While streaming platforms have certainly left viewers spoilt for choice, they have also left them unable to choose. But if the crime genre tickles your fancy, you won’t go wrong with most of the series on BritBox.
Yes, it is nice to stick to the favourites like “Vera” and “Midsomer Murders”, but the new offerings hold as much appeal.
I’m talking about the new spin-off series “Beyond Paradise”, “Karen Pirie”, “The Confession of Frannie Langton”, “The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe” and “Sister Boniface”, as well as, if you missed it, “The Chelsea Detective”.
The latter is a four-part crime drama starring Adrian Scarborough as Detective Inspector Max Arnold with Sonita Henry as his no-nonsense partner, DS Priya Shamsie.
As with the template for such offerings, the protagonists have their idiosyncrasies but excel at their job.
“The Chelsea Detective” opens with a murder investigation, exploring suspects from the world of the affluent in Chelsea, London, to the other end of the spectrum with those living in council flats on World’s End Estate.
With a murder investigation on their hands, status has no sway where justice is sought.
In an interview ahead of the show’s premiere, Henry unpacked a little bit more on the show.
She said: “I think when you have a crime drama, it just focuses a lot of the time on the detective work, and you don’t really find out much about the backstory or the detective’s private life.
“And what I loved about the scripts was that – yeah, it's a detective show.
“Yes, there are obviously murders, but there’s also a whole world that we see and this whole life and all these colours going on behind it. I hadn’t seen that before on a detective show, so that was really interesting to me.
“One of the things that interested me about this role was when I found out Adrian was going to be playing ‘The Chelsea Detective’, I was very excited to play opposite him and he’s so funny. He brings this vulnerability, so I was very excited to work with him on this. Of course, her character has layers too.
“Priya’s a bit tough, a stickler for the rules, but she goes with her gut. That’s what makes her a good detective. As a character, I’ve come up the ranks pretty quickly.
“Proving myself not only because I’m young, but because I’m a woman, and because I’m a woman of colour, I think I’ve got a lot against me.
“So, there’s a bit of anger, a bit of resentment. But also I’m good at my job and Max knows that and that’s why he partnered up with me and he doesn’t treat me as a sidekick – we work as a partnership. There’s that synergy between us.”
And her character is a new mom, too.
The actress added: “I’m grieving for the woman I was before I became a mother. Max is grieving the loss of his relationship with his wife, but he’s also grieving for his father.
“We understand each other and we’re close and we’re loving and supportive.
“But we don’t have the type of partnership where we are going to sit down over a beer or a coffee and talk it through. But we know we have that support from the other person – and we do it in different ways.”
This chalk-and-cheese personality serves such shows well as it adds a layer of humour as well.
As the various investigations gain momentum, the leads are drawn into contrasting worlds where influence and power collide along with lies, deception, violence and racism.
∎“The Chelsea Detective” is streaming on BritBox.