Overview: London, 1887. A lawless city. Jewel thieves and body snatchers stalk the streets and the police do their best to contain them - but it isn’t easy. At the forefront of that fight is Detective Inspector Rabbit (Matt Berry, What We Do in the Shadows).

Rabbit’s been chasing bad guys for as long as he can remember, but now he’s not as young as he was and his heart keeps stopping at inopportune moments.

So Rabbit’s boss, Chief Inspector Wisbech (Alun Armstrong, Breeders) forces him to get a partner - young, fresh-faced and clueless Sergeant Strauss (Freddie Fox, House of the Dragon), just down from Cambridge. He isn’t cut out for this sort of work. He’s only ever read about the East End in pamphlets. But he’s really, really keen. Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes) shines as policewoman Mabel Wisbech, whose stunning intuition is rarely recognized.

Blu-ray Verdict: In this comedy police procedure set in late Victorian times, Matt Berry leads a team of police into a series of unlikely adventures. The plots are silly, but the dialogue, characters and meta-jokes are great.

Personally, I knew I was going to love this show within the opening scene as Rabbit conducts a brutal police interrogation and even gets a bloody, tear filled confession only for us to learn this was a demonstration in front of school children with the teacher being interrogated. Hilarious!

Then we get to meet Joseph Merrick (aka The Elephant Man) - a star turn by David Dawson - who would take this show’s rating up to eleven if he was only featured every episode. The show does a tremendous job with a of the characters and the comedy is brilliant (and sometimes subtle). My biggest regret is there is only one season. Hopefully, with enough positive reviews a second one will be on the way.

Keeley Hawes as the evil vamp and Alun Armstrong as the chief bobby both clearly savoring each scene. Freddy Fox is great as Rabbit’s sidekick Wilbur as is Susan Wokoma as Mabel. It’s brilliantly crafted with great quick-fire scenes and situations, and with Matt Berry leading skillfully, he is able to ham along with the ensemble cast quite beautifully. It’s a sleeper. Catch the rabbit as soon as you can!

Year of the Rabbit | Season 1 Official Trailer

Official Purchase Link