While the first season of BBC America’s award-winning drama Broachchurch was all about the law, the second season is all about the order. Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) left Broadchurch five months earlier, finding a new job in Devon. Once her husband was arrested for the murder of the Latimer boy, Ellie couldn’t deal with the evil “how could you let this happen?” looks from her neighbors, her best friends didn’t want anything to do with her, and her son wanted to live with other relatives.

Ellie reluctantly returns to the town to witness her husband’s sentencing. Everyone assumes Joe Miller (Matthew Gravelle) will just stand up and plead guilty, admitting what he’s done, and sparing the the Latimer family from having to go through a lengthy emotional trial. However, Joe shocks everyone—including his own lawyer—when he declares his innocence.

This season introduces four interesting new characters. Joe hires barrister Sharon Bishop QC (Marianne Jean Baptiste) to defend him. She takes the case because she loves a challenge and will do whatever it takes to win, no matter who she has to put on the stand or what evidence or scandal she has to dig up or make up. Meanwhile, the Latimers hire Jocelyn Knight QC (Charlotte Rampling), a high-profile lawyer who hasn’t tried a case in years, in hopes that she will be able to find justice for Danny. Jocelyn had been Sharon’s mentor years earlier, but their relationship did not end on good terms—which only helps fuel Sharon’s motivation to win. Throughout the season, we learn more about these two strong women as the series explores each of their personal and professional lives.

As this court case is going on, we get a second season-long mystery. Before Alec Hardy (David Tennant) came to Broadchurch, he was investigating the disappearance of two young girls. The head suspect in the case was Lee Ashworth (James D’Arcy), but Alec wasn’t able to find enough evidence to arrest him. Alec believed that Lee’s wife Claire Ripley (Eve Myles) was in danger, and agreed to provide her with protection. While Ellie is back in Broadchurch, Alec enlists her help in investigating this case.

The writers have done an excellent job once again this second time around. The tiniest of details from the investigation of the first season are intricately woven into the court case. And the evidence is presented in such a way that you are constantly flip-flopping on how you think the jury is going to rule. I found the legal battle to be the more gripping of the parallel stories of the season. I loved watching these women plot their strategies and see them play out in the courtroom. The backstory of Joceyln’s character was fascinating, and I was glad to see even more of it in the DVD’s deleted scenes. Charlotte Rampling is an amazing presence on screen.

The new case of the missing girls provided that familiar feeling of the first season. As Alec and Ellie investigate the case, you never know who is lying, who is telling the truth and who is guilty. There are lots of twists and turns and as soon as you think you have it figured out, a new revelation changes all that. Olivia Colman gives an excellent performance this season. Not only is she very funny at times, but she gives a very raw, emotional performance as this woman who has seen her husband betray her, her son not want to live with her, and all of her friends shun her.

It was great to be able to watch the entire season back-to-back on this DVD. Each episode ends with some big reveal, or game-changing cliffhanger, and I’m glad I didn’t have to wait a week in between to find out what happens next! Once you sit down to watch the series, you won’t want to stop!

As with the first season, eOne has only released the season on standard definition DVD. While there is no HD Blu-ray release, the DVD picture quality is quite good and captures the beautiful, sometimes creepy, setting of the series. All of the dialogue was clear, and the score sounded great. The DVD set is loaded with great bonus features, including 32 minutes of deleted scenes, and over 40 minutes of interviews with the cast and creators. The interviews with David Tennant and Olivia Colman are so much fun, and I especially enjoyed the 5-minute feature of the duo recording the international TV adverts—they really cracked me up!

If you’ve already seen the first season of the series, you’re in for more of the same solid entertainment. If you are new to the series, it should be fairly easy to pick up the story without having seen the first season—but the first season is so good that you really should check it out!

What’s Included:

Episodes: (6:23:32)

• 480p / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Closed Captioned

Extras:

• Deleted & Extended Scenes (32:32)
  Collection of 34 deleted and extended scenes from episodes 3 through 8. There are a lot of great scenes here including more of the trial and additional scenes that delve into the personal lives of many of the major characters, especially Jocelyn Knight and Rev. Paul.
• The Making of Broadchurch (15:04)
  The cast and creators talk about the second season of the series—they discuss the show’s setting, the look of the series, the chemistry of the cast and the premise of the second season. Includes lots of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with writer Chris Chibnall, director Mike Barker, director of photography John Conroy, location manager Joel Holmes, producer Richard Stokes, and actors Jodie Whittaker (“Beth Latimer”), Andrew Buchan (“Mark Latimer”), David Tennant (“Alec Hardy”), Olivia Colman (“Ellie Miller”), Arthur Darvill (“Rev Paul Coates”), Charlotte Rampling (“Jocelyn Knight QC”), Matthew Gravelle (“Joe Miller”), Marianne Jean Baptiste (“Sharon Bishop QC”), Meera Syal (“Judge Sharma”), James D’Arcy (“Lee Ashworth”) and Eve Myles (“Claire Ripley”).
• Success and the Series 2 (5:41)
  The cast and creator talk about the surprise success and winning formula of the first season and the challenges of following it up with a second series. They also discuss keeping the twists and turns of the show a secret. Includes interviews with writer Chris Chibnall, producer Richard Stokes, and actors Jonathan Bailey (“Olly Stevens”), David Tennant, Olivia Colman, Eve Myles, Marianne Jean Baptiste, Charlotte Rampling, Tanya Franks (“Lucy Stevens”), James D’Arcy, Andrew Buchan, Arthur Darvill and Carolyn Pickles (“Maggie Radcliffe”).
• The Latimers (2:20)
  Jodie Whittaker (“Beth Latimer”) and Andrew Buchan (“Mark Latimer”) talk about the emotional journey of their characters. Olivia Colman also joins in the conversation.
• David Tennant and Olivia Colman: The Success of Series 1 (1:39)
  The stars talk about how that cast was also in constant speculation as to how the first series would play out.
• David Tennant and Olivia Colman: On Writer Chris Chibnall (3:00)
  The stars discuss what makes good writing, and how the second season ties into the first.
• David Tennant and Olivia Colman: West Bay in Dorset (1:54)
  The stars discuss the small town setting of the series from the iconic beach location where the first series opened.
• Andrew Buchan and Jodie Whittaker: At The Latimer’s House (1:24)
  The actors discuss the Latimer home from the set itself, as well as their characters’ role in the second season.
• David Tennant and Olivia Colman: On Series 2 (2:08)
  The stars discuss the emotional and physical state of their characters going into the second season.
• Jodie Whittaker/Beth Latimer (1:11)
  The actress briefly discusses “Broadchurch” as a character and Beth’s role in the second season.
• Andrew Buchan/Mark Latimer (1:18)
  The actor briefly discusses the ever-watchful eye of the small town setting.
• Eve Myles/Claire Ripley (1:36)
  The actress talks about her character, and working with David Tennant and the rest of the cast. Includes behind-the-scenes footage.
• Charlotte Rampling/Jocelyn Knight (1:29)
  The actress talks about watching the series dubbed in French, her character and working with the rest of the cast.
• Marianne Jean Baptiste/Sharon Bishop QC (1:25)
  The actress talks about what drew her to the series, and her character, and how the second series is different from the first.
• Writer & Executive Producer Chris Chibnall Interview (2:58)
  Chris Chibnall talks about the hometown setting of the show, and the emotionally-driven nature of the series, and the show’s surprise success.
• Producer Richard Stokes on David Tennant and Olivia Colman (1:40)
  Richard Stokes talks about the chemistry between David Tennant and Olivia Colman.
• David Tennant and Olivia Colman Promoting Broadchurch Series 2 (4:49)
  David Tennant and Olivia Colman have a lot of fun recording promos for the various global networks that air the series.

Final Thoughts:

The second season of Broadchurch brings back all of your favorite characters, and introduces some fascinating new ones, and there are some standout dramatic performances. I thoroughly enjoyed the courtroom aspect of this season season, as it gave us a look at a whole different side of the Broadchurch justice system. The DVD release looks and sounds great, and includes a wealth of bonus features. This release is an easy recommendation for fans of British drama, and a must-own for fans of the series.