Why I Like Happy Valley (Even Though it Isn't Happy)

I started watching Happy Valley because I loved Broadchurch so much and because it had somewhat of a similarity it was recommended to me to watch.  It's a BBC show and many of the actors will be familiar, as they tend to be in the BBC. 

I don't want to give anything away, so I won't get too much into the plotlines but I think it's safe to say that Happy Valley is anything but happy.  It follows the story of a British police Sergeant in a small town in Northern England. What I love about it is how it keeps everything real.  It doesn't pull any punches. The characters aren't unreal in the sense that their reactions to situations aren't contrived.  You can easily see real people in those situations having those exact same reactions. It doesn't shy away from real and difficult and often very, very ugly and traumatic events.  There is a main character this is struggling to keep it all together in a way that normal, everyday people struggle tokeep it together, having normal, everyday reactions.  And while it isn't a touchy, fuzzy or warm rendition of things that ends up tied up nicely with a bow, it's well worth watching and you should be watching it.