--- title: "No Offence" year: 2015 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/no-offence" fi1m_id: "no-offence" imdb_id: "tt3922704" tmdb_id: 62620 wikidata_id: "Q19824808" fi1m_score: 73 critics_reviews: 3 published: "2026-10-07T17:22:11.682278+00:00" updated: "2026-10-07T17:22:12.067893+00:00" region: "RO" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # No Offence (2015) Created by Paul Abbott · 47m · Mystery, Crime, Drama ## Identity No Offence - **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/no-offence - **Type:** Series - **Fi1m ID:** no-offence - **IMDb ID:** tt3922704 - **TMDB ID:** 62620 - **Wikidata ID:** Q19824808 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3922704/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/62620, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19824808 **Fi1m score: 73** · Critics: 3 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* Joanna Scanlan makes bad manners feel like a sound qualification for police work > *No Offence* is worth following for Joanna Scanlan and a cast who make its abrasive comedy feel human. The police plotting is less dependable, especially when its political villains become too easy to dismiss. ## Synopsis Detective inspector Vivienne Deering (Joanna Scanlan) is at the centre of Paul Abbott’s crime series, where police investigations share space with black comedy. The ensemble includes Dinah Kowalska (Elaine Cassidy), Spike Tanner (Will Mellor), Joy Freers (Alexandra Roach) and Randolph Miller (Paul Ritter). Police procedure supplies the cases, while the programme moves between grim drama and deliberately offensive humour. Across episodes running 47 minutes, the emphasis falls on the people involved in the investigations as well as the mysteries they are trying to resolve. ## Review With *No Offence*, creator Paul Abbott has made a police series worth following for its actors, despite some ordinary plotting. The attempt to put abrasive humour next to grim crime drama is often rewarding, and occasionally exhausting. We recommend it to anyone who enjoys getting to know a difficult group of people over several episodes. Joanna Scanlan is the strongest reason to stay. We laughed at Vivienne Deering, and the warmth in Joanna Scanlan’s performance kept the offensive humour from simply wearing us down. There is enough humanity here to make the bluntness bearable. Her authority matters as much as the jokes: she gives the programme somebody worth paying attention to when the comedy threatens to become too insistent. The character survives the weaker jokes because we remain interested in her judgement and her company. The supporting cast also justifies the attention given to the people around her. Elaine Cassidy plays Dinah Kowalska, Alexandra Roach plays Joy Freers, and both help keep the series from becoming merely an opportunity for its leading actor to hold forth. Will Mellor’s Spike Tanner and Paul Ritter’s Randolph Miller give us further reasons to remain interested when a case runs along familiar lines. For a continuing police drama, wanting another episode with the same people counts for a good deal. Harry Bradbeer is among the directors managing these awkward changes of mood. The third series opens with an action sequence that shows how gripping the programme can be when it concentrates on the immediate business of police work. Vince Pope supplies the music, which provides useful support without becoming what chiefly holds our attention. The harder task is moving from a joke into something grim without making either seem like an interruption, and those transitions are not consistently convincing. The writing is least persuasive when the procedural plot becomes predictable. In the third-series opener, political villains are drawn too broadly to give us much to think about beyond our immediate dislike of them. That simplification is frustrating in a programme otherwise capable of finding humanity in abrasive people. More complicated opponents would give the officers something harder to reckon with, and give us more reason to follow the investigation beyond our affection for the cast. For a police comedy, an important success is its willingness to let unpleasant material remain unpleasant. The humour does not automatically make the crime feel harmless, and that matters if we are to care about the investigations. Yet the appetite for provocation sometimes seems to take priority over whether a particular joke earns its place. A little less effort to be outrageous would leave more space for the actors, who rarely need that much help. The unevenness is worth accepting, up to a point. There is enough affection for these people to carry us past the more routine plotting, though the strained jokes are harder to overlook. Try it for Joanna Scanlan and the ensemble, with some patience for a programme that occasionally works too hard to be rude. *Fi1m score 73, published 7 October 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is No Offence worth watching?** *No Offence* is worth watching for Joanna Scanlan and its engaging ensemble, particularly if we enjoy abrasive police comedy; we score it 73 out of 100. The characters make spending several episodes with them rewarding, though the investigations can become predictable and the effort to be offensive sometimes produces strained jokes. **How long is No Offence, and what is it rated?** *No Offence* has episodes of about 47m. It is a mystery and crime series. **Where can I watch No Offence in Romania?** *No Offence* is not on any streaming or rental service in Romania at the moment. It is available in 7 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is No Offence, and is it suitable for children?** *No Offence* carries a UK 15 certificate and is not suitable for children under 15, combining grim crime drama with deliberately offensive humour. The unpleasant material retains its force despite the comedy, so we recommend caution for sensitive viewers; the humour does not make this a gentle police programme. **How does No Offence compare to Memories of Murder?** *No Offence* offers sustained company with an abrasive police ensemble, while [*Memories of Murder*](https://film.one/film/memories-of-murder) makes clumsy policing and appalling crimes the basis of an even more uncomfortable comedy. We regard *Memories of Murder* as the stronger work, despite a dragging middle stretch; *No Offence* suits those who value recurring characters more than consistently persuasive investigations. **What should I watch after No Offence?** After *No Offence*, try [*Memories of Murder*](https://film.one/film/memories-of-murder) (2003, Fi1m 91): Clumsy policing and appalling crimes make for an even more uncomfortable laugh. Then [*Fargo*](https://film.one/film/fargo) (1996, Fi1m 91): For black comedy that lets its decent policewoman remain decent. ### Reviews we read (3) - **The Guardian**, Guardian staff reporter (90/100, inferred): The critic is highly enthusiastic, calling the show bold, warm and hilarious despite its deliberately offensive humor. Joanna Scanlan’s performance as DI Deering is singled out for stealing the show. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/may/06/no-offence-review-paul-abbotts-rude-but-not-crude-un-pc-cop-show) - **Radio Times**, Kasia Delgado (70/100, inferred): Delgado presents the series as an addictive, thrilling blend of comedy and grim drama. She singles out its dark humour and the humanity it shares with Shameless. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/no-offence-is-an-addictive-funny-and-disturbing-cop-show-with-the-glorious-humanity-of-shameless/) - **Evening Standard**, David Sexton (25/100, inferred): Sexton finds the season opener’s mix of police procedural and black comedy strained, with little humor. He praises its strong opening action sequence but criticizes its standard plotting and simplistic political villains. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/thursdays-best-tv-no-offence-ballers-and-press-a3935311.html) ## Details - **Created by:** Paul Abbott - **Creator:** Paul Abbott - **Director:** Catherine Morshead, Misha Manson-Smith, Robert Quinn, David Kerr, Harry Bradbeer, Sarah O'Gorman, Samira Radsi - **Writer:** Paul Abbott, Paul Tomalin, Mark Greig, Jimmy Dowdall, Tom Grieves, Julie Rutterford, Jack Lothian - **Music:** Vince Pope - **Producer:** Simon Meyers, Anna Ferguson, Phil Leach - **Cast:** Joanna Scanlan as Vivienne Deering; Elaine Cassidy as Dinah Kowalska; Will Mellor as Spike Tanner; Paul Ritter as Randolph Miller; Ste Johnston as Jonah Mitchell; Tom Varey as Stuart O'Connell; Saira Choudhry as Tegan Thompson; Alexandra Roach as Joy Freers - **Runtime:** 47m - **Release (Romania):** 5 May 2015 - **Genres:** Mystery, Crime, Drama - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8IhM2IHgdM ## Where to watch in Romania Not streaming, renting or buying in Romania at the last check. Also available in: AT, AU, CA, DE, GB, IE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - BAFTA Television Awards 2016: Best Drama Series (nominated) ## If you liked this - *Happy Valley* (2014): Another formidable policewoman, with more patience for grief and less for jokes. - *Spiral* (2005): A police ensemble whose difficult loyalties matter as much as its investigations. - *Memories of Murder* (2003), Fi1m 91: Clumsy policing and appalling crimes make for an even more uncomfortable laugh. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/memories-of-murder.md) - *Fargo* (1996), Fi1m 91: For black comedy that lets its decent policewoman remain decent. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/fargo.md) - *Police, Adjective* (2009): A quieter, drier examination of police work and the orders behind it. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/no-offence