Asyia Iftikhar
Published December 3, 2025 5:00pm
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BBC’s 2015 drama Cuffs has found new life on Netflix (Picture: BBC)
Key Points
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- BBC’s 2015 drama ‘Cuffs’, starring Ashley Walters, is now trending on Netflix
- The show mixes action-packed police cases with humour and serious social themes
- Praised for its diverse cast, gripping plotlines, and Brighton-based setting
A seaside police drama, starring Ashley Walters and Amanda Abbington, is flying up the Netflix top ten.
The 2015 BBC drama, Cuffs, follows rookie police officer Jake (Jacob Ifan) who ‘confronts the dangers of law enforcement and the internal politics of the force alongside his seasoned partner, Ryan (Ashley).
Balancing humour and levity with grittier, more serious storylines, this bite-sized, eight-episode watch has it all for lovers of British police dramas full of heart and fascinating characters.
The first episode alone is action-packed as newbie Jake tackles a mental health crisis and a high-speed car chase on his first day in the job.
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It landed well among fans at the time as well, with several comparing it to the long-running and widely loved police procedural, The Bill.
At the time of writing, Cuffs has managed to climb to sixth place on the streaming service charts since being added on November 28.
IMDb user gilesb-30738 called it the ‘most original and magnetic program in years’.
‘This is a wonderful cross-over of British black humour and the serious world of police work and its diversity, violence and opposition to violence, social and mental problems, politics of policing, and the personal,’ they wrote.
‘The action and the scenarios were exciting, adrenaline-fuelled and at times, very intense! Each character was different and had their own advantages and disadvantages, and were played very well,’ Marcusjt2004 agreed.
Fan pperkins15552 called it a ‘gem of a series’ with ‘clever storylines’ while cwaters80 shared: ‘It mixes a fairly light tone with some quite serious story lines. It’s realistic and fast-paced but it generally isn’t gritty. There’s a lightness that reflects its summer-in-Brighton setting.’
The show brings together an old hand and a newbie in the police force (Picture: BBC)
Crime dramas to watch after Cuffs
Happy Valley: The three-season show follows Sarah Lancashire as Catherine Cawood, a police sergeant who tracks criminals while caring for her former drug addict sister and grandson.
Protection: Starring Siobhan Finneran as DI Liz Nyles, who is an officer for the UK Protected Persons Service – the UK’s name for witness protection – the Happy Valley actress has to balance work with a complicated home life and racy affair.
Time: Shedding light on what it would be like for a person who has no history of crime to enter the British penal system, it’s searing in its critique of a failed public service.
You can read our full list of recommendations here.
Over in the critics corner, there was also some praise.
‘This is wham-bam, oi, you’re nicked, bright and breezy, just like its location.
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‘Cuffs is a throwback, to The Bill. It’s The Bill-on-Sea, Selsey Bill, if it was a little to the west. It’s The Bill brought not just to the south coast but also to the 21st century, with welcome diversity and parkour,’ The Guardian wrote.
Elsewhere, The Independent noted ‘the crimes were consciously gritty, pushing the limits of pre-9pm viewing.’
Cuffs is now streaming on Netflix.
This story was originally published on November 28.
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