【Esther Studer】

I'm not going to say that the final season of Broadchurchis the best British drama of the past five years,Esther Studer but it's got to be pretty high up there.

The finale of the third series of the Dorset-based crime drama aired on Monday night to a peak of over 9 million viewers.

It was dark and had the same disturbingly realistic feel that made the show's first season so grimly effective. The acting was flawless. The script was as sharp as ever, and creator Chris Chibnall managed to maintain the episode's whodunnit tension while rounding off the poignant storylines of the characters we've watched grow since Season 1.

#Broadchurch was trending through Monday night and well into Tuesday morning. A quick glance at the hashtag was enough to see how people felt.

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The reviews were similarly positive. The Telegraphgave the episode four stars and described the season as "a return to the fine form of the debut run". It also picked up four stars in The Independentand The Times. The episode "held us in suspense beat by beat", wrote The Guardian.

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about the show's third season. While the first was almost perfect, the second -- although still enjoyable enough -- felt a bit convoluted. I really didn't want the show to end on a bad note.

It didn't.

If you've seen the first two seasons and you were a bit put off by the second, give the third a chance. If you haven't seen any of the show at all so far, you should head over to Now TV (or Netflix, if you're in the US) and start binge-watching it immediately. If you're reading this in the US and wondering where the hell the third season is, don't worry, it's coming to BBC America later this year.

When asked about the possibility of future seasons on BBC Radio 4 recently, Chris Chibnall was firm. "That is it and there will be no more after this one, absolutely," he said.

It's sad news for us Broadchurchfans, but in a way it's a good thing. The show ended on a very high note.

The legacy of Hardy and Miller will live on.

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