'The Pembrokeshire Murders' is Straightforward, Workmanlike True Crime Drama

Though the new Britbox drama The Pembrokeshire Murders centers around a case that few Americans will likely be very familiar with, this ITV import is a show that dedicated true crime fans will know right down to its bones.

Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. But if you're looking for shocking twists or a heart-pounding race to suss out a killer before he strikes again, you generally won't find that here. Instead, this is a story about the triumph of dogged police work, the drudgery of paperwork, and the amazing advances that have occurred in the field of forensics over the past few decades.

The series is based on the real-life murders of Peter and Gwenda Dixon a couple who were robbed and shot dead on a coastal path in Pembrokeshire in 1989. Their killer, a man named John Cooper, also turned out to be responsible for a string of other robberies, rapes, and murders, and the only real tension in the show has little to do with the likelihood of his guilt (the camera frames Keith Allen ominously the minute he steps onscreen), but whether or not he will be held responsible for his (apparently many) crimes.