''Prime Suspect'' is a British

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eit ...

television drama series devised by

Lynda La Plante Lynda La Plante, CBE (born Lynda Titchmarsh; 15 March 1943) is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the '' Prime Suspect'' television crime series. Early life Lynda La Plante was born Lynda Titchmarsh on ...

. It stars

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom ...

as Jane Tennison, one of the first female

Detective Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is u ...

s in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

, who rises to the rank of

Detective Superintendent Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territorie ...

while confronting institutionalised sexism within the police force.

Plot

''Prime Suspect'' focuses on a no-nonsense female Detective Chief Inspector (DCI), Jane Tennison (played by

), who is an officer in the Metropolitan Police, initially at the fictional

Southampton Row The A4200 is a major thoroughfare in central London. It runs between the A4 at Aldwych, to the A400 Hampstead Road/Camden High Street, at Mornington Crescent tube station. Kingsway Kingsway is a major road in central London, designa ...

police station. The series follows her constant battles to prove herself within a male-dominated profession in which many of her colleagues are determined to see her fail, though she has the support of her boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Kernan (

John Benfield Jonathan Edmund Fulford "John" Turner (9 November 1951 – 16 June 2020), better known by his stage name John Benfield, was a British character actor. Biography Benfield appeared in 75 television episodes or films starting in 1981 with small p ...

), and the loyalty of

Detective Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

Richard Haskons (

Richard Hawley Richard Willis Hawley (born 17 January 1967) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. After his first band Treebound Story (formed while he was still at school) broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longp ...

). In later series, Tennison is reassigned to rotating duties, including a vice squad in Soho and a gang squad in Manchester. She is promoted to Detective Superintendent in series 4 and retires from policing at the end of series 7.

Cast

Main cast

as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, initially of Southampton Row Police Station in Central London, later Detective Superintendent in series 4. Mirren has described Tennison as "extremely directed, ambitious, talented and very uncompromising. Therefore she is deeply frustrated by her job; the way her sex is a barrier." *

as Detective Superintendent Michael Kernan (series 1–4), Tennison's supervisor, later Detective Chief Superintendent *

as Detective Constable Richard Haskons (series 1–4), later Detective Sergeant and Detective Inspector * Tom Bell as Detective Sergeant Bill Otley (series 1, 3, 7) * Jack Ellis as

Detective Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

Tony Muddyman (series 1–2, 4) *

Craig Fairbrass Craig John Fairbrass (born 15 January 1964) is an English actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles as Delmar in the thriller film ''Cliffhanger'' (1993), Dan Sullivan in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1999–2001) ...

as Detective Inspector Frank Burkin (series 1–2) * Mossie Smith as

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Maureen Havers (series 1, 4) * Ian Fitzgibbon as Detective Constable Jones (series 1–2) * Philip Wright as Detective Constable Lillie (series 1–3) *

Andrew Tiernan Andrew James Tiernan (born 30 November 1965) is a British actor and director. Biography Theatre Tiernan began acting with the Birmingham Youth Theatre and moved to London in 1984 to study a three-year diploma in acting at the Drama Centre Lo ...

as Detective Constable Rosper (series 1–2) *

Gary Whelan Gary Whelan (born 1953) is an Irish actor, known for his work on British television. Early life Whelan was born in Ireland but he relocated to London when he was ten years old. He then attended Holloway School.Stephen Boxer as Detective Chief Inspector Thorndike, later Detective Superintendent (series 2–4) *

Stafford Gordon Stafford Gordon is a British actor. Gordon has played various character roles in British television series such as Crown Court, Minder, Prime Suspect and The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broad ...

as Commander Traynor (series 2–4) * Mark Strong as Detective Inspector Larry Hall (series 3, 6), later Detective Chief Superintendent in series 6 *

Robert Pugh Robert Pugh (born 11 October 1950) is a Welsh actor, known for his many television appearances, including the role of Craster in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. Life and career Pugh was born in the Tynte, Mountain Ash and grew up in Cilf ...

as Detective Sergeant Alun Simms (series 6–7)

Supporting cast, including notable guest stars

* Tom Wilkinson as Peter Rawlins (series 1), Tennison's divorced live-in boyfriend * Zoë Wanamaker as Moyra Hanson (series 1), George Marlow's common law wife *

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...

as Michael (series 1) * John Bowe as George Marlow (series 1) * Maxine Audley as Doris Marlow (series 1) *

Colin Salmon Colin Salmon (born ) is a British actor. He is known for playing Charles Robinson in three James Bond films and James "One" Shade in the ''Resident Evil'' film series. He has had roles on many television series such as ''Doctor Who'', ''Merli ...

as Detective Sergeant Bob Oswalde (series 2) * George Harris as Vernon Allen (series 2) *

Lloyd McGuire Lloyd McGuire (born 2 September 1947) is an English actor in film and television. Education Born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, McGuire attended Bournville Grammar-Technical School for Boys. He began work as a Commercial Apprentice at the Austin ...

as Sergeant Calder (series 2) *

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in '' The Thick of It'' (2005–2012), for ...

as Vera/Vernon Reynolds (series 3) *

Andrew Woodall ''The Sugar Syndrome'' is a 2003 play written by British writer Lucy Prebble. It has won several awards and as of 2009 has been sold in seven languages. Synopsis The play has four main characters: Dani, Tim, Lewis and Jan. At the beginning, Da ...

as Detective Inspector Brian Dalton (series 3) *

David Thewlis David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter. Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Awa ...

as James Jackson (series 3) *

James Frain James Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. His best known television roles include Thomas Cromwell in the Showtime/ CBC historical drama ''The Tudors'' (2007–2009), Franklin Mott in the HBO drama ''True Blood'' (2010), Warwi ...

as Jason Baldwin (series 3), an adult child abuse victim * Struan Rodger as Superintendent Halliday (series 3) * Chris Fairbank as Detective Chief Inspector David Lyall (series 3) *

Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds (; born 9 February 1953) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (1989), '' Persuasion'' (1 ...

as Edward Parker-Jones (series 3), the manager of a community centre *

Kelly Hunter Kelly Hunter (born 21 July 1963) is a British film, television, radio, stage and musical actress, a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. She is a Laurence Olivier Award nominee and Radio Academy Award and TMA Awa ...

as Jessica Smithy (series 3), a reporter * Jonny Lee Miller as Anthony Field (series 3), an adult victim of child abuse * Mark Drewry as Detective Inspector Ray Hebdon (series 3) * Danny Dyer as Martin Fletcher (series 3), a homeless street boy * Stuart Wilson as Dr Patrick Schofield (series 4), a psychologist whom Tennison consults, and then dates * Sophie Stanton as Detective Sergeant Christine Cromwell (series 4) *

Beatie Edney Beatrice Edney (born 23 October 1962) is an English television actress. Born in London, she is the daughter of actress Sylvia Syms and her husband Alan Edney. Her brother is Benjamin Edney and her cousin is musician Nick Webb. Edney first came ...

as Susan Covington (series 4), a young mother whose child is kidnapped * Robert Glenister as Chris Hughes (series 4) * Lesley Sharp as Anne Sutherland (series 4) *

Jill Baker Jill Baker (born 1952) is a British actress who has worked extensively in theatre and television for 50 years. Personal life Baker is a graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She and actor Bob Peck were married for 17 years, from 19 ...

as Maria Henry (series 4), a lawyer *

Kelly Reilly Jessica Kelly Siobhán Reilly (born 18 July 1977) is an English actress. She first appeared on screen in 1995 on the series '' The Biz''. Her other television work includes starring roles in the British crime drama '' Above Suspicion'' (2009– ...

as Polly Henry (series 4), Maria's daughter * Christopher Fulford as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Mitchell (series 4) * Tim Woodward as George Marlow (series 4) * Joyce Redman as Doris Marlow (series 4) *

David Ryall David John Ryall
Retrieved 28 December 2014 (5 January 1935 – 25 December 201 ...

as Oscar Bream (series 2,4) * Marc Warren as Detective Constable Andy Dyson (series 4) *

Steven Mackintosh Steven Mackintosh (born 30 April 1967) is an English actor and narrator. He is perhaps best known for his role as Andreas Tanis in the action horror films '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006) and '' Underworld: Rise of the Lycans'' (2009). Mack ...

as Clive Norton "The Street" (series 5) *

David O'Hara David Patrick O'Hara (born 9 July 1965) is a Scottish stage and character actor. A graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, he is best known to audiences for his numerous supporting roles in high-profile films; includ ...

as Detective Sergeant Gerry Rankine (series 5) * Marsha Thomason as Janice Lafferty (series 5) * Ray Emmet Brown as Michael Johns (series 5) * John McArdle as Detective Chief Superintendent Ballinger (series 5) * Julia Lane as Detective Inspector Claire Devanney (series 5) * Liam Cunningham as Robert West (series 6) *

Ben Miles Benjamin Charles Miles (born 29 September 1966) is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Patrick Maitland in the television comedy ''Coupling'', from 2000 to 2004, as Montague Dartie in ''The Forsyte Saga'', from 2002 to 2003, a ...

as Detective Chief Inspector Simon Finch (series 6) *

Sam Hazeldine Samuel Hazeldine (born 29 March 1972) is an English actor working in film, television and theatre. He is the son of actors James Hazeldine. and Rebecca Moore. Early life Sam Hazeldine was born in Hammersmith, London. He is the son of actors ...

as Detective Constable David Butcher (series 6) *

Barnaby Kay Barnaby Kay (born 9 April 1969) is an English actor who has played roles in television, stage, film and performance art. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Personal life Kay was born at St Pancras, London, and is the son of ac ...

as Detective Constable Michael Philips (series 6) *

Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė (russian: Ингеборга Дапкунайте; born 20 January 1963) is а Lithuanian theatre and cinema actress, who appears mostly in Russian films. She is a winner of the Nika Award in 1994 for Best Actress. Early ...

as Jasmina Blekic (series 6) *

Tanya Moodie Tanya may refer to: * Tanya (Judaism),an early work of Hasidic philosophy by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. * Tanya (name), a given name and list of people with the name * Tanya or Lara Saint Paul (born 1946) * List of Mortal Kombat characters#T ...

as Detective Constable Lorna Grieves (series 6) * Velibor Topic as Dusan Zigic (series 6) *

Oleg Menshikov Oleg Evgenyevich Menshikov, PAR (russian: Оле́г Евге́ньевич Ме́ньшиков, link=no; born 8 November 1960) is a Russian actor, theatre director and occasional singer. He is the current artistic director of the Yermolova The ...

as Milan Lukic/Dragan Yankovich (series 6) *

Clare Holman Clare Margaret Holman (born 12 January 1964) is an English actress. She portrayed forensic pathologist Dr. Laura Hobson in the crime drama series ''Inspector Morse'' and its spin-off ''Lewis'' from 1995 to 2015. Career Holman started her act ...

as Mrs Lukic (series 6) * Frank Finlay as Arnold Tennison (series 6) * Phoebe Nicholls as Shaw (series 6) * Rad Lazar as Kasim Ibrahimovic (series 6) * Gary Lewis as Tony Sturdy (series 7) *

Stephen Tompkinson Stephen Phillip Tompkinson (born 15 October 1965) is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in ''Chancer '' (1990), Damien Day in '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in '' Ballykissangel'' (1996– ...

as Sean Philips (series 7) *

Laura Greenwood Laura Greenwood (born 1991) is an English actress and a member of the YoungBlood Theatre Company in 2006. Greenwood's big breakthrough came in 2006 when at age 14 she starred as Penny Philips opposite Helen Mirren in ''Prime Suspect The Fina ...

as Penny Philips (series 7) *

Eve Best Emily "Eve" Best (born 31 July 1971) is an English actress and director. She is known for her television roles as Dr. Eleanor O'Hara in the Showtime series ''Nurse Jackie'' (2009–13), First Lady Dolley Madison in the ''American Experience'' ...

as Linda Philips (series 7) *

Brendan Coyle David "Brendan" Coyle (born 2 December 1962) is an English-Irish actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for '' The Weir'' in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries '' North & South'', Robert ...

as DCS Mitchell (series 7) * Robbie Gee as Detective Inspector Traynor (series 7) * Ellie Kendrick as Melanie (series 7) * Russell Mabey as Detective Inspector Cox (series 7) *

Carolyn Pickles Carolyn Pickles (born 8 February 1952) is an English actress who has appeared in West End theatre and on British television. She is known for playing DCI Kim Reid in ''The Bill'' and Shelley Williams in '' Emmerdale''. Life and career Pickles ...

as Pauline Hammond (series 7)

Episodes

Concept and development

Themes

The first series features

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...

in the workplace as a significant subplot and a barrier to the investigation. Sequels have tended to downplay this theme, relying on straight procedure or on other subplots, such as

institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health ...

in ''Prime Suspect 2'' or

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

and

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

in ''Prime Suspect 3'', but they continue to demonstrate the determination of some of Tennison's male peers and those in upper echelons to see her fail. Tennison's difficulty in achieving a balance between her work and her life outside the job, and her difficulty in maintaining stable relationships, are recurring themes within the series. Towards the end of ''Prime Suspect 3'' she arranges to have her pregnancy terminated. As the series progresses, she increasingly relies on alcohol to help her cope. This culminates in the final episode of the series in her attending meetings of

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...

, where she finally acknowledges and confronts her addiction.

Setting

''Prime Suspect'' is set mostly in London and surrounding areas, but series 5 is set in Manchester.

Production

Every series of ''Prime Suspect'' except series 4 follows a single case and runs around 3 hours (excluding commercials). It has usually been shown in two or four parts. ''Prime Suspect 4'' is an exception at slightly over five hours, with three separate cases. The first five series were produced annually from 1991 to 1996, until Mirren left the role, supposedly to avoid typecasting (according to a PBS interview). She returned to play the character in 2003 and again in 2006. ''Prime Suspect'' was produced by

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

for the ITV network. Series four to seven were co-produced by WGBH Boston for its '' Masterpiece Mystery'' anthology series.

Music

The first five series were scored by the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning composer Stephen Warbeck, who was nominated for a

BAFTA TV Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

for ''Prime Suspect'' series one. Rob Lane composed the music for Series 6.

Nicholas Hooper Nicholas Hooper is a British film and television composer and guitarist. He has scored the award-winning BBC productions ''Land of the Tiger'' and '' Andes to Amazon'', as well as the TV movies ''The Girl in the Café'' and ''My Family and Other ...

won a

for his score for Series 7.

Reception and impact

''Prime Suspect'' was voted 68th in the list of

100 Greatest British Television Programmes The BFI TV 100 is a list of 100 television programmes or series that was compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI), as chosen by a poll of industry professionals, with the aim to determine the best United Kingdom, British television pr ...

as compiled by a poll given by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

, and in 2007 it was listed as one of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-''TIME''." The series has won multiple

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, and a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

Awards and nominations

''Prime Suspect'' won the

for Best Drama Serial over '' G.B.H.'' in 1991. Afterwards, four of the seven voting members of the jury raised a discrepancy to jury chairperson

Irene Shubik Irene Shubik (26 December 1929 – 26 September 2019) was a British television producer and story editor, known for her contribution to the development of the single play in British television drama. Beginning her career in television at A ...

, and later signed a public statement declaring that they had voted for ''G.B.H.'' to win. BAFTA Chairman Richard Price stated that the ballot papers passed on to him by Shubik had shown four votes for ''Prime Suspect'' and three for ''G.B.H.'' Price claimed that the ballot papers could not be recounted as they had subsequently been destroyed. ''Prime Suspect'' won Best Drama Serial once more for series three, and was nominated four other times. The series won the

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

for Outstanding Miniseries three times, and was nominated twice more. Mirren won three BAFTA TV Awards for Best Actress for the role, and has been nominated three other times. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie twice, with four additional nominations. ''Prime Suspect 3'' was awarded a

in 1993 for its realistic scenes and dialogue. Writer/creator

received an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

for series one in the category of Best TV Feature or Miniseries. The following year,

Allan Cubitt Allan Cubitt was previously a teacher at John Ruskin High School, Croydon during the 1980s teaching English who became a British television, film, and theatre writer, director, and producer, best known for his work on '' Prime Suspect II'' and '' T ...

won in the same category for series two. ''Prime Suspect'' was later nominated for series three and six.

Influence on other programmes

Many observers have viewed ''Prime Suspect'' as the inspiration for female characters in U.S. TV series, particularly noting strong similarities between this series in general—and the character of Jane Tennison in particular—and the later American series ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an American television police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Brenda has a reputation as a c ...

'', starring

Kyra Sedgwick Kyra Minturn Sedgwick (; born August 19, 1965) is an American actress, producer and director. For her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the TNT crime drama ''The Closer'', she won a Golden Globe Award in 2007 and an Emmy Awa ...

in the role of Deputy Chief of Police Brenda Leigh Johnson. Critics noted the similarities between the series in a stronger way during the first seasons of ''The Closer'', with one 2006 article in ''USA Today'' calling ''The Closer'' "an unofficial Americanization" of the British series, and a later reviewer noting that, "When ''The Closer'' was first shown, critics were quick to compare it to ''Prime Suspect''... ndthere's something in that...." In interviews Sedgwick has acknowledged that ''The Closer'' owes "a debt" to ''Prime Suspect'', and that her admiration for that show and for Mirren were factors that first interested her in the role. According to Sedgwick, ''Prime Suspect'' was one of the shows that "paved the way" for ''The Closer'', and her manager got her interested in the series by saying that it was "a little bit like ''Prime Suspect''." Sedgwick is quoted as saying that the Tennison character did become her inspiration in some ways for her portrayal of Brenda Leigh Johnson. Reviewers in U.S. papers, including the ''

Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

'', have noted that ''The Closer'', while not a direct remake of the British series, "owes" much to it, or that it "echoes many of the elements" of it. One ''The New York Times'' article refers to ''The Closer'' as a "direct descendant" of ''Prime Suspect'', although less hard-hitting than the original: Other reviewers have also made the point that the differences between Tennison and Johnson are as important as their similarities:

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

picked up an adaptation of the British series for the 2011–2012 season. It was taken off the schedule after 13 episodes were produced.

Spoofs

In 1997 a short spoof episode ''Prime Cracker'' was produced for the BBC's biennial Red Nose Day charity

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...

in aid of

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

. A

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

with ITV stablemate crime drama ''

Cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...

'', the spoof starred Mirren and ''Cracker'' lead Robbie Coltrane as their characters from the respective series, sending up the perceived ultra-seriousness of both shows. '' Dead Ringers'' featured a parody with Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

in the lead role, as a reaction to Helen Mirren's portrayal of her in the 2006 film '' The Queen''.

Prequel series

A six-part prequel, '' Prime Suspect 1973'', was announced in 2015 by ITV, based on the book ''Tennison'' by

, adapted by Glen Laker. It tells the story of a 22 year old Jane Tennison as a probationary WPC in

Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Quee ...

, investigating her first murder case. The series began airing on 2 March 2017. The role of Tennison is played by Stefanie Martini. In June 2017, ITV confirmed that the series had not been recommissioned for a second series.

Home media

On 1 October 2013,

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

made the Series 1–6 available online for streaming. On 27 August 2013, Acorn Media released the entire series in a seven-disc

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

set. Each disc contains the individual programme, upscaled to 720p HD and converted to 16:9 Widescreen. Bonus material includes a 50-minute behind-the-scenes special, a 23-minute ''Series 6'' behind-the-scenes featurette, a photo gallery and cast filmographies. The DVD format of the series was released in 2010 by ITV Studios/Global entertainment. It has an overall running time of 1,437 minutes approximately, and encompasses ten discs, with each Series set on one disc except the triple-episode Series 4, which is set over three discs. As with the Blu-ray production, the final disc contains a Behind-the-Scenes of Series 7.

References

External links

''Prime Suspect''
at the

Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lo ...

* {{Lynda La Plante 1991 British television series debuts 2006 British television series endings 1990s British crime drama television series 2000s British crime drama television series Anthony Award-winning works Edgar Award-winning works English-language television shows ITV crime dramas Peabody Award-winning television programs Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series Television shows produced by Granada Television Television series by ITV Studios Television series by WGBH Television shows set in London British detective television series pt:Prime Suspect