Martin Freeman has spoken about his BBC police show The Responder, which has been officially renewed.
Written and created by former Merseyside Police officer Tony Schumacher, The Responder follows Freeman as Chris Carson — a first-responder who struggles through a series of night shifts while his professional and personal life threatens to crumble around him.
The Responder was received so well that, in March, the show was renewed for a second series. However, Freeman has said he never envisioned the drama as being more than a one-series project.
Speaking to Radio Times, Freeman said: "I didn't [see it as a returning series], not necessarily. But as we were doing it, I could see more of it. I first read it as a standalone thing, with just five episodes, but I enjoyed the doing of it very much and, obviously, it's been well-received."
The Black Panther and Sherlock actor continued: "If anything, I'm too much of a fan of things being finite, you know? If it was up to me, we probably wouldn't finish a single episode of anything – just three scenes and then stop before it goes bad!"
Freeman has starred in a number of hit TV shows including Sherlock, in which he played Dr. Watson, the FX anthology series Fargo, and the comedy series Breeders, which he also created along with Chris Addison and Simon Blackwell.
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Freeman starred in multiple seasons of both Sherlock and Breeders but only featured in the debut season of Fargo, as each season of that show follows different characters and a different storyline. But Freeman explained his feeling that sometimes you really shouldn't do multiple seasons of a show, even if people seem to want it.
"Don’t be flattered into doing another one where you really shouldn't do it. In my experience on a couple of shows, people think they want another one and then you give them another one and they go, ‘Oh, it was much better [before], you should have just stopped,'" Freeman said.
"You can be damned if you do, damned if you don't – but I think as long as you've got something to say, then doing another one of anything is fine."
The Responder series 1 is out now on DVD and Blu-ray. Series 2 has been confirmed.
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Jacob is a freelance writer who specialises in narrative TV and film.
He graduated from the University of Roehampton with an MA in Journalism and has written for several publications since, including Gold Derby, Insider, and Screen Daily.
Jacob has covered major events in the world of film and TV, including numerous BAFTA ceremonies and the Cannes Film Festival, while he's also been an awards expert for several publications, including Korea's Arirang. His particular areas of interest include Star Wars, the MCU, the Oscars, and Hugh Grant.
