Chris Carson, the ragged responder working the streets of Liverpool, and played with fearless grit by Martin Freeman, is back. The second season of acclaimed drama The Responder offers as many contradictory moral stances, personal catastrophes and professional dilemmas as the first season – and as a chat with Freeman and series writer Tony Schumacher soon reveals, a chance to learn more about the characters, too.
In the first series, Chris's brittle mental state teetered between resolute and depressed, and yet he dug deep for the compassion and patience to restore order for the troubled individuals he was called out to assist.
Freeman's performance was fearless. He did not try to polish Chris's rough surface to make him more palatable, nor to simplify the contradictory nature of his protagonist. Carson is an imperfect, even negligent father, an exhausted, underpaid public servant, and a man in near-constant battle with his personal demons.
'The Responder' season 2: Chris (Martin Freeman). Credit: Rekha Garton/BBC / Dancing Ledge
Both the first series and the highly-anticipated second series were written by Schumacher, an ex-copwhose career was cut short by a nervous breakdown, which also left him homeless for a period nearly 20 years ago. He mined these devastating experiences for insights into troubled, lonely men in a series of novels between 2014 and 2017, before he transitioned into writing for TV. It was one of the biggest success stories in British TV in 2022, attracting more than 9.5 million viewers to the first episode and winning an International Emmy.
It’s midday for Schumacher and Freeman when they Zoom in. Both are comfortably squished into a couch, side-by-side, and their rapport is generous and relaxed. Where one finishes a thought, the other picks up the threads and carries through.
Schumacher says, "This series has been so successful around the world. I hope it doesn’t matter where we’re from, it’s just a human story and that resonates with people."
Freeman adds, "On the one hand, I see this story as a specifically Liverpool story because our creator is from Liverpool and you wanna get things right. You don't want to film in a city where you're pissing people off by creating a cartoon version, and they've had that a few times. I think this story need not be about police, or Liverpool, it's about the struggles and tribulations of being alive."
Schumacher says, "I can only be honest about my time as being a cop. I want to do bobbies [police] a service. I want to be truthful about the impact the job has on you, and I've had feedback from people who are on the job."
Freeman insists the first season left nothing unresolved, giving both himself and Schumacher greater freedom to be creative in the second season.
"I didn't leave the first series thinking we'd cheated the audience out of something or Tony had forgotten anything. When Tony started presenting the script for season two, I thought, right! I didn't think of that."
He is referring to Chris's relationship with his father. Freeman says that plot was something "which we'd alluded to very briefly but never explored at all. That was the gift that I didn't know I wanted. Once it was presented, I knew that's what was missing, the huge clue to who his father is that resolves part of the puzzle as to what makes Chris tick. I leapt on that."
As for preparedness for a second season, Schumacher – in his naturally jovial spirit – exclaims, “I didn't think we'd get a first! This [second season] was a bonus. Halfway through writing the first series, I was conscious that we had something good, but I wasn't sure it was commercial enough to get a second season. We had no loose ends to tie up, so we were only interested in doing something better. Once we got going and were making this series, I realised I wanted to know what these characters do next. I'm enjoying the ride as much as the audience."
Adelayo Adedayo as Rachel Hargreaves in season 2 of 'The Responder'. Credit: Rekha Garton / Dancing Ledge Productions
The second series returns to Chris Carson's world six months after the finale of season one. Many of the cast from the series are back too, including MyAnna Buring as Chris's long-suffering wife Kate, Adelayo Adedayo as cop Rachel Hargreaves, and Warren Brown as Chris's colleague Ray Mullen. Over five hour-long episodes, we travel alongside Chris as he tries to navigate his way into a day job that will relieve him of the relentless night response shifts, mostly for his own mental health but also for the sake of his young daughter Tilly. Rachel has her own burdens to bear, too. Her idealistic attitude to being a police officer has been crushed alongside Chris as her on-duty partner, and she must establish a path that avoids the pitfalls she's witnessed around her, almost constantly.
While the first season opened with Chris in a private therapy session, the second opens to Chris sitting quietly in a group therapy session. Given the opportunity to share his story with the group, Chris remains silent. "I just saw a leaflet, ya know," he mumbles. His readiness to get out of his own way is progression, at least.
Freeman says, "A few months later from when we last saw Chris, he's trying to take baby steps to help his life, his mental state. He knows the therapy he's getting form the police service isn't helping him or the therapist, so he thinks 'my life can continue on this downward spiral, or a plateau at best, or I could take steps to make it better.' That men's group is a sign that he's doing something even though he doesn't hold out much hope."
Writer Tony Schumacher (left) on set during filming for season 2 of 'The Responder'. Credit: Rekha Garton
While Chris is seeking therapy through whatever means he can, Freeman and Schumacher have found that making the series, to a degree, is their own version of group therapy.
Freeman admits, "I hate to use the idea of acting as therapy, but Tony and I are very lucky that we do this thing for a living that we'd do for free. However much Chris goes through in this windy weather, when it's pissing down for 12 hours on set, I go home tired and completely buzzing, it's a joyful thing. I go home, get fish and chips and have a bath."
Freeman with a bundle of fish and chips in the bath?
"Whatever works for you!" he laughs. "I don't go away feeling heavy from this job. You're literally exorcising demons."
Schumacher chips in, "It's definitely therapy for me, and I would eat fish and chips in the bath, that's not a problem for me."
Seasons 1 and 2 of The Responder are streaming now at SBS On Demand:
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The Responder
