Tin Star: Murder, mayhem and the line of duty

0 0 August 17, 2025 Edit this post

by Chris Riley

Not sure why Tin Star was cancelled, but I for one will miss it.

I caught up with the crime thriller on SBS just as they were about to lose the rights to continue showing it.

There are three seasons and 25 episodes in all. It is very bingeable and if you're quick, you've got two months before it disappears.

Starring Tim Roth, Genevieve O'Reilly and Abigail Lawrie it tells the story of British undercover cop James Worth who has taken a job as the police chief of a small Canadian town called Little Big Bear located on the edge of the Rockies.

He's on the run from a ruthless gang from Liverpool, hiding out with wife Angela, and two children -- a teenage daughter Anna and five-year-old son Peter.

If they find him, he's a dead man.

So far so good, but Worth's experience infiltrating a cime family has left him permanently scarred, a thoughtful but impulsive recovering alcoholic who is prone to sudden violence.

Trying to make a fresh start for himself and his family in the New World, he's not someone to be trifled with and certainly someone who is not to be underestimated.

Little Big Bear backs on to an indigenous reservation, a source of friction and the source of Worth's second in charge, Denise Minahik (Sarah Podemski), who happens to be the daughter of the chief of the Ipowahtaman.

The pair are called on to investigate the deaths of several native women, but for Worth the reservation is a no-go zone without permission (they have their own native police).

At the same time as this is going on an oil company is putting pressure on local residents to sign the mining rights to their land over to them.

The company is represented by PR woman Elizabeth Bradshaw (Christina Hendricks) and the serious intimidating head of security Louis Gagnon (Christopher Heyerdahl).

Worth pushes back after a vocal opponent of their plans, Dr Susan Bouchard (Rachael Crawford), is found murdered -- with tragic consequences.

His five-year-old son Peter is shot and killed by a masked man, lying in wait for them when they pull over to get some gas (the bullet was meant for him).

The incident also leaves wife Angela in a coma with a brain injury.

Distraught, Worth starts binge drinking again.

The shooter, Whitey (Oliver Coopersmith), is one of a group of men sent from Liverpool to exact revenge.

Whitey befriends Worth's daughter and the two become lovers.

And so the scene is set.

The series was created by Rowan Joffe, who co-wrote the 2014 film Before I Go to Sleep, which starred Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth and Mark Strong.

Filming took place in Alberta from June to December, 2016, with scenes mainly shot in the town of High River, Alberta, located just south of Calgary.

The Prince Wales Hotel in Waterton Lakes National Park is a focal point for the fictional town.

You need to pay attention to this one because there's a lot of characters to keep track of and the action can be sudden, violent and sporadic.

Roth has collaborated with Quentin Tarantino on several films, including Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), and The Hateful Eight (2015).

O'Reilly is known for her versatility, having earned recognition for her performances across stage and screen.

You might remember her alongside Eric Bana in The Dry (2020),

Together the pair create a real Bonnie and Clyde kind of crazy vibe.

It's not one for the kids.

You can catch Tin Star on SBS on Demand.