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How would you do if your most reckless companion from your teenage years reappeared? Imagine if you were dying of cancer and felt completely unburdened? What if you were plagued by remorse for landing your friend in the clink a decade back? Suppose you were the one she got sent to prison and your release was granted to die of cancer in her custody? What if you had been a nearly unbeatable pair of con artists who retained a stash of disguises from your prime and a deep desire for one last thrill?

These questions and beyond form the core of Frauds, a new drama featuring Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker, presents to viewers on a exhilarating, intense season-long journey that traces two female fraudsters determined to executing a final scheme. Similar to a recent project, Jones developed this series with her collaborator, and it retains similar qualities. Much like the mystery-thriller formula served as a backdrop to emotional conflicts gradually unveiled, here the elaborate theft Jones’ character Roberta (Bert) has carefully planned in prison after learning her prognosis is a means to explore a deep dive into companionship, deceit, and affection in every variation.

Bert is released into the care of Sam (Whittaker), who resides close by in the Andalucían hills. Remorse prevented her from seeing Bert during her sentence, but she remained nearby and avoided scams without her – “Rather insensitive with you in prison for a job I botched.” And for her new, if brief, freedom, she has bought her plenty of new underwear, because there are many ways for female friends to offer contrition and one is the acquisition of “a big lady-bra” following ten years of underwire-free prison-issue rubbish.

Sam aims to continue maintaining her peaceful existence and care for Bert until her passing. Bert has other ideas. And when your daftest friend devises alternative schemes – well, you often find yourself going along. Their former relationship slowly resurfaces and her strategies are already in motion by the time she lays out the full blueprint for the robbery. The series experiments with chronology – producing engagement rather than confusion – to present key scenes initially and then the rationale. So we watch the pair stealing gems and timepieces off wealthy guests’ wrists at a funeral – and bagging a golden crown of thorns because why wouldn’t you if you could? – before ripping off their wigs and reversing their funeral attire to transform into vibrant outfits as they walk confidently down the church steps, filled with excitement and assets.

They require the stolen goods to fund the plan. This entails recruiting a forger (with, unknown to the pair, a betting addiction that is due to attract unwanted attention) in the guise of magician’s assistant Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington), who has the technical know-how to assist in swapping the intended artwork (a renowned Dali painting at a major museum). Additionally, they recruit feminist art collector Celine (Kate Fleetwood), who specialises in works by artists depicting female subjects. She is equally merciless as all the criminals the forger and their funeral robbery are drawing towards them, including – most dangerously – their old boss Miss Take (Talisa Garcia), a contemporary crime lord who had them running scams for her since their youth. She did not take well to their declaration of independence as self-reliant tricksters so unresolved issues remain there.

Unexpected developments are interspersed with deepening revelations about Bert and Sam’s history, so you experience the full enjoyment of a sophisticated heist tale – carried out with immense energy and admirable willingness to skate over rampant absurdities – plus a captivatingly detailed portrait of a friendship that is potentially as harmful as Bert’s cancer but just as impossible to uproot. Jones gives perhaps her finest and multifaceted portrayal yet, as the damaged, resentful Bert with her endless quest for thrills to distract from the gnawing pain within that has nothing to do with her medical condition. Whittaker supports her, doing brilliant work in a slightly less interesting part, and together with the creative team they craft a fantastically stylish, emotionally rich and profoundly intelligent work of art that is inherently empowering without preaching and in every way a triumph. Eagerly awaiting future installments.