Neither thriller, nor horror nor comedy – so what is Coldwater?

Philip Cunnington on Coldwater

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So, ITV's new thriller Coldwater (ITV, Sun/Mon, 9pm). What's that all about then? Because after watching the first two episodes this week, it's not entirely clear.

It's not really a thriller, although there are some thriller-style elements to it, not least the fact it starts with that most obvious of ITV thriller tropes - someone running, panicked, through the night before a flashback.

It's not really a comedy, either, although there are elements of farce - protagonist John (Andrew Lincoln) rushing home after a rare night on the lash and having a mug of water thrown over him to make it appear he's been in the shower.

Then there are pastoral-horror elements, as John, wife Fi (Indira Varma) and the children flee inner city London for a village in the Highlands after a sudden and shocking outbreak of violence.

It's the type of village with a resident weird bloke who lives in a caravan in the woods and is best avoided, a men-only Bible study group with a taste for serial killer biographies, and a happy-clappy vicar who doesn't believe in God.