TV pick: Crime drama Winter set to thrill

Rebecca Gibney and Matt Nable in Winter.

Following the success of telemovie The Killing Field, which screened earlier this year, Rebecca Gibney returns to the small screen this week to reprise her role as Detective Sergeant Eve Winter in this new six-part crime drama.

"I love Broadchurch and The Bridge and The Killing, all the Scandi-noir, and I loved Prime Suspect in its day," Gibney told TimeOut of her decision to return to the small screen after Packed to the Rafters finished and tackle a whole new character.

"I love a good crime thriller. We all like to be the armchair detective who sits at home and muses on who really did it, and whether they're going after the right person, and trying to stay a step ahead, and pick up the clues. I love a bit of creepiness."

So in collaboration with her husband, and Australia's Seven Network, she decided to create a detective-based crime drama.

In this six-part series, Winter has been assigned to the taskforce investigating the murder of 23-year-old Karly Johansson, wife and mother of two found on the rocks at Rocky Point - a picturesque coastal town south of Sydney. On the same night, troubled young woman Indiana Hope is hit by a car in the busy city suburb of Kings Cross.

Is there a connection between the two women? And do they have anything to do with a cold case which Detective Sergeant Lachlan McKenzie (Peter O'Brien) is a little obsessed with, where another young woman was killed in the same location eight years ago.

Of course plenty of the drama stems from the detectives, as we learn about what makes Winter cool and detached, and how are her professional imperatives and motivations linked to her personal life?

"I've always held up Helen Mirren's character Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect, I always found her character incredibly intriguing and very complex, and I just wanted to make sure that Eve was given a mysterious aspect. While this woman is independent and strong and forging ahead in a predominantly male environment, she also has to be flawed and have vulnerabilities and weaknesses, so it was important to create a rounded individual."

The fact that Gibney is again playing opposite her long-time friend and past co-star Peter O'Brien, who was also her love interest in Halifax FP, just makes their on-screen rapport even stronger.

"He and I are great mates, and we've known each other an awfully long time - he doesn't like being reminded how long it's been. But of course it means we have a shorthand, and it was very easy stepping back into those roles, and it's always great to work with him because we can be very open and honest with each other. We've got a great trust."

The cast is rounded out by rising detectives Alesia Taylor, played by Antonia Prebble, and Milo Lee, played by Akos Armont, as well as Matt Nable playing vetern federal agent Jake Harris - an unco-operative, cynical chap, unwilling to play ball with Winter.

When: Sunday, 8.30pm
Where: TV One
What: Broadchurch in Sydney