The first thing to say about The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies (BBC One) is that it’s unusual. That title for starters. Shows with titles that go on forever are already testing an audience’s patience, and must be damn sure they’ve got a good story to tell. So far, seemingly, this one does: an eco-activist con man moves in on his latest mark, a wealthy novelist, as his wronged ex-wife hatches a plan to expose him.
The script, also unusually, is by two sisters: playwright Penelope and artist Ginny Skinner. The last time they collaborated, a decade back, was on a graphic novel. This playful satirical thriller possesses a vibe similar to that art-form – colourful, slightly unreal, on the nose. Take the self-styled “eco-preneur”, who is never not fundraising for projects that may or may not exist. Like a character from a comic, or a medieval mystery play, he tells you who he is through his name: Dr Rob Chance.
Also unusual is the cast. The casting policy of British TV drama rotates quite a narrow cohort of the same old faces. Not here. Chance is played by Alistair Petrie, who was fabulously horrid in The Night Manager but often gets trapped in establishment roles. He seizes his chance as a fork-tongued yet slightly accident-prone charlatan.