News that The Split was ending came like a dagger to the heart of fans of the BBC drama.
The last-ever episode of the legal drama (which airs next week on BBC One but has dropped on iPlayer) tied up most of the loose ends.
If you’ve not seen it – WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS – all three Defoe sisters remain single after three series of heartbreak, affairs, pregnancies and D.I.V.O.R.C.E.
While there will be a The Split-sized hole in our hearts for some time, here are some other dramas from creator and writer Abi Morgan that are worth checking out.
What to watch after The Split: My Fragile Heart
This two-parter dates back to 2000 so is a bit tricky to track down. But if you don’t mind a bit things a bit blurry around the edges, both parts are available on YouTube.
This was Abi’s first TV screenplay and stars a very young Sarah Lancashire as Trina, a woman who returns to her hometown of Stoke to take care of her terminally ill mum.
But she’s shocked to find the man accused of killing her best friend when they were schoolgirls living nearby.
Bernard (the killer) is then accused of killing another girl but Trina doesn’t think he did it. And she puts herself in danger trying to prove it.
The drama was pretty risque for its time featuring teen sex, alcoholism and a host of other things not usually associated with Sunday night viewing. And certainly not nice Raquel from Corrie.
If you can’t bear the YouTube version, bad luck. It was only released on VHS, exclusively to WH Smith.
Ebay?
Murder
After the success of My Fragile Heart, Abi went on to write four-part series, Murder, for BBC Two.
It stars Julie Walters as a grieving mother who turns to a journalist for help after her son is killed the day after his 21st birthday.
Each of the four episodes takes the perspective of a different character in the story. Walters won a BAFTA in 2003 for her role as Angela Maurer and the first episode beat ER in the ratings.
Murder has not been released on DVD and isn’t available to stream, sadly. But if you do happen to find it in the bowels of the Internet, it’s definitely worth a watch.
Sex Traffic
Abi’s next drama was for Channel 4 and it’s actually still available on All4.
Sex Traffic stars John Simm and is about two sisters from Moldova who are kidnapped and trafficked across Europe. Simm plays a journalist who uncovers the trafficking ring.
It also stars AnnaMaria Marinca, who was most recently seen in Channel 5 drama, Deadline earlier this year.
The two-part series won lots of critical acclaim and scooped eight BAFTAS.
The Hour
If you head over to Prime you can rent – or buy – The Hour Abi’s popular series from 2011 starring Ben Whishaw and Dominic West.
Set in 1956 against the backdrop of the Hungarian Revolution and the Suez Crisis, The Hour centred around a current affairs show being launched by the BBC.
Anna Chancellor and Peter Capaldi also crop up in it.
The Hour was cancelled after two series but Abi said back in 2018 that she’d like to revive the series and set it in 1960s London. Watch this space,
Birdsong
BritBox subscribers can watch Birdsong, Abi’s 2012 adaptation of Sebastian Faulks war novel of the same name.
Eddie Redmayne plays the lead character, Stephen Wraysford, whose story about his experiences during World War 1 are told via flashback.
Stephen has an affair with a young married woman called Isabelle. After her death, he discovers he has a seven-year-old daughter.
Worth checking out for a young Richard Madden, who plays a character called Weir.
River
Also available on Prime and starring The Split’s Nicola Walker is River.
River originally aired on BBC One in 2015 and internationally on Netflix.
It centres around DI John River (Stallen Skarsgård) who is haunted by the death of his partner DS Jackie ‘Stevie’ Stevenson.
Stevie was murdered shortly before the start of the series and River wants to track down her killer.
River also won great critical acclaim.
Watch The Split on BBC One Mondays at 9pm. The Split series 1-3 are all available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
So will you be watching any of Abi Morgan’s dramas? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know!