The Tunnel (TV series)

The Tunnel
Also known as 'Tunnel'
Genre Crime drama
Written by
Directed by
Starring
Opening theme "The End of Time" – Charlotte Gainsbourg
Country of origin
  • United Kingdom
  • France
Original language(s)
  • English
  • French
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 18 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Lars Blomgren
  • Jane Featherstone
  • Manda Levin
  • Nora Melhli
  • Anne Mensah
  • Fabrice De La Patellière
  • Karen Wilson
Producer(s) Ruth Kenley-Letts
Location(s)
  • United Kingdom
  • France
Running time 45 minutes approx
Production company(s)
Release
Original network
Picture format 16:9 (1080i HDTV)
Original release 16 October 2013 (2013-10-16) – present
Website

The Tunnel (French: Tunnel) is a British-French crime drama television series, adapted from the 2011 Danish/Swedish crime series The Bridge (Broen/Bron). The Tunnel began broadcast on 16 October 2013 on Sky Atlantic in the UK, and on 11 November 2013 on Canal+ in France. The series stars Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy as British and French police detectives Karl Roebuck and Elise Wassermann, respectively. The plot follows the two detectives working together to find a serial killer who left the upper-half body of a French politician and the lower-half of a British prostitute in the Channel Tunnel, at the midpoint between France and the UK. They later learn that the killer – who comes to be nicknamed the "Truth Terrorist" – is on a moral crusade to highlight many social problems, terrorising both countries in the process. As the series progresses, the killer's true intention is revealed.

The Anglo-French adaption of The Bridge was announced as a joint project between Sky and Canal+ in January 2013. Ben Richards, the head writer of The Tunnel, worked with Hans Rosenfeldt, the creator of the original series. Due to the setting, the dialogue of the series is bilingual, a first for British and French television. With a budget of £15 million, filming took place between February and August 2013, and was shot on location in Kent, England and northern France. It was produced with both British and French crew members. The premieres on both Sky Atlantic and Canal+ received strong ratings for the respective channels, with an initial consolidated figure of almost 900,000 in the UK, and 1.3 million in France. Critical reception of the series has been generally positive, with Dillane and Poésy's acting being praised, as well as the plot's grittiness. The comparisons with The Bridge were also viewed favourably by some reviewers, though others criticised The Tunnel for being identical. The producers admit that the first episode is a copy of the original.

In February 2015, Sky announced that a second series of the show was set to air in early 2016. Titled The Tunnel: Sabotage, it would focus on the crash of an airliner into the English Channel. Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy would return as Karl Roebuck and Elise Wasserman. Consisting of eight episodes, it debuted on Sky Atlantic on Tuesday, 12 April 2016; although the video trailer on the series homepage indicated that it would start on 5 April, the debut was put back a week following the Brussels terrorist attacks on 22 March. The complete second series was made available on 12 April, via Sky's On Demand service.[1][2][3] In the United States, the first series of The Tunnel was shown on many PBS stations from June through August 2016.[4]

Characters

Stephen Dillane (left) and Clémence Poésy (right) star in the series as detectives Karl Roebuck and Elise Wassermann, respectively.

Stephen Dillane plays Detective Chief Inspector Karl Roebuck of Northbourne Police (a fictional counterpart to the real life Kent Police), an aging British detective used to getting his own way. Roebuck's role parallels that of Martin Rohde (played by Kim Bodnia), the Danish detective in The Bridge.[5] Karl and Martin share some characteristics, but also differ in certain ways; for instance, Karl is "more educated and a more troubled man".[6] Dillane was drawn to the political questions raised in the storyline, as well as the series' "novelistic telling".[7]

Clémence Poésy plays Capitaine (later Commander) Elise Wassermann of the DCPJ, the French detective and Roebuck's opposite. Wasserman's role parallels that of Saga Norén (played by Sofia Helin), the Swedish detective in The Bridge. Elise shares some characteristics with Saga, including driving a Porsche (in Elise's case, a Porsche 944), picking up men from bars for casual sex, and exhibiting behaviour consistent with Asperger syndrome.[5][8] The innate seriousness of the character was a trait that Poésy found "quite annoying", but the actress came to appreciate Elise's honesty. Both Dillane and Poésy opted not to view the Scandinavian original series, with the latter stating that it would allow her more freedom in interpreting the character.[7] Poésy dubbed her English lines for the French broadcast.[9]

The series includes several guest stars. Joseph Mawle plays a social worker named Stephen Beaumont, Tom Bateman appears as journalist Danny Hiller, and Tobi Bakare plays Chuks Akinade.[10] Thibault de Montalembert plays Olivier Pujol, who is the head of the Calais police service, and Elise's superior.[10][11] Sigrid Bouaziz plays Cécile Cabrillac and Cédric Vieira plays Philippe Viot; these characters are police officers who work with Elise.[12][13] Mathieu Carrière and Jeanne Balibar play banker Alain Joubert, and his wife Charlotte, respectively. Merlin actress Angel Coulby stars as Laura Roebuck, Karl's wife, while Jack Lowden plays Adam, his son. Keeley Hawes guest-starred as Suze Harcourt, a care worker and drug addict, along with Liz Smith, who plays Harriet, an elderly woman under Harcourt's care.[10]

James Frain plays Kieran Ashton, a former colleague of Karl, who faked his suicide and became the Truth Terrorist, serving as the primary antagonist. The character is motivated by the loss of his identity and family, as well as betrayal from Karl by his affair with Kieran's wife before her death. Frain believed that Kieran is the most disturbing character he has played. Portraying the character, the actor wanted to make his actions understandable, though not justifiable.[14]

Cast

Recurring cast

Series 1

Series 2

Production

Development and writing

The Anglo-French adaption of the Danish/Swedish series The Bridge was first announced by Sky in January 2013. The ten-part series was to be a co-production between British broadcaster Sky and French broadcaster Canal+. Sky Atlantic director Elaine Pyke commissioned the show with the intention of establishing the channel as a home for British dramas following the channel's release of the drama series Hit & Miss and Falcón. Due to the setting of the series, it would be bilingual, with dialogue being spoken in English and French.[15] This made The Tunnel, according to its producers, the first series in British and French television to be bilingual.[16][17]

"The Bridge is an incredible nuanced serial killer thriller, but what writer Ben Richards has done is something particular to the whole French-British experience. We're neighbours, we have so much in common and yet we're thousands of miles apart on so many things."

– Jane Featherstone on the British and French dynamic of the series[6]

Being a "50–50 co-production" between the British and French, the crew were a mix from both countries, and neither party has "final control".[18] The series employed both British and French writers and directors to collaborate on the series, with former Spooks writer Ben Richards leading the writing team.[16] Multiple versions of the script were used, which were translated for both languages.[18] Five directors were hired for the series, three of them British and the other two French. Dominik Moll is considered the head director,[5][6] with the other directors being Hettie MacDonald, Thomas Vincent, Udayan Prasad and Philip Martin.[19] The series' executive producers are Sky's Anne Mensah; Canal+'s Fabrice De La Patellière; Kudos' Jane Featherstone, Karen Wilson, Manda Levin and Ben Richards; Shine France's Nora Melhli; and Filmlance's Lars Blomgren. Ruth Kenley-Letts is the series producer.[16] Jane Featherstone, the chief executive of the production company Kudos, said of the British–French collaboration: "We have had to work very collaboratively to make sure we are appealing to both nations. I honestly don't know if we have got that right yet. The French like things to be slightly slower, we like them pacier."[20]

In developing the storyline of the series Featherstone said that "the team took what was wonderful from [the original] and then forgot about it, in the nicest possible way, and made their own show."[5] While working for the series, Richards worked with Hans Rosenfeldt, the Swedish writer who created The Bridge. Many aspects of the first episode are virtual copies of the first episode of the Scandinavian series, including: the female lead "stripping unselfconsciously to her underwear in the office", the male lead's relationship with his teenage son, and the "sleazy journalist [being] held captive in his own car with a ticking bomb", the last of which was a sequence Richards wanted to repeat in the remake. However, Richards said that as the series progressed and the drama unfolded the storylines would diverge from the original.[6] Featherstone also noted there would be plenty of changes, saying that many had "seen both [The Bridge and The Tunnel], who feel that they get satisfaction because the characters go on different journeys and the actors all bring a whole new level of interest in it".[21]

Filming and locations

Some scenes were filmed in the Channel Tunnel (pictured, entrance to the tunnel in Coquelles, France)

The budget of the series is estimated to be £15 million.[20] Filming began in February 2013[10] and concluded in August 2013,[22] with location shooting largely taken place in Kent and northern France.[6] Filming in Kent was based in Discovery Park in Sandwich and was supported by the Kent Film Office.[18] A former Pfizer facility was used as a number of sets, including the Calais police station and Elise's apartment.[23] The series was filmed throughout five districts: Canterbury, Dover, Shepway, Swale and Thanet. Several prominent locales were featured, including Folkestone Harbour; The Turner Contemporary art gallery; Westwood Cross shopping centre; and the towns of Dover, Folkestone and Margate. Production also made use of the Kent Film Office's legal powers to close certain roads for uninterrupted filming.[22][24] An estimated £2.5 million of the budget was spent on, among other services, accommodation, locations, parking and catering, providing a boost for the Kent economy.[24] The filming in France was supported by the Nord-Pas de Calais Film Commission and benefited from the Tax Rebate International. Shooting took place over 31 days across Boulogne-sur-Mer, Calais and Dunkerque.[25]

Some scenes of The Tunnel were also shot in the Channel Tunnel itself, which makes the series the first television drama production to do so.[6] The producers spent "months of gentle negotiation" with Eurotunnel, the company that operates the tunnel, for permission to shoot scenes there. Eurotunnel allowed it. According to Moll, "The only thing they didn't want was to see train passengers in danger or fires." Moll also noted that they did not shoot in the actual midpoint of the tunnel, stating "once you are a few kilometres in, it all looks the same."[5]

Filming for series two again took place in Kent and France. The production filmed for 85 days in Kent between April and July 2015, with a further 50 days in the county for pre- and post-production, spending an estimated £1.5 million.[26] The Kent filming locations included Eurotunnel, Folkestone Harbour, Discovery Park, Deal (including the Pier), Folkestone, Dover (including the Port and Dover Castle), Westwood Industrial Estate Margate, Ramsgate, The Barn in Upstreet, St Martin’s Hospital, and Knowlton Court.[27]

Release and reception

Broadcast and ratings

The Tunnel had a world premiere hosted at the international television market Mipcom in Cannes, France on 7 October 2013.[28] In the United Kingdom, Sky Atlantic premiered the series at 9pm on Wednesday, 16 October 2013, and continued weekly until 18 December.[29] The premiere episode was seen by an average of 362,000 overnight viewers, considered strong ratings for the channel.[30] With consolidated ratings taken into account, the first episode went up to 803,000 viewers on Sky Atlantic, with an extra 90,000 viewing from its catch-up channel, Sky Atlantic +1.[31] However, the second episode dropped a third of its overnight audience, leaving it with 236,000 viewers.[32] The finale was seen by 267,000 overnight viewers.[33] In France, the series premiered on Canal+ on 8:55pm at Monday, 11 November 2013.[34] The first episode attracted 1.3 million viewers, marking it as one of the highest rated original series premieres for the channel.[35] The first series was viewed by an average audience of 1.04 million viewers per episode.[36]

Critical reception

The Tunnel received generally positive reviews from television critics. Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy stated that while remakes are "often underwhelming", The Tunnel was "gripping stuff", and he believed that viewers "should find plenty to enjoy" in the series. The performances of Dillane and Poésy were also lauded.[37] Gerard Gilbert of The Independent was positive in his assessment of the series, stating that "as an avid fan of The Bridge, I am happy to report that The Tunnel works well in its own right – it's intelligently made, well cast and ambitiously cinematic", adding that it had "succeeded in its high-risk strategy of re-working a near-flawless Scandi-drama in our Anglo-French image".[6] Ellen E Jones, also of The Independent, said that Dillane and Poésy's performances "stuck closely" to the original characterisation of the leads from the Scandinavian version. Of the execution, Jones stated: "should you bother watching The Tunnel even if you've already seen the original? The early signs are good. The makers obviously have sense enough to preserve what was effective about the original, and invention enough to distinguish their work too."[38]

"As a global TV franchise, it's pure gold: there's a US-Mexican version already screening and there are frontiers all over the world with tension and history dotted across the boundary. The South Korea-North Korea would be ace."

– Metro reviewer Keith Watson[39]

In a review posted early in the first season, Gerard O'Donovan of The Daily Telegraph expressed mixed feelings about the series "so far at least", saying: "there was no sense that this was doing much different from other mainstream crime thrillers. Sticking too close to the original script meant a golden opportunity was missed to dig deeper into the attitudes and history that both connect and divide the UK and France". However, he also wrote that he would be "happy to be persuaded otherwise if the action develops".[40]

Harry Venning of The Stage believed that, plotwise, the collaboration between the British and French police forces and style were "all very effectively done, creepily atmospheric and splendidly gruesome", but also stated that the best thing about the series was "the interplay between Stephen Dillane's easygoing, laddish, rosbif detective inspector and his po-faced, glacial but – wouldn't you know it – extremely sexy Gallic counterpart, played by Clémence Poésy."[41] Metro reviewer Keith Watson, having rated the series four stars out of five, stated: "the idea is great. But what's surprising about The Tunnel (Sky Atlantic) is that it's less a version of, more a faithful remake."[39]

The Guardian posted a number of reviews on its website. Julia Reaside deemed the series a "perfectly cast remake of Swedish-Danish crime hit", and stated that "this confirms Dillane as one of our very finest. Such control. Poésy is beautifully chilly, and Joseph Mawle (another cracker) leads an asylum-seeker subplot. It's also really funny."[42] Writing about the finale, Reaside said of Dillane's performance: "If this were on a terrestrial channel, he'd be up for all the awards."[43] On the Karl–Elise partnership, she stated: "I wasn't sure about them as a pairing but was immediately convinced by their uncomfortable chemistry."[44] Having not enjoyed The Bridge, Andrew Anthony called The Tunnel an "attractive proposition", adding that "there's an engaging confidence to the slow revelation of the story. All in all, this looks good."[45] Sam Wollaston was more critical of the series, stating that, while the tone was "atmospheric, intriguing, gripping" and there were strong performances from the lead cast members, The Tunnel was "exactly the same as the (recent) original". Wollaston felt that the only "obvious" difference was that, in the original series, there "was a bridge, this is a tunnel. However magnificent an engineering feat the Channel tunnel is, it can't compete as a spectacular location with the Øresund Bridge."[46]

Home media and other releases

The series was first released on DVD in France on 20 December 2013, with special features including a making of feature and interviews featuring Moll and Poésy on a four-disc set.[47] A release in the United Kingdom followed on 13 January 2014 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc by publisher Acorn Media UK, and includes three discs, with special features including a making-of feature, cast and crew interviews, and a picture gallery.[48][49]

Starting on 1 February 2014 in the UK, the first episodes of The Tunnel – along with some other original Sky series – will be released for free on the video sharing website YouTube, in an attempt to attract more Sky subscribers.[50]

In the United States, the first series of The Tunnel was shown on many PBS stations from 19 June through 21 August, distributed by Endemol Shine International.[4]

Episodes

Series 1 (2013)

No.TitleDirected byWritten byBritish air dateFrench air dateUK viewers
(millions) [31]
1"Episode 1"Dominik MollBen Richards16 October 2013 (2013-10-16)11 November 20130.893[nb 1]
French politician Marie Villeneuve is found dead at the Channel Tunnel's midpoint between France and the UK. The body is found to have been cut in half, one half belonging to Welsh prostitute Gemma Kirwan. Karl Roebuck and Elise Wassermann, the respective British and French detectives, work together to investigate the killings and soon find a suspect in Charlotte Joubert, the wife of French banker Alain who is in hiding. Charlotte insists she made threats against Villeneuve to stop her from badgering her husband. In the UK, Stephen Beaumont runs a hostel for failed asylum seekers and takes in Colombian-born Veronica. Tabloid journalist Danny Hillier enters his car to find it rigged with explosives. When the timer reaches zero, however, instead of an explosion, the killer has left a message.
2"Episode 2"Dominik MollBen Richards23 October 2013 (2013-10-23)11 November 2013N/A
A killer's video states that the killings were the first of five "truths", inequality before the law. Alain Joubert is run over by a high-speed train while fleeing pursuers. Stephen Beaumont moves Veronica and her son to a cottage to protect her from Anthony, Gemma Kirwan's pimp. Karl investigates Kirwan's disappearance, while Elise examines threats against Villeneuve. A coroner's observation that the victims were cut with a slaughterhouse saw leads her to an anti-Zionist farmer. Although she finds part of Villeneuve's body at the farm, Elise rules out the farmer as a suspect because he cannot speak English. The killer targets the elderly for his "second truth" and poisons the medication of some retirement home residents. Care worker Suze Beaumont, Stephen's sister and Anthony's lover, who steals drugs for intoxication, also falls victim.
3"Episode 3"Udayan PrasadOlivier Kohn & Ben Richards30 October 2013 (2013-10-30)18 November 20130.709[nb 2]
Using Hillier to spread his message, the so-called "Truth Terrorist" (TT) vows to continue his "second truth" in France, kidnapping veteran Jean-Claude Delplanque and livestreaming his victim's ordeal. A runaway couple find Delplanque, but TT captures them. Anthony instructs Veronica to run away to London, and troubled teenager Sophie Campbell runs away from her mother and is taken in by Benji, an outwardly trustworthy person. Karl and Elise find out that Delplanque is being kept in a cold-storage unit and is slowly freezing. The Truth Terrorist emails Danny Hillier the photographs of four wealthy business people who, he says, can save Delplanque.
4"Episode 4"Udayan PrasadChris Lang6 November 2013 (2013-11-06)18 November 20130.596[nb 3]
The Truth Terrorist demands that the four business people make a significant donation to charity. Joubert, one of those named, discovers her late husband's second family. Charlotte agrees to pay on behalf of the other plutocrats to eliminate all trace of Alain. Meanwhile, French police notice vibrations on the livestream, which audio analysis shows are caused by passing trains, narrowing Delplanque's location to two cold stores. Karl and Elise search one, but TT subdues Karl and escapes. Delplanque is dead; the runaway couple are found alive. Elise suspects that TT may know Karl because Karl has recently had a vasectomy and TT kicked him in the groin. Sophie starts to believe that Benji is mentally ill after finding a cupboard of unused prescription drugs. Benji's samurai-style suicide mission is foreshadowed as he wields a katana provided to him by TT.
5"Episode 5"Hettie MacDonaldYann Le Niver13 November 2013 (2013-11-13)25 November 20130.534[nb 4]
For the "third truth", Benji beheads several people, then kills himself after his arrest. Karl sees Charlotte Joubert regarding Alain's encrypted files, and she seduces Karl. Back home, he learns that his wife Laura is pregnant. Karl and Elise have to track down Sophie before she is found by the Truth Terrorist. They find her in an internet café. Elise uses Sophie to entrap TT and saves Sophie from his attack with a sniper rifle. Karl's colleague Chuks Akinade finds a picture of Gemma Kirwan on Beaumont's computer. Now a suspect, Beaumont murders Anthony, and TT kidnaps French police officer Laurent Delgado, who has been accused of murdering a teenager named Mehdi Cherfi.
6"Episode 6"Hettie MacDonaldGeorge Kay20 November 2013 (2013-11-20)25 November 20130.575[nb 5]
Cornered on a Calais-bound ferry, Beaumont admits to killing Anthony, then kills himself. The Truth Terrorist demonstrates his "fourth truth" by burning alive four youths who had been arrested during the 2011 England riots. Laura learns of Karl's affair with Charlotte, while Karl learns that his son Adam has spent the night at Elise's flat. Calais police find out that French youths, including Mehdi Cherfi, had been killed in a riot. TT lures Mehdi's brother Yassin to an abandoned shop, where Laurent Delgado is imprisoned and forced to confess to killing Mehdi. Yassin returns home, where he is intercepted by Karl and Elise. Mehdi's father later finds the imprisoned Delgado too, but releases him instead of exacting revenge. TT shoots Delgado dead and burns Hiller's girlfriend alive after she refuses his demand to publish a text.
7"Episode 7"Philip MartinEmma Frost27 November 2013 (2013-11-27)2 December 20130.537[nb 6]
Due to TT's knowledge of police procedures, Karl and Elise think he must be a police officer. Delgado's widow suspects a colleague from training exercises. ZP Holdings had financed the officers, but its offices are deserted. TT hijacks a minibus and holds school children at a farm. For his "final truth", relating to child exploitation, he urges the public to attack department stores that use child labour. He releases some of the children after such attacks, and asks the public to "vote" on which of two remaining captives should die. Ultimately, he lets them both live and murders the minibus driver. TT lures Hillier, offering an interview, but instead kills him with a bomb. Elise's colleague Cécile Cabrillac works out the identity of a police officer who could be TT — Fabien Vincent.
8"Episode 8"Thomas VincentBen Richards4 December 2013 (2013-12-04)2 December 20130.555[nb 7]
The Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur hinders the hunt for Fabien Vincent, who had helped investigate ZP Holdings over suspected gun-running. Karl discovers the murdered Hillier was originally Giles Haddock. Before his name change, he had been involved in a drunk driving incident that killed the wife and child of Kieran Ashton, a former colleague of Karl. Vincent kidnaps Elise, proves to her that he is not the Truth Terrorist and reveals his role in "Peloton", a joint operation of several European intelligence agencies; killing Alain Joubert had been one of their assignments. After escaping from gangsters, Vincent releases Elise. Attention now turns to Kieran Ashton, who had faked his apparent suicide.
9"Episode 9"Thomas VincentChris Lang11 December 2013 (2013-12-11)9 December 20130.535[nb 8]
Calais police trace Kieran Ashton's bank records following his supposed death, leading them to a John Sumner, who has befriended Laura. After identifying Sumner/Ashton as the Truth Terrorist, Karl and Elise go to his home, where they learn that Laura is his next target, as a consequence of Karl's onetime affair with Ashton's wife. TT takes Laura and her children on a day out and traps her in an empty house, making her keep her foot on the trigger of an improvised explosive device. The bomb disposal squad reveals that the device cannot be disarmed but was not designed to detonate immediately on release of the switch. Stepping off the trigger, Laura is able to run out of the house before it explodes. Adam sneaks out to meet his online girlfriend, unaware that TT is impersonating her to entrap him, and Elise realises that Adam is TT's real target.
10"Episode 10"Thomas VincentBen Richards18 December 2013 (2013-12-18)9 December 20130.660[nb 9]
Ashton kidnaps Adam and leads him to several dead ends in his search for his son. Karl resigns from the case, acquires his grandfather's Mauser C96 pistol, which he used in the Spanish Civil War, and begins searching for Ashton alone. Discovering that Ashton had also been a Peloton operative, Elise then learns the location of Peloton's safe house in England, where she finds Adam. Ashton arranges a meeting with Karl at a Channel Tunnel ventilation shaft near Folkestone; he says he has killed Adam with a morphine overdose. Elise realises that Ashton wants Karl to kill him as way of bringing his "mission" to an end, and goes to the ventilation shaft to persuade Karl not to do so. She tells him that Adam is alive and in hospital; noticing that she has been crying, Karl deduces that she is lying. Surrounded by armed officers, Elise talks him out of killing Ashton. During a struggle, Ashton is blinded when the pistol discharges. After Ashton's arrest, Karl decides to leave the police force.

Series 2: Sabotage (2016)

No.TitleDirected byWritten byBritish air dateFrench air dateUK viewers
(millions) [31]
11"Episode 1"Mike BarkerBen Richards12 April 2016 (2016-04-12)TBA0.706[nb 10]
Following the events of the first series, Karl Roebuck joins the Public Protection Unit (PPU) to help special victims. Elise Wasserman is promoted to Commander and takes charge of her unit following the departure of her former boss Olivier Pujol. Rosa Persaud and Thibaut Briand kidnap Madeleine and Robert Fournier on a Channel Tunnel train. They leave behind their daughter Chloë, who falls under Karl's care. He is soon reunited with Elise, who is sent to investigate the kidnapping. Supposed victim Robert is revealed as the plot's leader. He murders his wife and leaves a body inside a burning van. Later the gang hacks into a plane's autopilot system, forcing it to crash into the English Channel, killing all on board. Robert is then paid off by human trafficker Vanessa Hamilton.
12"Episode 2"Mike BarkerBen Richards19 April 2016 (2016-04-19)TBA0.506[nb 11]
As the authorities assemble the plane wreckage, Karl returns to the Criminal Investigation Division from PPU. Olivier informs Elise that the plane was likely hacked, but tells her not to divulge this for the time being. Chloë recalls overhearing Robert say, "I told you – not the kid", leaving Karl and Elise to ponder the context of the phrase. Meanwhile, Robert sends Thibaut Briand to "Fun Faith Friends", an interfaith meet-up between Christians, Jews and Muslims in Calais, to kill one member from each religion. Back in England, Karl and Boleslaw "BB" Borowski find out that the burned van had been stolen. They trace credit card charges to an oil depot, where an employee gives out a detailed description of a female suspect. The description is released to the press, and Prof. Sonny Persaud recognises the suspect.
13"Episode 3"Gilles BannierBen Richards26 April 2016 (2016-04-26)TBA0.462[nb 12]
Sonny tells the police that the woman they're seeking is his daughter Rosa, whom he suspects of alignment with anarchist groups. Sonny also reveals that Robert was a student of his. Karl and BB trace Rosa's movements to a shack, where they find Madeleine's body. The search leads to Singapore Fiscal Management, a company that owns the land. Elise's colleagues search offices in Calais where they find Rosa and Thibaut, capturing Rosa following a shootout. Laura Roebuck suspects she is being stalked because of her tweets condemning a politician who supports fracking. Immigration officers arrest a Georgian woman, Olena Bahkia, in Dover; she carries a passport that features the same key as several other passports in the plane's wreckage. One of the victims was a Polish detective who went to the UK to expose a human trafficking gang. Karl and Elise try to question Olena at PPU, but are prevented from doing so by Karl's boss Mike Bowden. Later, a couple witness Olena falling to her death.
14"Episode 4"Gilles BannierYann Le Nivet & Ben Richards3 May 2016 (2016-05-03)TBA0.334[nb 13]
Olena's death is ruled as a suicide, but Karl believes she was pushed. They also find a link between Singapore Fiscal Management and Vanessa Hamilton. Olena having told Karl that her abductor smoked cheroots, Karl suspects Hamilton when BB tells him she was smoking one during questioning. Karl and Elise question Rosa, who initially remains silent, but Elise manages to get under her skin by mentioning her mother's physical relationship with Robert. In her anger, Rosa implies that Robert's group will target her father at Lille University. It turns out to be a diversion so that Thibaut can storm the police station, with racist officer Garrido as an inside man, in an attempt to break Rosa out. Garrido is ordered to execute wounded fellow officer Julie, but he fires above her head. With the sooner-than-expected arrival of armed back-up, Rosa and Thibaut take hostages and demand Karl and Elise be brought to them. Elise comes into the offices alone, and Rosa assaults her for taunting her. Olivier sends in armed officers who shoot both hostage takers. Julie narrowly survives her injuries and is taken to intensive care, where the guilt-ridden Garrido shoots himself, leaving a note for Elise.
15"Episode 5"Tim MielantsLouise Ironside10 May 2016 (2016-05-10)TBA0.334[nb 14]
Rosa survives the shooting but refuses to tell Karl and Elise the whereabouts of Robert. After Sonny talks to her, she confesses that Robert is responsible for the plane hacking, and mentions the name "Koba" before dying from sepsis. Forensics recovers a mobile phone from the police station, and they trace Robert's location. Karl and Elise search the docks, but Elise spots the corpse of a woman killed by Robert and floating on the water. Elise freezes at this reminder of her twin sister's childhood drowning, allowing Robert to escape as he calls "Koba" for safe passage. Karl later questions Hamilton, but Bowden stops him, claiming she is the subject of a separate investigation that is "bigger than us". Laura makes a new friend at work, who later claims that Karl had a child with her when he worked undercover years ago. Knowing Karl's previous transgressions (Series 1: Charlotte Joubert and Kieran Ashton's wife), Laura believes her, angrily confronts Karl and declares their marriage over.
16"Episode 6"Tim MielantsFranck Philippon & Ben Richards17 May 2016 (2016-05-17)TBA0.338[nb 15]
Karl and Elise find a link between the dead Polish detective and Gregor Baturin, an imprisoned Georgian arms dealer. His son Artem/"Koba" is sheltering Robert. They also discover that other victims of the plane crash were linked with Baturin, though not Eryka Klein, who had failed to board the fateful flight due to her missing passport. Eryka goes for drinks with Elise, where she confirms that she grew up with her twin brother in Chile's Colonia Dignidad colony, and that she been sexually abused there. Karl relentlessly pursues the truth, prompting Bowden to hand Karl a USB drive on Vanessa Hamilton's case revealing that Hamilton is an MI5 informant with ties to Baturin's organisation. Hamilton finds herself on the run when a van of men arrive outside her home. Robert escapes from "Koba" when he discovers he will not be allowed to brag to the world about crashing the aeroplane. He is quickly recaptured and sent to a sadistic modern Nazi, "The Chemist", who once lived at Colonia Dignidad. Robert is injected with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and dies slowly and in agonising pain. BB later discovers his corpse in a car park.
17"Episode 7"Carl TibbettsBen Richards24 May 2016 (2016-05-24)TBA0.323[nb 16]
Karl and Elise take Vanessa Hamilton to France for questioning, but she is killed by a poisoned cheroot before they can get much information. Laura learns of Gemma's relationship with Kieran Ashton (the "Truth Terrorist" from Series 1); her story had been fabricated to destroy Karl’s marriage. She and Karl make their peace. Eryka, learning that Gael has left her, initiates sex with Elise. Artem negotiates his father's early release and meets with Eryka, revealing that she is indeed his accomplice. Karl learns the identity of "The Chemist", Dr Edgar Branco, and of his ties to Baturin’s organisation. Elise’s team discover that Eryka purchased the phone used to hack into the downed plane’s autopilot. When Elise suggests this is meaningless, Karl realises that Elise has romantic feelings for Eryka. She reacts defensively but agrees to look at the evidence. That night, Karl and Laura are awoken by their dog’s barking; carbon monoxide has leaked into their house. Thinking it was an attempt to kill him, Karl re-enters his house after sending his family to hospital and, knowing that MI5 are listening, tells them that he will never walk away from the investigation.
18"Episode 8"Carl TibbettsBen Richards31 May 2016 (2016-05-31)TBA0.316[nb 17]
Karl confronts MI5 agent Neil Grey, who assures him that the carbon monoxide leak was unplanned. Grey asks him not to arrest Artem/"Koba" for the plane crash because he is using "The Chemist" – who poses a major threat to national security – as leverage for his father Gregor. Eryka escapes after telling Elise that she assisted in the plane crash and that she has no feelings for her. When Gregor dies of a heart attack, Artem assumes duplicity by MI5 and plans revenge. Continued detective leads Karl and Elise to "The Chemist", but Artem's men capture them. When Eryka hears Artem order "The Chemist" to kill them with a deadly plague ("the [UK] will be shut down for years"), she alerts MI5 in order to save Elise. Moments after "The Chemist" injects a pathogen into Elise's eye, police storm the apartment. The fast changing plan quickly unfolds: Elise is rushed to hospital; Grey summarily executes "The Chemist"; Karl and Olivier arrest Artem as he boards a helicopter; Grey helps Eryka onto the helicopter as payment for leading them to both "Koba" and "The Chemist". Karl tells the recovering Elise that the plane's hacking will be suppressed to avoid a panic, but Artem will face justice. Elise later dreams of Eryka returning to her.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 803,000 on Sky Atlantic, 90,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  2. ↑ 626,000 on Sky Atlantic, 83,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  3. ↑ 551,000 on Sky Atlantic, 45,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  4. ↑ 474,000 on Sky Atlantic, 60,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  5. ↑ 514,000 on Sky Atlantic, 61,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  6. ↑ 485,000 on Sky Atlantic, 52,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  7. ↑ 472,000 on Sky Atlantic, 83,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  8. ↑ 462,000 on Sky Atlantic, 73,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  9. ↑ 559,000 on Sky Atlantic, 101,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  10. ↑ 680,000 on Sky Atlantic, 26,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  11. ↑ 466,000 on Sky Atlantic, 40,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  12. ↑ 438,000 on Sky Atlantic, 24,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  13. ↑ 301,000 on Sky Atlantic, 33,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  14. ↑ 289,000 on Sky Atlantic, 45,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  15. ↑ 315,000 on Sky Atlantic, 23,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  16. ↑ 289,000 on Sky Atlantic, 34,000 on Sky Atlantic +1
  17. ↑ 286,000 on Sky Atlantic, 30,000 on Sky Atlantic +1

References

  1. ↑ Plunkett, John (16 February 2015). "Sky Atlantic's The Tunnel to return for second series" – via The Guardian.
  2. ↑ "The Tunnel to return to Sky in 2016".
  3. ↑ The Tunnel: Sabotage
  4. 1 2 "Official PBS webpage for The Tunnel"
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Plunkett, John (13 October 2013). "Sky's remake of The Bridge is set in the Channel tunnel – in English and French". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gilbert, Gerard (9 October 2013). "The Tunnel: Chunnel vision". The Independent. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  7. 1 2 Richford, Rhonda (16 October 2013). "Clemence Poesy and Stephen Dillane Talk 'The Tunnel's' Tough Political Questions". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  8. ↑ Curtis, Nick (11 October 2013). "Battle of the Bridge babes". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Plunkett, John (17 September 2013). "Sky Atlantic to screen adaptation of Scandinavian hit The Bridge". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Martin, William (1 February 2013). "'Merlin' star cast in 'The Bridge' remake 'The Tunnel'". Cult Box. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "Olivier Pujol, personnage de la série Tunnel" (in French). canalplus.fr. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  12. ↑ "Cécile Cabrillac, personnage de la série Tunnel" (in French). canalplus.fr. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  13. ↑ "Philippe Viot, personnage de la série Tunnel" (in French). canalplus.fr. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  14. ↑ The Showdown. BSkyB. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  15. ↑ Martin, William (27 January 2013). "Sky Atlantic orders 'The Bridge' remake 'The Tunnel'". Cult Box. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  16. 1 2 3 Tartaglione, Nancy (10 January 2013). "Sky, Canal+ To Adapt 'The Bridge' As Bilingual English-French Series 'The Tunnel'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  17. ↑ Frost, Vicky (10 January 2013). "The Bridge becomes the Tunnel in Anglo-French crime thriller remake". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  18. 1 2 3 Goundry, Nick (9 August 2013). "Anglo-French murder mystery The Tunnel films on location in East Kent". The Location Guide. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  19. ↑ Midem, Reed (3 September 2013). ""The Tunnel" To Receive MIPCOM Premiere". America Now. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  20. 1 2 Plunkett, John (29 March 2013). "Why British TV producers are going global". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  21. ↑ Fletcher, Alex (17 September 2013). "Sky defends 'The Bridge' adaption 'The Tunnel'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  22. 1 2 "The Tunnel (2013)". Kent Film Office. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  23. ↑ Garratt, Sheryl (7 October 2013). "The Tunnel: a new Sky Atlantic thriller with a French connection". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  24. 1 2 "East Kent stars in Sky Atlantic drama "The Tunnel"". Kent County Council. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  25. ↑ "News: The Tunnel – British-French TV series". Film France. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  26. ↑ Kent Film Office. "Kent County Council Filmed in Kent – Sky Atlantic drama 'The Tunnel: Sabotage' returns Press Release".
  27. ↑ Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office The Tunnel: Sabotage Article".
  28. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (3 September 2013). "MIPCOM: British-French Series 'The Tunnel' to Get World Premiere in Cannes". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  29. ↑ "'The Tunnel' Series 1 episode guide". Cult Box. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  30. ↑ Fletcher, Alex (17 October 2013). "'The Tunnel' gets strong start on Sky Atlantic". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  31. 1 2 3 "Weekly Top 10 Programmes (See relevant weeks ending October 20, 2013 onwards and scroll down to Sky Atlantic and Sky Atlantic +1)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  32. ↑ Eames, Tom (24 October 2013). "'Poirot' final episodes begin with 4.4m on ITV". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  33. ↑ Eames, Tom (19 December 2013). "Great Train Robbery drama tops Wednesday with 5.2 million". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  34. ↑ "Tunnel, the new Canal+ original creation". Vivendi. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  35. ↑ "Tunnel cartonne sur Canal+" (in French). Le Figaro. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  36. ↑ Olité, Marion (10 December 2013). "Tunnel, une série " puissante " pour Canal +" (in French). Toutelatele. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  37. ↑ Fletcher, Alex (16 October 2013). "What To Watch: Tonight's TV Picks – The Tunnel, Veep, Hello Ladies". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  38. ↑ E Jones, Ellen (16 October 2013). "TV review: The Tunnel, Sky Atlantic". The Independent. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  39. 1 2 Watson, Keith (16 October 2013). "The Tunnel was The Bridge in everything but theme music". Metro. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  40. ↑ O'Donovan, Gerard (16 October 2013). "The Tunnel, Sky Atlantic". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  41. ↑ Venning, Harry (18 October 2013). "TV review: Drama Matters – Talking to the Dead; The Tunnel". The Stage. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  42. ↑ Reaside, Julia (16 October 2013). "TV highlights 16/10/2013". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  43. ↑ Reaside, Julia (18 December 2013). "TV highlights 18/12/2013". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  44. ↑ Reaside, Julia (5 December 2013). "Have you been watching ... The Tunnel?". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  45. ↑ Anthony, Andrew (19 October 2013). "Stephen Fry: Out There; The Tunnel; Peaky Blinders – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  46. ↑ Wollaston, Sam (16 October 2013). "The Tunnel; Hello Ladies; Veep – TV review". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  47. ↑ "Le Tunnel" (in French). Amazon.fr. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  48. ↑ "The Tunnel on DVD". Acorn Media UK. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  49. ↑ "The Tunnel on BluRay". Acorn Media UK. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  50. ↑ Lazarus, Susanna (27 January 2014). "Sky to offer free episodes of Moone Boy, The Tunnel and Moonfleet on new YouTube channel". Radio Times. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
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