During the opening scene of Broadchurch, a new drama on BBC America, the camera lingers on a sign that reads "Love Thy Neighbour." But it must be pretty hard to 'love thy neighbor' when you know there's a murderer in your midst.
Broadchurch is also the fictional name of the idyllic looking English seaside town where the show is set. From afar, it looks like the perfect vacation spot — but up close the picture is quite different.
The show stars Scottish actor David Tennant — best known to American audiences as the tenth Time Lord on Doctor Who. He plays a broody detective called Alec Hardy, sent to Broadchurch to solve the murder of a young boy.
Broadchurch has many of the markers of a classic crime drama — a bickering, mismatched cop duo at the center, red herrings and secrets galore. "These are the motifs of crime drama," Tennant tells NPR's Celeste Headlee. "They're all very recognizable to us, they're all quite well-worn. But I think what Chris Chibnall, who wrote Broadchurch, so exceptionally manages to do, is five minutes into the show, you're not thinking that anymore, you're just in this beautifully-crafted world ... it all feels fresh-minted."