police drama | Tellyspotting

Posted October 21, 2014 - No Comment

'Happy Valley' to 'Grantchester' was quite a change for James Norton

After binge-watching Sally Wainwright’s amazing series, Happy Valley, which starred Sarah Lancashire and Steve Pemberton, I began to see the haunting figure of Tommie Lee Royce on every street corner. Played brilliantly by James Norton, Royce was the stereotypical tormented soul/psychopathic killer (if there is such a thing). Thankfully, to get that image out of my head, all I had to do was quickly fast forward to the premiere of ITV’s Grantchester earlier this month.

Posted September 20, 2014 - No Comment

Last original 'old dog' to leave 'New Tricks' in 2015

Dennis Waterman, a.k.a. Gerry Standing, will leave the British comedy/drama New Tricks part way through the long-running series’ 12th season, which will begin filming in November. As the last original member of the fictional Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS) of the Metropolitan Police Service, Waterman has appeared in every episode of the series’ first 11 seasons and will bow out after appearing in two episodes of the upcoming series which will transmit in 2015.

Posted June 16, 2014 - 1 Comment

Brenda Blethyn set for 'Vera' return in 2015

As series 4 begins on public television in America, filming has begun in the North East of England for series 5 of Vera. Academy Award nominee Brenda Blethyn reprises her role as the brilliantly perceptive DC Vera Stanhope alongside her new partner, DS Aiden Healy, played by Kenny Doughty. Gone from the forthcoming series is […]

Posted April 28, 2014 - No Comment

John Simm goes from detective to murder suspect in 'Prey'

More drama greatness tonight on ITV…. Prey, a brand new drama starring John Simm is coming to ITV tonight. Prey tells the story of a DS Marcus Farrow (Simm), a well-liked policeman on the run, wrongly accused of the murder of his estranged wife and son, desperate to clear his name for the sake of […]

Posted February 5, 2014 - 3 Comments

Q&A with Martin Shaw and Lee Ingleby from 'Inspector George Gently'

The excruciatingly lengthy wait since we last saw Inspector George Gently in the Durham Cathedral shootings is over. Inspector George Gently returns tomorrow (Thursday, 6 February) on BBC One. For those viewers is the U.S., you can see the return of Inspector George Gently and Detective Sergeant John Bacchus beginning in April on public television […]

Posted January 14, 2014 - No Comment

'DCI Banks' set for UK & U.S. return with new episodes

Perhaps the most intense individual on the small screen, DCI Alan Banks, is set for a return in the not-too-distant future. The third series of DCI Banks, starring Stephen Tompkinson, Andrea Lowe and Caroline Catz, will transmit soon on ITV and then follow with a public television broadcast in the States beginning in April 2014. […]

Posted November 9, 2013 - 1 Comment

Olivia Colman says yes to 'Broadchurch 2'; Uh, not so fast, U.S. version.

There was joy in Mudville recently with the news from the BBC that the brilliant crime series, Broadchurch, had been commissioned for a second series. Following the series’ critical acclaim and audience success, this would seem to have been a no-brainer but with the streets littered with only one season of the likes of The […]

Posted July 31, 2013 - 2 Comments

New Tricks adds a new 'old dog' for series 10

The Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS) are back as New Tricks series 10 returned Tuesday night with a two-part special that took them abroad for the first time. The investigation leads the team, headed by DS Sandra Pullman (Amanda Redman), to the port of Gibraltar where they have to work hand in hand […]

Posted July 2, 2013 - No Comment

Luther returns to hunt criminals and battle demons tonight on BBC One

Luther is an unquestionably gripping, psychological thriller driven by a brilliant and emotionally impulsive detective tormented by the darker side of humanity. John Luther, played brilliantly by Idris Elba, is the near-genius detective struggling to cope with his own demons, might just be as dangerous as the depraved criminals he hunts. This is telly that […]

Posted June 27, 2013 - 4 Comments

DCI Banks set to return in 2014 with filming to begin next month

When ITV recently announced that DCI Banks, starring Stephen Tomkinson, would return for a third season in 2014 on both ITV in the UK and on public television stations in the States, my first thought was that with the addition of George Gently, Endeavour, Inspector Lewis, Scott & Bailey, New Tricks and Foyle’s War, I’m […]