If you didn’t already believe Martin Freeman could do anything, you need to check out The Responder, a dark and unforgiving BritBox original that has Freeman as far away from Bilbo Baggins as one could possibly imagine.
American audiences probably best know Freeman as the beloved titular hobbit from Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, but he also made quite an impression from his roles in 
Love, Actually or his stint in the MCU as Everett K. Ross in Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. More hip American audiences may recognize Freeman as Watson to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes in four seasons of Sherlock, but Martin’s best American work was in the stellar first season of Noah Hawley’s masterpiece series Fargo, which continues to be one of the best shows to have ever existed.
But let’s not kid ourselves. Martin is British through and through, and American audiences will have to make the effort to cross the pond, if not literally, then spiritually, if they really want to experience Martin Freeman in his truest, most significant way. I give to you the examples of the British version of The Office, in which he plays the “Jim” character, played by John Krasinski in the American version, and the trilogy of films, lovingly nicknamed the “Cornetto trilogy,” Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead and The World’s End, films all directed by Edgar Wright and starring Freeman, which all feature a character eating a Cornetto ice cream as an inside joke, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a weird and wacky movie based on the cult bestselling novel. These are all exceedingly wonderful, and all brazenly British—just like Martin Freeman.
There literally is no way to pigeonhole this actor. He is constantly surprising you, which is why I should not have been so taken aback when I saw his latest role as an angst-ridden, morally-compromised cop. The Responder is a tough watch, and I never thought I’d ever say that about any show with Martin Freeman at the center. But Freeman being at the center is what keeps The Responder so watchable, as his casting is what makes the whole thing work. There’s something about it that allows you to believe in his inherent goodness, even when you know the chances of that are pretty slim. He’s fighting for himself tooth and nail, and it’s a losing battle, but you’ve never rooted for anyone harder.
Freeman plays Chris, a cop who works the nightshift in Liverpool (trust me you’ll need the captions turned on) and if there’s anything you do take away from watching this show, it’s that we totally underappreciate the grind of the daily job that police officers endure. But Chris has to deal with so much more than drunks and domestic squabbles, getting caught up in a drug war and having to choose between his conscience, his duty, his family and his survival.
Freeman has never been better, and a cop show has never been darker or more compelling. There are two seasons of six episodes each—so far. The first season earned six BAFTA nominations. The second season just finished this past June, here’s hoping for more nominations and even wins, especially for Freeman, who certainly deserves it. No word yet on a third season, but I’ll be first in line if it does arrive.