The year I fell into the strange world of true crime TV and shows like Landscapers - Anthony Clavane

During the Covid-19 era my viewing habits have dramatically shifted towards police procedurals, psychological thrillers and murder mysteries. At times they have all blurred into one, never-ending true-crime drama series, often starring Stephen Graham, Gillian Anderson and Kate Winslet.

There have been some terrific shows – Jimmy McGovern’s Time stands out – and some so-so offerings – Vigil, Bloodlands and the normally reliable Line of Duty – but, regardless of quality, I have knowingly, and recklessly, engaged in countless true-crime binge-fests.

This is not, I accept, a healthy way to experience culture. My New Year’s resolution is to quit this addiction and spend more time reading books, listening to music and watching plays.

It’s not just the tedious cliffhangers, the formulaic plot twists and the plinky music. It’s the distortion of reality which really gets my goat.

It is one thing our political leaders taking liberties with the truth. We have, sadly, come to expect this by now. To quote the distinguished political satirist Declan Joseph Oliver Donnelly (or it might have been Ant): “Evening, prime minister.”

It is quite another thing for our writers and directors to be constantly “re-imagining” true-crime sagas and creating chilling and bizarre drama series “inspired by real events”.

Take Sky Atlantic’s new four-part drama Landscapers, the latest chilling and bizarre series to be universally acclaimed, with five-star reviews and inevitably-award-winning performances from a starry cast, including the mesmeric pairing of Olivia Colman and David Thewlis.

I am a fan of both actors. Colman clearly has the Midas touch and is brilliant in everything, from Peep Show and Broadchurch to The Crown and The Favourite. Thewliss was terrific in Harry Potter and I’m Thinking Of Ending Things but has never quite hit the heights of his feckless, Brandoesque anti-hero Johnny in Mike Leigh’s Naked.

But, then again, who has?

They are both utterly convincing as the endearingly eccentric and mild-mannered couple in Landscapers. Which is, of course, the problem.

For, in bringing their starry charisma and considerable acting chops to these roles – in an experimental, multi-textured, artistic re-imagining of the so-called Mansfield Murders – they invite audiences to ignore the inconvenient fact that the couple were killers.

To recap: in 2014, Susan and Christopher Edwards were convicted of murdering Susan’s parents – William and Patricia Wycherley – and burying their bodies in the Wycherleys’ own back garden. They had spent 15 years “on the run”, pretending their victims were still alive, sending Christmas cards to relatives and stealing all their money.

It is a beautifully-made drama, employing some of the anti-realistic devices reminiscent of Dennis Potter’s classic plays and Charlie Kaufman’s classic films. We are dazzled by the shredding timelines, the fourth-wall-breaking, black-and-white flashbacks and the charming Western fantasies. All these dazzling effects are entrancing enough to distract attention away from the fact that the Edwards were murderers.

Andy Done-Johnson, a journalist who covered the case, countered: “I spent 25 days sitting about six feet from the real Christopher and Susan Edwards... and I think it’s fair to say that I know their personalities better than most.

“They were dull, they were insular and they were, put simply, cold-blooded killers who went out of their way to profit from their crimes and to pull the wool over everybody’s eyes.”

Sinclair’s script appears to play down their devious and conniving natures. At the same time, the police investigators are portrayed as foul-mouthed, bumbling and slightly ludicrous figures.

We are supposed to chuckle both at their buffoonery and the Edwards’ eccentricities.

Which, again, is the problem.

As Done-Johnson points out: “It’s about the murders of two elderly people by those closest to them. That shouldn’t ever be the source of comedy.”