Monroe

Monroe is a brilliant and unusual neurosurgeon. A flawed genius who never lets anyone forget his flaws or his genius. Each episode will feature one compelling story of the week about life or death situations. The drama will focus on the way in which a serious injury or disease cuts across the lives of everyone involved, from hospital staff to patients to relatives. And how that group become, in an intense few days, a reluctant dysfunctional family united by hopes, fears and grief. At the centre of this stands Monroe, his trainees, his anaesthetist and his poker school - and his female colleague, heart surgeon, Jenny Bremner, who has contempt for his cockiness. The series will tell heightened emotional stories and be shot through with dark humour and portray the pressures and pleasures of high-end surgery in a modern urban hospital.

Directed by Peter Bowker, Monroe leans on a strong ensemble — James Nesbitt, Sarah Parish, Tom Riley — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The series landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 2011.