Top 35 Shows of 2014: No 21 The Honourable Woman

This mini-series co-produced by Sundance and the BBC is probably not a show many people have heard of judging by the ratings in the US but it became fairly popular when it aired over the summer in the UK and I became hooked by the slow burning reveal of secrets and lies.

Maggie Gyllenhaal gives an excellent performance as Nessa Stein, a businesswoman who ends up caught up in the troubles of the West Bank and the various secret deals of intelligence agencies like MI6.

Behind all of this is some mysterious traumatic event from 8 years previously involving Nessa and the nanny of her brother’s children Atika – played by Lubna Azabal who is amazing in the role especially as the season progresses.

I know a few people who gave up on the show a couple of episodes in, frustrated by the lack of momentum but it really is worth sticking with especially episode four which spends the entire hour on the flashback to 8 years ago and shows the extent of the bond between Nessa and Atika but also reveals a hell of a lot more.

As the season continues the secrets get revealed in speculator fashion and an excellent finale brings it all together.  A masterful mini-series which deserves a bigger audience.

Favourite episodes: Episode 7 / Episode 8

 

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