TVNZ 1 On the Level for Summer

TVNZ 1 hopes to emulate the success of last summer’s Doctor Foster by screening another British thriller on five consecutive nights.

The Level will air 8.30 Sunday-Thursday from January 15 and will be the springboard for TVNZ 1 to start rolling out its new season.

It stars Under the Dome’s Karla Crome and Rob James-Collier (Coronation Street, Downton Abbey) in a Brighton-set crime drama about a detective with a double life investigating the murder of a corrupt businessman with ties to her.

The Guardian likened it to “an antidote to moody Nordic or Celtic noir (eg The Fall) … pacey, sunny, not too heavy” while The Telegraph thought it “atmospheric and mournfully beautiful …

“As was the case with their previous series Shetland, writers Gaby Chiappe and Alexander Perrin have prioritised ambience over plot or twinkling dialogue.”

The six-part drama — it will conclude with a double-ep — was seven years in the making, drew 3.2 million viewers to its premiere and bowed out with an impressive series average of 2.6 million.

With its strong but flawed female protagonist, TVNZ 1 clearly sees The Level as having the same pulling power as Doctor Foster and will use it to launch City in the Sky (9.35 Tuesdays from January 17), a three-part aviation documentary series that The Guardian dubbed “fascinating“.