Happy Valley was a smash-hit when it first aired in 2014, winning the BAFTA for Best Drama the following year. Complex, gripping, and beautifully acted, the BBC crime drama reeled in audiences from around the world, including Australia.
It follows iron-willed police sergeant Catherine Cawood as she deals with her daughter’s death by suicide and finds the man that drove her teenage daughter to end her life, all the while she investigates the disappearance of a local millionaire’s daughter.
The second season finale aired last 2016. After that, Happy Valley was off screens for several years, that is until the return of the third and final season in 2023. In Australia, you can still stream episodes from Happy Valley Season 3 on selected streaming services, as well as on free to air TV.
Where to watch Happy Valley in Australia?
Season 3 of Happy Valley initially premiered on Foxtel and BINGE when it debuted in Australia in 2023. As of this writing, BINGE and Foxtel no longer offer episodes of the series.
To watch every season of Happy Valley, you’ll need to subscribe to BritBox or Stan.
When is the Happy Valley Season 3 release date on Netflix?
While Netflix Australia streams several British crime dramas, Happy Valley isn’t one of them as of the moment. We’ve yet to learn of any Netflix announcement about the show premiering on the service.
You can instead watch British crime shows like Stay Close, The Serpent, Bodyguard, Safe, and many others.
You can also explore more TV shows using the search bar below.
What is the plot of Happy Valley?
The highly acclaimed series stars Sarah Lancashire as Sergeant Catherine Cawood – a divorced West Yorkshire-based police officer living with her sister Clare (Siobhan Finneran). Her daughter, Becky, died eight years prior shortly after giving birth. She now raises her grandson, Ryan, (Rhys Connah) with her sister’s help, as neither Catherine’s ex-husband nor their adult son, Daniel, want to get involved.
When Catherine learns that Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), Ryan’s father who also drove Becky to suicide, is out of prison, the still grieving and vengeful police sergeant becomes obsessed with finding him, oblivious that he has something to do with the kidnapping of Ann Gallagher (Charlie Murphy). Deeply attached to the case, Cawood vows to find her as a way of avenging her own daughter’s death.
Season 2 concludes with Royce, who’s banned from talking to Ryan, attempts to communicate with his son from prison using various women he’s promised to marry, including Frances (Shirley Henderson). Pretending to be a teaching assistant in order to get close to Ryan, her influence at school seems to be working as Ryan starts questioning the people who raise him, leading him to send his father a letter.
Royce believes Catherine is the one responsible for his mother’s death, not to mention he loathes her for keeping his son away from him. With this, the final parts of Season 2 shows the young boy becoming more interested in his father and with a direct way of communicating with him, it appears that Royce manages to manipulate his son even behind bars.
Moreover, Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright reveals that the show’s long hiatus is a deliberate one, so that the final third season is set seven years after the last time fans saw Catherine Cawood. Even with the major time jump, every character is expected to reprise their roles, including Lancashire.
In season 3, Catherine discovers a murder that eventually leads her back to Tommy Lee Royce. His grandson Ryan is also older, which means he can make his own decisions about the extent of his relationship with the man Catherine refuses to acknowledge as his father.
Happy Valley Season 3 trailer
You can watch the trailer for the long-awaited Happy Valley Season 3 here.
Cast of Happy Valley
Happy Valley stars Sarah Lancashire as main protagonist Catherine Cawood, while Siobhan Finneran plays her sister Clare Cartwright and James Norton portrays the series’ long-running antagonist Tommy Lee Royce.
New cast members are also joining the new season, including Oliver Huntingdon (The Rising), Jack Bandeira (Sex Education), Alec Secareanu (God’s Own Country), Mark Stanley (The Girl Before) and Anthony Flanagan (Gentleman Jack).
Check out the complete cast of Happy Valley below.
Happy Valley seasons guide
Happy Valley consists of three seasons, the new and the final third series of which became available in January 2023. Every season is highly acclaimed, making Happy Valley one of BBC’s popular crime dramas. Fortunately for Australian fans, Happy Valley Season 3 is streaming on BritBox and Stan.
Meanwhile, Happy Valley Season 1 and Happy Valley Season 2 are also available for streaming on demand on BritBox and Stan.
| Seasons | Episodes | Released | Streaming Services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 6 | 2014 | BritBox / Stan |
| Season 2 | 6 | 2016 | BritBox / Stan |
| Season 3 | 6 | 2023 | BritBox / Stan |
Similar shows to Happy Valley you might like
The Foxtel Now library offers a wide range of the best shows on television and the latest blockbusters you can stream online, which you can explore by checking out what’s on Foxtel.
Then there’s British TV-dedicated streaming service BritBox, which also offers heaps of exciting content and a growing list of originals. Find out what’s on BritBox to browse more titles.
If you’re looking for more crime dramas like Happy Valley, there’s plenty of choices to try on the aforementioned services, including Silent Witness, Shetland, True Detective, Karen Pirie, Unforgotten, The Sixth Commandment, and many more.
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