As the story unfolds, Abbott isn’t afraid to pack in lots of exposition to get the wheels of the story moving, but it never feels like too much, even though, admittedly, you better be paying close attention from go, or you’re in danger of finding yourself lost along the way. By the second or third episode, character development also begins to be expertly fleshed out, giving us a cast of characters that aren’t just set pieces in the midst of a compelling tale.
It takes time to digest just one of the hour-long episodes, meaning it might be better to not plan for a straight-through marathon, although it likely will be tempting. State of Play is the kind of superlative television that the Brits are known for – is it any wonder that we Americans keep re-packaging their ideas?
The State of Play DVD contains all six episodes of the series on two discs. The only special features are commentary tracks on the first and last episodes of the series – Abbott and director David Yates on the first, and Yates, producer Hilary Bevan Jones, and editor Mark Day on the last.
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