that occurs a year later. And as Informer unfolds, we see Raza do his best to connect with the types of people Waters wants him to, despite having no links to terrorists whatsoever.
In fact, he’s kind of a natural at it.
While the plot is intriguing, the series is also effective in making you reconsider how you believe the fight against terror should be conducted. There is no black and white in this scenario, with Waters and his partner, DC Holly Morten (Bel Powley) – also no stranger to bending the truth – operating in an often troubling but ultimately necessary grey area. (Starts Thu., Mar. 7 at 9pm; ABC) 4.5 stars
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